Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 108

Penn Hills' Hall back from Israel, set for Connie Hawkins League jlflfc'ast June 19, 1986 Page 13 Dan Chew is 25th at U.S. cycling championships 'am, 1 Jamie Hall By Scott Solomon I After three years of playing basketball with Athletes in Action, Jamie Hall wanted to do something different. So he went to Israel. "It was definitely an adjustment," said the former Penn Hills High School player, who will be playing for the Nets when the Connie Hawkins League kicks off its 11th season Monday. "It was extremely exciting because of the support and enthusiasm of the fans," he said.

"Just like small-time NBA." In 1978, Hall represented Pennsylvania in the Dapper Dan Round-ball Classic. He then accepted at scholarship to Davidson. In Israel, he played for Natanya, a small town about 20 miles outside Tel Aviv. The starting five was made up of former college players, including LSU's Willy Simms, Georgia's Terry Fair, and Pitt's Carlton Ne-verson. "We were the first team in Israel that had four black players," said Hall.

"People used to think we were the Globetrotters." Nobody thought so after the season began, though. "We were a sensation," said Hall, adding that Natanya regularly would stuff Tel-Aviv's arena. "Our style was pretty much new to Israel because we played a running, aggressive game. "We weren't predicted to go anywhere, but we proved them wrong." Natanya tore through the 12-team league before losing, 96-94, in the final game of a best-of-three playoff series to Macabee Tel-Aviv. Being the preseason underdog never bothered Hall.

In his senior season at Davidson College in 1982, the Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the Southern Conference. But the 6-foot-10 Hall averaged 12.6 points per game (his personal best at Davidson), and snared 7.2 rebounds, and Davidson wound up second, losing in the conference championship. It was the first time in nine seasons the Wildcats had reached the finals. his efforts, Hall ended up on the Southern Conference All-Tournament team. "I wish I had the opportunity to coach him for four years," said Davidson basketball Coach Bobby Hussey, who coached Hall in his final year.

"He was an extremely dependable player, to the point that you could count on 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks a game. He was a solid, consistent player who did everything he had to, and did it in a very positive way." Basketball and academics were not the only things that occupied Hall's time during college. He married wife Michelle during his freshman season, and the couple had their first child, Jamie For Hall, it was just another minor adjustment. "One of the things I remember most about Jamie as a person was his ability to deal with that situation," said Hussey. "He would bring little Jamie to practice, and all the guys would watch out for him and run around him.

Still, he took no shortcuts, and made no excuses. His effort was the same as a young guy who had no commitments or responsibilities. Nothing bothered him. He was like water rolling off a rock." Following graduation from Davidson in 1982, Hall went directly to Athletes in Action, a travelling sports ministry in Vancouver, British Columbia. "It was more of a spiritual team," said Hall.

"We had to deal with religious issues, and do a lot of public speaking. With them it's not just basketball; it's total ministry." "When Jamie was with Athletes in Action, he was gone almost all the time," said Michelle, "because their philosophy is to use their members to full potential. But when Jamie was home he was really home. He devoted that time to the family." The decision to leave AIA for basketball overseas was a financial one. "Over there, you can make between $100 thousand and $140,000 a year," said Hall.

"That was the major reason I decided to play in Israel. There's a lot of good money to be made." "AIA was a sacrifice as far as money was concerned," said Michelle. "Because we had three children, the decision to go abroad was really a financial necessity." Once they arrived in Israel, they enrolled Jamie Jr. in a Hebrew school, where he learned both Hebrew and English. But they soon found that the adjustment to stardom for their son was more difficult than the language barrier, and withdrew him from the school, deciding instead on private tutoring.

"When he was at school, it got ridiculous," said Michelle. "The other kids would surround him constantly, and a lot of days he would come home with presents that the children had given him. He was really overwhelmed. "We couldn't even take our kids to the beach without it taking an hour to get there, and we lived right on the beach." While she was sitting in a Natanya restaurant one day, a woman approached Michelle, and asked her if she was interested in doing modeling work. "She jumped at the chance," Jamie said.

"She had the opportunity to model and step in at a pretty high level." "That was the first opportunity I had," Michelle said, "because in the ministry I wasn't allowed to do anything. I was excited by it, and at mm 'a mi this point I will take every modeling job I can get because I really want to see if I can do it." This summer, Hall will play in the Connie Hawkins League to keep his skills sharp. "I want to stay in shape and on top of my game," he said. "This is a good league, and it will help me prepare for next season." Hall still is undecided about where he will be playing basketball next year, although he admits he'll go to the team that makes the best offer. "I think if they're smart, they'll ask Jamie back to Israel again," said Michelle, "because they won't have another team like that.

I certainly wouldn't mind going back, because I love the beach and I wouldn't mind missing another Pittsburgh winter." The Connie Hawkins League officially opens its 1986 season Monday at 6 p.m. at the South Side Market House recreational facility, 11th and Bingham streets. Games will be played there Monday and Wednesday evenings at 6, 7:45 and 9 until the Garland Park facility, scheduled to open June 30, is completed. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, games will be played at the Warrington recreational facility, 329 E. Warrington until Garland Park is ready.

More information on the league can be obtained by contacting league director Debra Coleman at 243-0363. By John Zingaro Dan Chew of Squirrel Hill had two wishes going into the Corestates U.S. Pro Cycling Championship. He wanted a hot, humid day, and he wanted to finish at least 25th. He got both.

Chew finished No. 25 last weekend in an international field, nearly half of which was unable to finish the 156-mile race because of temperatures approaching 90. The Pittsburgh area's other pro, Matt Eaton of Renfrew, Butler County, dropped out after 128 miles. The race was held in Philadelphia, and Chew was the only cyclist from the host state to finish in the top 25. He was the 16th American.

Two who finished ahead of him were Olympians Davis Phinney (eighth) and Ron Kiefel (20th), but Chew placed better than the vaunted Jonathan Boyer (33rd). Other top finishers were from Denmark, Italy, Belgium and France. Chew's time of six hours, 30 minutes was eight minutes behind winner Tom Frehn of Boulder, Colorado. Chew won $525; Frehn, $20,000. The week of the race, Chew said he hoped it would be hot.

Last year, racing in similarly oppressive heat, he finished a surprising No. 12 in his first pro race. The conditions caused nearly half of the field to drop out the same as this year but they were conditions suited to Chew. The 23-year-old Chew seldom races in events shorter than 100 miles and says he's not real comfortable unless the race is at least 150 miles. Chew trains as many as 200 miles a day, riding 12 hours.

He says the heat only helps in his case, whittling the field of 80-90 while he plods on. Actually', plodding isn't the word. Chew had an average speed of 24 mph at the Corestates. His time was identical with his performance last year. "I felt just as strong as last year, but I missed a critical break," Chew observes.

The course is a 14-mile loop which includes a hill that is a third of a mile Dan Chew long and has a grade similar to Perrysville Avenue on Pittsburgh's North Side. "The eighth time we got to the hill," says Chew, "the lead group split up. I was in a back group with Matt at the time, but this front, lead group of 20 riders got ahead of me. I couldn't catch up to them on that hill. I had no chance at the top 20 as soon as that happened." Chew, who raced last year as a free agent, was sponsored this time by Pittsburgh Pro Biycles shop and Cadence Management Consultants.

He has no plans for any races in the near future other than the Wednesday night club races held by the Allegheny Cycling Association at the lower Highland Park Zoo parking lot. Hempfield softball team settles for 3rd in state Hempfield ended its season 23-3, losing just once during the regular season and twice in postseason playoff action. The Spartans lost to Baldwin in the WPIAL AAA championship, 8-1. "I really don't know why he switched it," Stratton said. "I thought that if we would have just gone with the same setup, we could have won the whole thing." As it turned out, Hempfield beat Pennsbury High School the following day to finish third in the state.

The Spartans trailed, 2-1, after six innings but rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to win the contest, 3-2. (Ml of Cranberry By Jim Lang It didn't take long for the reality of it all to set in. The Hempfield High School girls' softball team was shut out, 5-0, by State College last Thursday in the State AAA softball semifinal. And with that loss, the Spartans' dreams of a state title literally had slipped through their hands. Aided by three Hempfield errors in the first inning, State College tallied five quick runs and never looked back.

"The miscues that we made in the first inning really hurt us," said Hempfield Coach Joe Zahorchak. "And we just couldn't get anything going after they had scored their runs." Hempfield right-hander Kathy McCarthy pitched a complete game for the Spartans, giving up all five runs all unearned and surrendering 10 hits. "I know that it wasn't my best game, but I didn't think that it was my worst either," McCarthy said. "Our team just tends to get a little nervous when we play in big games." McCarthy as well as Zahorchak felt that State College, the eventual state AAA champion, presented Hempfield with its stiffest competition of the season. "I was happy to see that State College was the team that ended up winning it all," Zahorchak said.

"They were a very sound team and it's nice to know that the team that beat us was probably the best in the state." Hempfield played the contest without senior Wendy Stratton, who was undefeated (3-0) as a pitcher in state playoff competition. Stratton, slated to be the Spartans' starting pitcher the following day, also hit in the No. 3 position in the Hempfield lineup for most of the season. But she was called upon only as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning of the State College game. "The reason that she wasn't in the lineup was because with all of the heat and humidity, we wanted to keep her well rested," Zahorchak said.

"We felt that was necessary because she puts so much into it when she pitches. Offensively, she had also been having some problems pulling off of the ball." McCarthy felt that the move to hold Stratton out of the starting lineup may have hurt the Spartans. But what happened on the field was in the cards regardless of the change. SATURDAY, JUNE 21st, 10 am to 6pm TRUCK LOAD MOTOR OIL SALE AUTOMOTIVE "Flea Market" CAR SHOW Featuring classic, street rods, racing antique cars Meet reps, from the Sports Car Club of America. Vote for your favorite vehicle! 20273 Rt.

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