Othella Harrington

It was two days before Christmas, and Millicent Harrington was baking cakes and cookies. The vegetable soup was on to simmer. Her oldest son was coming home. To his mother, Othella Harrington is a son newly off to college, a young man eager to talk on the phone two or three times a week, a freshman who was welcomed home with his favorite soup, made from vegetables grown in his grandmother's garden last summer and then put up for the winter.

Hawaii Pacific made a wearying overnight journey from Oahu to play 10th-ranked Georgetown in the Disneyland Freedom Bowl Classic. The Sea Warriors didn't arrive in Irvine until noon Monday, six hours before tipoff, because their flight out of Honolulu was delayed until 1 a.m. But seven minutes into the game, the little NAIA school had a 10-point lead on the big bad Hoyas.

Othella Harrington, a 6-foot-10 center from Jackson, Miss., signed a letter of intent to play at Georgetown.

It was two days before Christmas, and Millicent Harrington was baking cakes and cookies. The vegetable soup was on to simmer. Her oldest son was coming home. To his mother, Othella Harrington is a son newly off to college, a young man eager to talk on the phone two or three times a week, a freshman who was welcomed home with his favorite soup, made from vegetables grown in his grandmother's garden last summer and then put up for the winter.

Othella Harrington, a 6-foot-9 center from Jackson, Miss., who was voted most valuable player of the McDonald's all-star high school basketball game, said he plans to visit the University of Kentucky before deciding where he will play college basketball. Harrington scored 19 points and had 21 rebounds to lead the West to a 100-85 victory over the East in Atlanta. Harrington said he also is interested in Louisiana State, Arkansas, Georgetown and Mississippi State.

Othella Harrington is the talked-about Georgetown freshman, but Duane Spencer is another to watch. "Duane is an exciting player also," Coach John Thompson said. "Both are outstanding players. They've just got to mature and grow older with experience in college basketball." Harrington is a pure post player. Spencer is also 6 feet 10, but he is more versatile. "Duane can play every position on the court, including (point guard)," Thompson said. "He's very capable.

Hawaii Pacific made a wearying overnight journey from Oahu to play 10th-ranked Georgetown in the Disneyland Freedom Bowl Classic. The Sea Warriors didn't arrive in Irvine until noon Monday, six hours before tipoff, because their flight out of Honolulu was delayed until 1 a.m. But seven minutes into the game, the little NAIA school had a 10-point lead on the big bad Hoyas.

Maybe if the Georgetown Hoyas played all their games on campus, they would be in the NCAA tournament, not the NIT. The Hoyas (18-12) used tiny McDonough Gymnasium for preseason tuneups against pushovers, and Texas El Paso played that role perfectly Tuesday as Georgetown grabbed a 71-44 victory in front of 2,249. The Hoyas jumped to a 23-4 start, led at halftime, 38-10, and by as much as 52-13.

Robert Churchwell led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points and Georgetown opened with a 25-6 run and went on to defeat UC Irvine, 93-64, on Saturday. The victory was third in a row for the Hoyas (5-2). Irvine (2-3) has lost two of its last three. The Anteaters made only eight of 27 shots in the first half as Georgetown opened a 44-23 lead. The Hoyas began the second half with an 18-6 run and took their biggest lead, 74-41, with 7:22 to play. Lloyd Mumford led Irvine with 15 points.

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal has a mildly sprained left knee and might play Saturday against the Orlando Magic, the team said Thursday. An MRI exam confirmed a mild sprain, the team said. O'Neal didn't comment to reporters waiting outside the hospital, and is listed as day to day. He was injured in the first two minutes of Tuesday's game in Chicago when he leaped to catch a pass from Dwyane Wade and landed awkwardly atop Bull forward Othella Harrington.

Othella Harrington is the talked-about Georgetown freshman, but Duane Spencer is another to watch. "Duane is an exciting player also," Coach John Thompson said. "Both are outstanding players. They've just got to mature and grow older with experience in college basketball." Harrington is a pure post player. Spencer is also 6 feet 10, but he is more versatile. "Duane can play every position on the court, including (point guard)," Thompson said. "He's very capable.

Othella Harrington, a 6-foot-10 center from Jackson, Miss., signed a letter of intent to play at Georgetown.

Othella Harrington, a 6-foot-9 center from Jackson, Miss., who was voted most valuable player of the McDonald's all-star high school basketball game, said he plans to visit the University of Kentucky before deciding where he will play college basketball. Harrington scored 19 points and had 21 rebounds to lead the West to a 100-85 victory over the East in Atlanta. Harrington said he also is interested in Louisiana State, Arkansas, Georgetown and Mississippi State.

Antoine Carr has been chasing an NBA championship ring for 14 seasons. He signed as a free agent with the Rockets after reaching the finals the previous two seasons with the Utah Jazz because he thought Houston's nucleus was better equipped to win a title. But after the Rockets dropped the opening two games against the Lakers in their best-of-five playoff series, Carr is questioning the character of his team.

It took 10 minutes for Georgetown's new high-octane offense to get into gear. Then Allen Iverson made a steal, and a freshman guard did the rest. Victor Page scored 18 points in his debut and center Othella Harrington led Georgetown with 21 as the fifth-ranked Hoyas sped past Colgate, 106-57, Thursday night in the first round of the Preseason NIT at Landover, Md. Boasting a host of speedy guards, Georgetown Coach John Thompson unveiled a much- anticipated high-tempo game.