| | UNDER THE BANNER What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports  O'NEAL CLIMBING: Former Jackson State golfer Tim O'Neal had his best professional finish and took home his biggest check last week as he tied for tenth in the BUY.COM Louisiana Open. O'Neal, a three-time SWAC champion while at JSU, shot 66-71-69-69 to finish at 13-under par 275 and pocket $10,800 for his efforts. Paul Claxton won the event shooting a 15-under 271 and taking the $81,000 first prize. O'Neal is playing with a full exemption on the BUY.COM Tour after narrowly failing at PGA Tour Qualifying School in December. This was his best outing in three starts on this year's Tour. He has total winnings of $14,000 that place him 27th on the Tour's money list. He is expected to play next in the BUY.COM's Arkansas Classic, April 16-21 in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. Check out and keep up with O'Neal stats online at, http://www.pgatour.com/players/stats/23175.html.
McNAIR HEALING: A long battle with a shoulder injury is apparently over for former Alcorn State star and current Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair. McNair had what amounts to a cleaning out of the shoulder two weeks ago that has given him relief from a strange condition that has plagued him with chronic pain since the season ended. McNair has spent much of the offseason seeking diagnosis and treatment for the ailing right shoulder. His quest took him to two of the foremost authorities on shoulder injuries who could not find out the cause of the pain. P-I-T: Hampton senior center Tarvis Williams will be the only black college player among 64 seniors performing before over 200 professional basketball scouts at this week's Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament. According to PIT officials, Vincent Whitt, a senior guard from South Carolina State and Dewayne Jefferson, the high-scoring guard from Mississippi Valley State, were strongly considered for the tournament but were left out because of the overwhelming number of guards invited. The 6-9 Williams, who averaged 22.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game this season en route to taking Mid Eastern Athletic Conference regular season and tournament most outstanding player awards, had his stock zoom up after performing well in the NCAA tournament where his Pirates knocked off Iowa State before losing to Georgetown. Five players from last year's PIT were selected in the second round of the NBA Draft. Williams is likely to go in the second round of this year's June 27 Draft but could improve his position with good performances in Portsmouth and at the other Draft camps scheduled later. © 2001 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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