A.M. Chatter- Country Or Hoops?
Monday, October 24, 2005
By Dustin Dopirak
Daily News Record
So, will John Naparlo spend this winter singing or shooting hoops? The James Madison basketball team's senior reserve guard said he should know one way or another by the end of today.
Naparlo whose stage name is "Johnny Napp," said he will meet with Pam Lewis, the president and CEO of the marketing firm PLA Media which is handling his promotions, today in Nashville, Tenn. After speaking with Lewis, who was Garth Brooks' manager from the late '80s until 1994, Naparlo expects to know what he will have to do to remove his promotional material that runs counter to NCAA bylaws.
"We're trying to meet with her to find what steps we need to take and what's beneficial," he said by phone from Nashville on Sunday. "I'll have a pretty good idea after the meeting what we have to do."
Naparlo has had to sit out each of the Dukes' practices since the season officially started Oct. 14, because the NCAA said he could not practice until removing all promotional material that contains his likeness. That includes the cover for his debut album "Cowboy Up and Party Down" as well as his website and posters.
Naparlo said he's been working out on his own and has watched some practices
from the sidelines. He expects that if he does come back, he will be a bit rusty,
however.
Regardless, he will have to battle hard for playing time if he does come back.
Naparlo will be one of nine guards vying for playing time at three spots, including
returning starters Jomo Belfor, Ray Barbosa and Chris Clarke.
"Basically right now coach [Dean Keener] has been going over basic drills,"
he said. "He hasn't put any real new stuff as far as the offense is concerned,
so I wouldn't be too far behind. But it is kind of a pain, not being there.
You're just out of step a little bit. If I were to come back, it would still
take some time to get back into it."