12 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 2, 1997

Fortson will test NBA waters

CINCINNATI (AP) - All-America
power forward Danny Fortson said yes-
terday he will pass up his final year of
eligibility at Cincinnati to enter the NBA
draft.
In his three college seasons, Fortson
became the school's No. 2 all-time scor-
er, trailing only Oscar Robertson, and
one of the country's most dominant
front-line players.
The only thing he failed to do was
lead the Bearcats to the Final Four. He
scored only 16 points in a 67-66 loss to
Iowa State in the second round of the
NCAA tournament last month.
Although Fortson strongly hinted dur-
ing the season that he was headed for the
NBA draft, he said today that he did not
definitely decide until the last few days.
He had held off on the announcement so
it wouldn't become a distraction during
the tournament.
"It's basically a business decision;'
Fortson said. "I've thought about work-
ing on my dream. My dream is to play in
the NBA.
"I think I can play. There's no doubt in
my mind. I'm ready."
Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins, who
appeared with Fortson at the news con-
ference, said he advised Fortson to do
what is best for him. Huggins said that
Fortson felt a certain responsibility to
stay and help the Bearcats chase a
national title.
"I had to explain to him that we won
before he got here, and we're probably
going to win after he leaves;' Huggins
said. "That's not part of the equation."
Fortson considered leaving after his
sophomore season, but decided to stay
for one more year to develop his game
and make a run at a national title.
The 6-foot-7, 260-pound forward
from Pittsburgh, was the main reason
Cincinnati was ranked No. 1 in the pre-
season. Fortson was featured on the
cover of Sports Illustrated's basketball
preview issue, which suggested that the
road to the Final Four went through
Cincinnati.
Although Fortson had a spectacular
season, he couldn't carry the team any
farther than the Conference USA regu-
lar-season championship. The Bearcats
lost in the conference tournament and in
the NCAA tournament.

ANI-America forward Danny Fortson was unable to lead Cincinnati to the Final Four
in his three-year career. Yesterday, Fortson declared himself for the NBA draft.

Part of it was the lack of a point guard
to get him the ball. Part of it was the
backcourt's inability to take the pressure
off of him by hitting from the perimeter.
And part of it was Fortson's stormy rela-
tionship with officials.
He fouled out of five games and got a
half-dozen technical fouls. Fortson spent
much of his time fighting through zone
defenses that turned him into a pinball.
After a victory over Southern Miss on
Feb. 26, Fortson said the officiating

would be the main consideration in his
decision about the NBA draft.
"I guess they're trying to give me a
sign: 'Get the hell out of here.' That's
what the message is," Fortson fumed at
the time.
Fortson also clashed with Huggins,
who benched him for a game against
DePaul. Huggins suggested that Fortson
- who was urging teammates to get
him the ball more often - wasn't on the
same page with the head coach.

I

FALCONS
Continued from Page 10
All of Michigan's hits were singles
and the Wolverines left 10 runners on
base. Rob Bobeda was 1-for-4, and
Mike Cervenak and Kevin Quinn
each went 1-for-3.

Michigan' also had trouble with
Bowling Green on the basepath - the
Falcons swiped four bases, including
third base twice.
"I don't know how many times we
have to tell our guys that these teams
are out to get us," Zahn said. "For
whatever reason, we have trouble

with mid-week games."
Michigan plays Eastern Michigan
in Ypsilanti at 3 p.m today. The
Wolverines will attempt to break
Eastern Michigan's nine-game win-
ning streak, while trying to avoid los-
ing consecutive games for the second
time this season.


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MICHIGAN
Player
Scales dh
Robeda If
Kalczynski ss
D.Besco rf
Cervenak 3b
Van Sickle lb
Bush cf
Miller c
Sanborn ph
Kalahar c
Quinn 2b
Haskell ph
Totals
Michigan
Bowling Green

AB R
4 0
4 0
4 0
40;
3 0
3 0
4 01
10
1 0
10
3-.0
1 0
330

H B1
0 0
10
20
20
10
00
00
00
00
0 0
1 0
0 0

BOWUNG GREEN
Player AB R H 51
Moralf 4 0 0 0
Niles ss 5 0 2 1
Cannon 3b 4 0 2 0
Niemetlb 2 0 0 0
Klynarek cf .'4 2 1 0
Scone c 3 1 10
Calvindh 2 0 1 1
Best ph/dh 1 1 1 3
Marcum ph 1 0 0 0
Craigrf 2 1 0 4
Harrington 2b 2 0 0 0


7 0 Totals
000 000
000 104'
IP N R ER

30 5 8 5
000-0
000-5
BB 50'

Michigan
Berryman L, 2-2
Martay
Wright
Bowling Green
Cheney
Hundley W, 1-1
Blanc
Vaught
Kelley

4.0
2.1
1.2

3
3
1
1
1

3
5
0
1
3
3
0
0

1
4
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0

3
2
1
2
0f
1
0

0
3
0
3
5
2
2
2

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