Joe Mihalich

IF THEY GET WIND of his story, Hollywood producers will be rooting for Tahjere McCall to make the NBA. This kid already has a great story. During his junior season at Engineering and Science High, McCall was your classic, still-feelin'-his-way neophyte. Now he owns a Division I scholarship. The 6-4, 160-pound senior point guard, who earlier had made an oral commitment to D-II Holy Family, has signed with Niagara. Don't feel bad if McCall's name is unfamilar. He literally came out of nowhere.

DEVON WHITE just graduated from La Salle University, but he has another season of eligibility. Under a fairly recent NCAA rule, a player who has graduated with eligibility can play immediately at another school if he takes graduate-level courses. So White will play next season at Niagara for coach Joe Mihalich, a La Salle grad himself. The 6-8 White (Strawberry Mansion) often showed flashes of talent but could not sustain it. Perhaps a change of venue will help. "I went up there on a visit and kind of enjoyed myself," White said.

At the Mihalichs' NCAA Selection Sunday party in Chestnut Hill, the family matriarch, 80-year-old Dolores, hopes to see Niagara's name land in the Worcester, Mass., portion of the tournament bracket. But if the team coached by her oldest boy, Joe, winds up instead in Boise, Idaho, or Tucson, Ariz., she will pack her rosary beads, the medicine that eases the discomfort of her chemotherapy, and the kerchiefs that hide her hair loss, and board a plane with one of her five other children, all of whom still live in the area.

Even the presence of onetime star Calvin Murphy and the hopeful wishes of the coach's mother were not enough to boost Niagara into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Drew Lavender led six Oklahoma players in double figures with 17 points in the third-seeded Sooners' 84-67 victory yesterday in an Austin Regional game at the McKale Center. Murphy, who starred for the Purple Eagles when they made the tournament in 1970, sat in Niagara's fan section, looking resplendent in a purple pin-striped suit and gray snakeskin shoes.

Tyrone Lewis, a 6-foot senior basketball guard from Harry S Truman High, committed to Niagara University in New York state yesterday. A second-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania selection by The Inquirer, Lewis selected the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program over Central Connecticut State. "Niagara showed a lot of love," Lewis said last night. "When I visited there, it felt like I'd been there before. " He made the announcement yesterday afternoon at his high school, with his family, friends and teammates present.

A pickup game last weekend at the Verizon Center with several NBA players, including Indiana Pacer Roy Hibbert, gave Jabril Trawick a taste of the benefits associated with playing for Georgetown. Trawick, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior guard and forward for Abington Friends School, has orally committed to coach John Thompson and the Hoyas. "Washington is a nice location, it's not too far from home, and I know I'll get a great education," the 18-year-old said. Last season, Trawick, who lives near 52d Street and Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia, averaged 16.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while helping lead the Kangaroos to an 18-5 record last season.

Last season we had "Brunch with Bruiser" when Drexel hosted Penn at 10 a.m. on a weekday. Tomorrow, it's "Breakfast with Bruiser" when the Dragons play at Niagara at 8 a.m. This is not a misprint. The game is part of an ESPN hoops marathon. For really early risers, Monmouth plays St. Peter's at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Anything to get on national TV . . . At least Drexel is accustomed to practicing in the mornings. Under coach Bruiser Flint, the Dragons frequently practice at 7 or 7:30 a.m. "Any game before noon is a battle of who's awake," Flint said, laughing.

Villanova sophomore Bilal Benn, a Cardinal Dougherty product, will transfer to Niagara at the end of the spring semester. Benn, who graduated from Hargrave Military Academy, did not see much action off the bench in his two years at Villanova. He was replaced as the seventh man last season by guard Reggie Redding. The Wildcats have a standout guard in Scottie Reynolds, and three talented guards are in next season's freshman class, so it did not appear that Benn's playing time would increase.

The 82-year-old voice on the phone sounds youthful and energetic. Dolores Mihalich proudly mentions that she still lives alone in her Chestnut Hill home. The mother of six says she lugs furniture up and down the basement steps. She talks about plans for a possible cross-country excursion. It's a trip no one thought Mihalich would live to make again. Two years ago, when the Niagara University men's basketball team clinched its first NCAA tournament berth in 35 years, Mihalich became a celebrity and an inspiration as she battled terminal colon cancer.

DEVON WHITE just graduated from La Salle University, but he has another season of eligibility. Under a fairly recent NCAA rule, a player who has graduated with eligibility can play immediately at another school if he takes graduate-level courses. So White will play next season at Niagara for coach Joe Mihalich, a La Salle grad himself. The 6-8 White (Strawberry Mansion) often showed flashes of talent but could not sustain it. Perhaps a change of venue will help. "I went up there on a visit and kind of enjoyed myself," White said.

IF THEY GET WIND of his story, Hollywood producers will be rooting for Tahjere McCall to make the NBA. This kid already has a great story. During his junior season at Engineering and Science High, McCall was your classic, still-feelin'-his-way neophyte. Now he owns a Division I scholarship. The 6-4, 160-pound senior point guard, who earlier had made an oral commitment to D-II Holy Family, has signed with Niagara. Don't feel bad if McCall's name is unfamilar. He literally came out of nowhere.

In just about every aspect of the game, Drexel had its way with Niagara Tuesday night in a nonleague game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Purple Eagles, who compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, started out poorly and never recovered on their way to a one-sided, 84-39 loss to the Dragons of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dragons, who had won six straight games before taking a 93-65 shellacking at Syracuse a week ago in their most recent outing, played their first home game in more than two weeks.

A pickup game last weekend at the Verizon Center with several NBA players, including Indiana Pacer Roy Hibbert, gave Jabril Trawick a taste of the benefits associated with playing for Georgetown. Trawick, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior guard and forward for Abington Friends School, has orally committed to coach John Thompson and the Hoyas. "Washington is a nice location, it's not too far from home, and I know I'll get a great education," the 18-year-old said. Last season, Trawick, who lives near 52d Street and Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia, averaged 16.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while helping lead the Kangaroos to an 18-5 record last season.

The friendship between Ameen Tanksley and Juan'ya Green goes back to the sixth grade and, over the next 4 years, it promises to get only stronger. Reason: They're headed to college together. Green, a 6-3, 200-pound senior guard at Archbishop Carroll High, and Tanksley, a 6-5, 200-pound senior swingman at Imhotep Charter, last night co-committed to play basketball at Niagara. In case you're wondering, neither guy was the ringleader. "I was talking to him about doing this as much as he was talking to me," Green said.

Last season we had "Brunch with Bruiser" when Drexel hosted Penn at 10 a.m. on a weekday. Tomorrow, it's "Breakfast with Bruiser" when the Dragons play at Niagara at 8 a.m. This is not a misprint. The game is part of an ESPN hoops marathon. For really early risers, Monmouth plays St. Peter's at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Anything to get on national TV . . . At least Drexel is accustomed to practicing in the mornings. Under coach Bruiser Flint, the Dragons frequently practice at 7 or 7:30 a.m. "Any game before noon is a battle of who's awake," Flint said, laughing.

It may have been a case of professorial college basketball knowledge (my vote) or maybe just punch-drunkenness (Dick Jerardi's vote), but when it came down to picking the final few teams to make our mock bracket, bubbles had to be burst. And the final four teams that were so close to dancing at our party but will be left sitting on the sidelines were New Mexico, Illinois, South Carolina and Auburn. Here's the breakdown: Although it has gone 10-2 in its last 12 games, New Mexico (21-10)

All signs pointed to a tight defensive struggle last night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, and Drexel came out on the wrong side again. Leading by a point with just over one minute left, visiting Niagara held on for a 67-62 victory that left the Dragons with a three-game losing streak. Niagara improved to 8-2 by taking its seventh win in its last eight outings. Drexel, which had a two-point edge at intermission, fell to 2-4. The Dragons went into the contest shooting 32 percent from the floor and giving up an average of 63 points.

Villanova sophomore Bilal Benn, a Cardinal Dougherty product, will transfer to Niagara at the end of the spring semester. Benn, who graduated from Hargrave Military Academy, did not see much action off the bench in his two years at Villanova. He was replaced as the seventh man last season by guard Reggie Redding. The Wildcats have a standout guard in Scottie Reynolds, and three talented guards are in next season's freshman class, so it did not appear that Benn's playing time would increase.