Delonte West

The Cleveland Cavaliers were working out in Suffolk University's basement gym Friday when Delonte West, not yet in sneakers and with his gray T-shirt pulled up to his eyes, slowly dragged a folding chair onto the court. As his teammates shot, shouted, and swirled around him, West sat there stoically amid the shootaround storm, as if he were lost in prayer or thought or pain. The bizarre scene wouldn't have surprised the former St. Joseph's star's old friends and coaches, who describe him variously as "a heavy thinker," "mysterious," "enigmatic," "wacky," "crazy," "a deep dude.

For once, Delonte West's stoicism couldn't mask the hurt while he sat on a table, his throbbing right leg dangling, while his St. Joseph's teammates sadly shuffled through a locker room at the St. Pete Times Forum last March. Despite getting 32 points from Jameer Nelson, the Hawks had been eliminated by Auburn, 65-63, in overtime of an NCAA tournament first-round thriller. In itself, the loss was painful enough. But for West, the disappointment ran deeper because the stress fracture in his right fibula had taken away his explosive first step to the basket, his ability to rise for his dead-eye jump shot, and the quick lateral movement that makes him such a tough defender.

When St. Joseph's Delonte West arrived yesterday to board the bus to the Palestra, he had no idea whether he would be competing against Villanova in a couple of hours or sitting on the bench cheering for his teammates. West, a sophomore guard who had been suspended for Saturday's game by Hawks coach Phil Martelli for an altercation during a team practice two days before, got the word five minutes before the bus' 5 p.m. departure. He was playing. "He didn't know; none of [the other players]

St. Joseph's University yesterday received an oral commitment from Delonte West, a 6-foot-3 guard from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md. As a junior, West averaged 16 points, 7.5 rebounds and three steals per game as Roosevelt went 21-4 and won the Prince Georges County AAAA basketball championship. He shot 55 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free-throw line. Roosevelt coach Glen Farello described West as an excellent long-range shooter with many offensive skills.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said yesterday that guard Delonte West would not start tonight's game against Washington. West, a former Saint Joseph's star who has been struggling with off-court issues, made his season debut during Saturday's win over Charlotte, scoring 13 points in 24 minutes. Brown said West, who took two leaves of absence during training camp and missed the first three regular-season games, would come off the bench for now and that Anthony Parker would start.

Delonte West worked out with his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates yesterday after missing the first 2 days of training camp. "He had a great practice," said Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, who said the absences were unexcused. "It was great to have him on the floor. " West declined to meet with reporters, as did general manager Danny Ferry. A team spokesman said Ferry will address West's situation tomorrow at the team scrimmage at the University of Akron. West, who played at Saint Joseph's, could still face a league suspension after he was recently arrested for gun possession in Maryland.

For the third time this season, Delonte West of St. Joseph's was named the Atlantic Ten Conference men's basketball player of the week. The 6-foot-4 junior guard shared yesterday's honor with Dayton senior forward Keith Waleskowski. West, who is from Greenbelt, Md., averaged 21.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in two wins by the third-ranked Hawks, including last Monday's 74-67 victory at Villanova. West became the 42d member of the St. Joe's 1,000-point club when he scored his 11th point in Saturday's 89-63 win over La Salle.

For the first time this season, Jameer Nelson was not the men's basketball player of the week in the Atlantic Ten Conference. But the streak continued for St. Joseph's. Delonte West, Nelson's backcourt mate, earned the honor yesterday. West led the team with 27 points in a 67-57 win over previously unbeaten Boston College on Tuesday in the Hawks' only game last week. The junior from Greenbelt, Md., was 10 for 17 from the field, made 1 of 2 three-point attempts, and was 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

The Sixers took a day off from signing players, but no day goes by without the name of one of their players surfacing somewhere. That was the case Tuesday, as an Ohio paper reported that the Cavaliers had talked to Sixers guard Louis Williams. The Willoughby News-Herald attributed a league source. Neither team nor the player's agent had any comment yesterday. The Sixers said they are continuing to negotiate with Andre Iguodala and Williams, their two restricted free agents.

St. Joseph's junior Delonte West was named the Atlantic Ten Conference player of the week yesterday. The 6-foot-4 guard was perfect in the Hawks' 81-73 win at Xavier on Saturday when he set an A-10 record and tied a team record by going 12 for 12 from the field. He also was 3 for 3 from three-point range and 6 for 6 from the free throw-line in scoring a career-high 33 points. West added six rebounds, five assists and three steals. He began the week with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals Tuesday in the Hawks' 79-35 win over Fordham.

Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points as the Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 118-110, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to move one full game ahead of 76ers in the playoff picture.   Delonte gives an earful We all expected much from Delonte West after seeing him play alongside Jameer Nelson for St. Joe's back in the day and he has delivered - just not the way we anticipated. Now with the Dallas Mavericks, West has sparked a minor uproar by giving Utah Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward a wet willie during Monday night's game.

UTAH JAZZ swingman Gordon Hayward said he initially felt like ripping Delonte West's finger off and fighting him after he jabbed it into Hayward's right ear during the second quarter of Monday night's triple-overtime win against Dallas. "I wanted to fight right there, but you can't do that," Hayward said before Tuesday's practice. "It wouldn't have been the smart idea. I'd risk getting a technical foul, getting suspended for the season, whatever. There's more important things than fighting someone out on the court.

DELONTE WEST dribbled down the clock and then did what a Dallas point guard does: He got the ball to Dirk Nowitzki for the winner. Nowitzki drove past Kevin Garnett for the go-ahead layup with 5.1 seconds left, scoring 16 points last night to lead the visiting Mavericks to a 90-85 victory over the Boston Celtics. "It's a fun situation to be in," said Nowitzki, who also drew a foul and made the free throw to give Dallas a three-point lead. "Everybody's looking at you and your team really depends on you, so I like to be in the position where I can make something happen.

For LeBron James, Game 5 last season against Boston was horrific. A year later, Game 5 was humbling. And he and the Miami Heat are halfway to an NBA championship, having finally found a way to vanquish the Celtics. Dwyane Wade scored 34 points, James added 33 - including the game's last 10 in a spectacular closing flourish, part of Miami's 16-0 run over the final 4:15 - and the Heat beat the visiting Celtics, 97-87, last night to win their Eastern Conference semifinal series in five games.

ATLANTA - Josh Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists, and Jeff Teague came up with another big game to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Chicago Bulls, 100-88, on Sunday night, evening their Eastern Conference semifinals series at two games apiece. The Hawks snapped a nine-game home losing streak in the second round of the playoffs, their misery dating back to a May 13, 1996, win against Orlando. Smith, frequently criticized by Atlanta fans for his inconsistent play, stayed away from the outside jumpers, dominated on the inside, and found the open man with crisp passes.

LeBron James walked toward Mario Chalmers in the final minute with a content look. He punched his teammate twice in the chest. Fitting, because James and the Miami Heat have now landed two blows against the Boston Celtics. James scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half, Dwyane Wade added 28 and the Heat used a late 14-0 run to pull away and beat the visiting Celtics 102-91 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series last night. "Now the mental discipline begins," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

With the end of the regular season about a month away, the 76ers hosted the Boston Celtics in a game that had a playoff feel - and the sellout crowd of 20,614 certainly was engaged. So were the Sixers. With Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes leading five double-figure scorers with 14 points each, the Sixers defeated the Celtics, 89-86, on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Andre Iguodala added 13 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists for the Sixers, who are 34-31. The Celtics fell to 46-17.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were working out in Suffolk University's basement gym Friday when Delonte West, not yet in sneakers and with his gray T-shirt pulled up to his eyes, slowly dragged a folding chair onto the court. As his teammates shot, shouted, and swirled around him, West sat there stoically amid the shootaround storm, as if he were lost in prayer or thought or pain. The bizarre scene wouldn't have surprised the former St. Joseph's star's old friends and coaches, who describe him variously as "a heavy thinker," "mysterious," "enigmatic," "wacky," "crazy," "a deep dude.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said yesterday that guard Delonte West would not start tonight's game against Washington. West, a former Saint Joseph's star who has been struggling with off-court issues, made his season debut during Saturday's win over Charlotte, scoring 13 points in 24 minutes. Brown said West, who took two leaves of absence during training camp and missed the first three regular-season games, would come off the bench for now and that Anthony Parker would start.

Shaquille O'Neal has learned the ropes in his 17 NBA seasons. There's one lesson that has endured since he was a raw rookie. "You can't win a championship in the first game," he said. Boston's Big Three - plus Rasheed - spoiled Cleveland's overhyped season opener last night with a 95-89 win over the new-look Cavaliers, who may have LeBron James and Shaq but appear to be a long way from being true title contenders. Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Ray Allen 16 and Kevin Garnett 13 in his first regular-season game since last March as the Celtics, overlooked by some this preseason, ended an 11-game losing streak in Cleveland and snapped a 16-game skid by visiting teams in games between the Eastern powers who figure to meet again sometime in May or June.