RECREATION: 'SKYWALKER' SHARES KNOWLEDGE AT CLINIC

On a late winter evening, two men are shooting a basketball in the
gymnasium of the CIS Academy on Driver Street in East Durham.

In not much time, one of the men starts to hit shot after shot from long range.

Herb Sellers, Leisure Coordinator for the Durham Parks and Recreation
Department, breaks into a smile and yells to Bobby Moore, who was quite a
player in his day. Moore is a member of the Shaw University Basketball Hall
of Fame and now also is a leisure coordinator.

"He hasn't lost his touch," Sellers says.

Moore turns around, looks at Sellers, smiles and replies: "No he hasn't."

The man who Moore and Sellers are complimenting just happens to be David
Thompson, who in his playing days reached legendary status at N.C. State
from 1972-75 when he sparked the Wolfpack to two ACC titles. Thompson's
Wolfpack went 27-0 in 1973 and 30-1 in 1974, the year N.C. State won the
NCAA title game against Marquette after breaking UCLA's seven-year hold on
the crown in a memorable 80-77 double-overtime victory in the semifinals.

Thompson, who stands 6-4, outplayed UCLA's 6-11 center Bill Walton in that
game. In the second overtime, Thompson, who at the time had a 44-inch
vertical leap, blocked a Walton shot, which sparked an incredible rally by
the Wolfpack.

Thompson, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1974 Final Four and
National Player of the Year in 1974 and 1975, took his lofty talent to the
pros and was the first pick in the NBA and second pick in the old ABA draft.

Thompson signed with the Denver Nuggets, who were in the ABA then, and his
reputation continued to blossom

In 1976, he was the ABA Rookie of the Year as well as a first-team All-ABA
player.

The ABA was merged into the NBA in 1977, and Thompson, who had the nickname
"Skywalker," continued to soar. He was voted first team All-NBA in 1977 and
1978 and was selected to the NBA All-Star team four times.

Thompson was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1977 and 1979 NBA
All-Star games, making the Boiling Springs native the only man to be named
MVP in the NBA and ABA All-Star games.

Thompson averaged 22.1 points per game during his NBA career and 26 points
per game during his ABA career.

In 1992, the Nuggets retired Thompson's jersey, and in 1996 he was inducted
to the NBA Hall of Fame.

After the shootaround, the gym is filled with the happy noise of some 150
youngsters and coaches who are members of the Charlotte Hornets Junior
Basketball League, a program sponsored by the Durham Parks and Recreation
Department and the NBA's Hornets.

Thompson now is an ambassador for the Junior Hornets and conducts around 22
clinics to similar Junior Hornets Leagues in North Carolina, South Carolina
and Eastern Tennessee.

"It's good to get out to the grassroots," Thompson said. "This is where the
dreams that can lead to success in basketball and - more important - making
the right choices in life begin."

Thompson showed that he also "still has it" when he began conducting the
clinic, which included various dribbling and shooting drills. When he spoke
about his career and the highs and lows of his life, the entire audience
listened spellbound.

Thompson told of how after having all of his basketball dreams come true
and after reaching the zenith in life where he was making millions of
dollars, owning a million-dollar house and three prestigious cars, he
nearly lost it all when he became involved with drugs.

"I did not get my life back together until I found Jesus Christ," Thompson
said. "I'm here tonight by the grace of God, and I say to all of you say no
to drugs and yes to Jesus."

Thompson drew a loud ovation when he told the crowd that he has been sober
and drug free for 14 years.

Thompson says that he realizes that his celebrity status is a plus when
trying to get his message across to young people.

"One thing that the kids can really identify is with NBA success," Thompson
said. "Sometimes I can reach the kids before their parents and coaches can,
but I'm quick to tell them that their parents and coaches love them and are
doing their best to guide them on the right road to success in basketball
and in life."

Thompson says that during his clinics, he stresses the fundamentals of
basketball.

"Once you get the fundamentals down," Thompson said, "you can be successful
on all levels of basketball."

Thompson said he also stresses in his clinics that there is more to life
than playing basketball.

"The most important thing," Thompson said, "is for these youngsters to make
the right choices in life because as I always say, these kids are our future."