Howard Evans

William Harriott, the basketball coach at the Sleighton School, says he is a better bowler than Howard Evans, his friend and assistant. Evans disagrees. "He wishes he could bowl better than me," Evans says. Harriott says he became the starting point guard as a senior on the 1982 West Philadelphia High team because other players left the squad. Evans, the sophomore shooting guard on that team, has a different explanation. "When he transferred to West Philly" from St. John Neumann, "he thought he would be the leading scorer," Evans says.

He'd just moved to a new neighborhood and a new school, Jay Cooke Middle School in Logan. A typical middle-school kid, Jason Hall had one goal - "to fit in - not just on the basketball court. " Basketball was merely his way of doing that, he said. He'd get up early, sometimes two hours before school, to be the first one at the school's outdoor court. "After awhile, other kids showed up," Hall said. "Then, there'd be a crowd. That's how I fit in. I fit in so easy, and so fast. People knew who I was. " Hall understood that it could have gone another way. A birth defect meant he'd been born with three fingers on each hand, which was why he kept getting to the playground early.

Jacksonville's Norris Coleman unleashed a monster game on the Aces last night at St. Joseph's Fieldhouse, but it almost went for naught. It wasn't until the Aces' Lewis Lloyd missed an 18-foot jump shot at the buzzer in overtime that the visitors were able to walk away with a 130-129 victory. Coleman, who tied a league record with 55 points, hit a 16-footer from the top of the key with eight seconds left in the extra period to give the first- place Hooters (10-4) their final margin of victory.

The rich just continue to get richer. Yesterday, Mik Kilgore made it official. One of the top-rated basketball prospects in the city, the West Philadelphia High star did the expected and said he will be going to Temple University, the No. 1-ranked basketball team in the country. "People seemed to know what college I was going to before I did," Kilgore said at a press conference at the school. "But I think it's no surprise that I'm going to Temple University. "People question how much (playing)

John Chaney accepted congratulations last night for Temple's 15th win of the season, but he didn't want anyone to make any mistake as to who served as the catalyst. That was guard Howard Evans, who jump-started the Owls' sputtering offense by scoring 15 points during a five-minute span of the second half to propel 11th-ranked Temple to a 66-49 victory over Penn State in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at McGonigle Hall. Chaney found it necessary to gently but firmly correct a questioner who asked him about the second-half spurt "you ran off. " "What do you mean, 'You ran off?

He's just a freshman in a sea of veterans. All the honors he accumulated during his senior year of high school won't mean anything when Temple opens its season next week. But that doesn't bother anyone who has seen Mark Macon in preseason practice. Not only has he impressed his teammates and coach John Chaney with his abundant skills, but he immediately became a part of Chaney's "family" concept. "He's a total character person," Chaney said of Macon. "He didn't come in with his clippings or anything like that.

Howard Evans blew his whistle yesterday, and the players on the Philadelphia Force of the fledgling National Rookie League ended their shoot-around and gathered to hear what their basketball coach had to say on the eve of their home opener. As usual, Evans, the erstwhile Temple point guard, told his team of young pro hopefuls "not to be satisfied and to stay hungry. . . . This is not where [you] want be. " Evans promises that fans who venture to the Community College of Philadelphia's gym tonight at 7 will see an exciting brand of ball played by such former Big Five stars as Penn's Michael Jordan and Temple's Rasheed Brokenborough.

In the overall scheme of things, Temple's 76-61 Atlantic 10 victory over Rhode Island most likely will be relegated to the status of " . . . and in other scores" for statistics readers all across the nation. But to an Owls team that has been searching for some small sliver of consistency since the season opened two months ago, last night's game had to mean just a little more than usual. Particularly since Temple, 37-7 in the A-10 during the past 2 1/2 seasons, suffered two of its conference losses, by a total of 30 points, in Keaney Gymnasium during that time period.

For 20 minutes last night, they were in another time zone, their minds still focused on the last-second loss to Nevada-Las Vegas the night before. For 20 minutes, they played the sort of defense that riles coach John Chaney. They shot the ball without purpose. But somehow in the second half, the Owls got their minds into the present and scored a 67-59 victory over Memphis State in the consolation game of the season-opening National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Ten days ago, West Virginia waved its magic-wand defense and made Temple's three guards disappear. Nate Blackwell, boxed out by a box-and-one, managed only 8 shots and 8 points. Mike Vreeswyk and Howard Evans, a combined 11 for 38, had trouble shooting the breeze, much less jump shots. With that kind of misfiring, Temple lost, 64-61. But those gimmick defenses are as disposable as paper cups - best used once and thrown away. Especially against a team as resourceful as Temple. West Virginia learned that the hard way last night as Blackwell, Evans and Vreeswyk combined for 60 points and the Owls won the Atlantic 10 tournament, 70-57, at sold-out McGonigle Hall.

Temple's Scootie Randall came downcourt in a four-on-four scrimmage Monday and nailed a three-point jumper from the left wing. On his team's next possession, the 6-foot-6 junior-to-be hit a trey from the other side, deep in the corner. That's the kind of shooting that Owls coach Fran Dunphy is hoping to see from Randall when it counts this winter. And that's why the player is participating in workouts conducted by former Temple player Howard Evans at the university's Pearson Hall.

He'd just moved to a new neighborhood and a new school, Jay Cooke Middle School in Logan. A typical middle-school kid, Jason Hall had one goal - "to fit in - not just on the basketball court. " Basketball was merely his way of doing that, he said. He'd get up early, sometimes two hours before school, to be the first one at the school's outdoor court. "After awhile, other kids showed up," Hall said. "Then, there'd be a crowd. That's how I fit in. I fit in so easy, and so fast. People knew who I was. " Hall understood that it could have gone another way. A birth defect meant he'd been born with three fingers on each hand, which was why he kept getting to the playground early.

Howard Evans blew his whistle yesterday, and the players on the Philadelphia Force of the fledgling National Rookie League ended their shoot-around and gathered to hear what their basketball coach had to say on the eve of their home opener. As usual, Evans, the erstwhile Temple point guard, told his team of young pro hopefuls "not to be satisfied and to stay hungry. . . . This is not where [you] want be. " Evans promises that fans who venture to the Community College of Philadelphia's gym tonight at 7 will see an exciting brand of ball played by such former Big Five stars as Penn's Michael Jordan and Temple's Rasheed Brokenborough.

It was Plymouth Township Police Officer John McCormick's favorite time to catch speeders: the morning rush hour, with drivers half asleep and racing along Germantown Pike. The 1986 red Chevrolet Celebrity was moving at 65 m.p.h. in a 35-m.p.h. zone. McCormick stopped the car. Inside, according to court records, police discovered 87 vials and packets of cocaine and crack. Arrest date: Aug. 26, 1993. Sentencing date on drug possession charges for the driver, Howard J. Evans of Philadelphia: July 24, 1998.

William Harriott, the basketball coach at the Sleighton School, says he is a better bowler than Howard Evans, his friend and assistant. Evans disagrees. "He wishes he could bowl better than me," Evans says. Harriott says he became the starting point guard as a senior on the 1982 West Philadelphia High team because other players left the squad. Evans, the sophomore shooting guard on that team, has a different explanation. "When he transferred to West Philly" from St. John Neumann, "he thought he would be the leading scorer," Evans says.

In the overall scheme of things, Temple's 76-61 Atlantic 10 victory over Rhode Island most likely will be relegated to the status of " . . . and in other scores" for statistics readers all across the nation. But to an Owls team that has been searching for some small sliver of consistency since the season opened two months ago, last night's game had to mean just a little more than usual. Particularly since Temple, 37-7 in the A-10 during the past 2 1/2 seasons, suffered two of its conference losses, by a total of 30 points, in Keaney Gymnasium during that time period.

They come into John Chaney's office nearly every day to talk excitedly with the coach and their fellow players about the coming season. After a year in Proposition 48 purgatory, Donald Hodge, Mark Strickland and Chris Lovelace - part of what may be Temple basketball's finest recruiting class - are ready to take the floor. While sitting out their freshman seasons, they have met the NCAA's "satisfactory academic progress" requirement to gain eligibility to play next season. At Temple, it is a time for optimism, especially after last season, when, for the first time since 1982, the Owls failed to make the NCAA tournament.

Jacksonville's Norris Coleman unleashed a monster game on the Aces last night at St. Joseph's Fieldhouse, but it almost went for naught. It wasn't until the Aces' Lewis Lloyd missed an 18-foot jump shot at the buzzer in overtime that the visitors were able to walk away with a 130-129 victory. Coleman, who tied a league record with 55 points, hit a 16-footer from the top of the key with eight seconds left in the extra period to give the first- place Hooters (10-4) their final margin of victory.

The rich just continue to get richer. Yesterday, Mik Kilgore made it official. One of the top-rated basketball prospects in the city, the West Philadelphia High star did the expected and said he will be going to Temple University, the No. 1-ranked basketball team in the country. "People seemed to know what college I was going to before I did," Kilgore said at a press conference at the school. "But I think it's no surprise that I'm going to Temple University. "People question how much (playing)

PHILLY GUARD /FIL-EE GARD/ N. 1. A species of backcourt basketball player indigenous to the playgrounds and recreation centers of Philadelphia. 2. Tough, aggressive, intelligent defender. Orchestrator on offense, able to handle the ball as well as pass and shoot. 3. Player who possesses ability to take over a game when needed. Prepared for any floor situation. Virginia's Tom Sheehey rebounded a Temple miss and immediately kicked the ball out to the wing, where quick and flashy Cavaliers guard John Johnson started up the floor, the lead man in a three-on-one fastbreak.