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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2001)
'ednesday, June 2' ma; fednesdi lesday, June 27, 2001 Sports Page 3 THE BATTALION ^ ofsjBA teams prepare for biggest gamble: the draft o consensus No. 1 for Jordan, Wizards condom use,t| NEW YORK (AP) — If -ly to confirm Michael Jordan anc i the Wash- offer prom H^ ton Wizards decide to keep ■ital herpes ^ i n t h e NBA or oftheUii* aft ’J amaal " E i ns i e y won’t be ■igton viroloJ^^PPY zards tQ in w j .ywn so they can choose the , ■ et ’’f'lowa State point guard in the ~ j n ? n ^ an ^ a fliiddle of the first round, Tins- ' ’ L t at ley will he more than pleased to - s couples witfUit up f or a team that won only t nu from 1 ( < \) g ames l as t season, halt theuninfj “Just seeing him looking at e women. Oni.fte, it made me go even harder,” auples reportecMid Tinsley, who held a private s during the vUorkout for Jordan late last igh they wereMionth along with a few other 3. Bra ft prospects. “Him teaching 31 people -file things like squaring up and five men - fiow to come off screens, some- fiay I’ll tell my kids about it.” I Jordan is still an icon to the fioungsters heading into ■Vednesday night’s NBA draft, |ven if some of the youngsters ren’t so young compared to the ther draft-eligibles. Tinsley is a relative old ran in this year’s draft. At 23, le is five years older than sev- ■ s during the si he 118 particip :d using coni 5 0 percent of co — both me pes. res can mate in e infected wtt and without» rpes can befl^rai 0 f t f, e [qg men w bo are ig childbirtlim X p ecte( ] to } )e chosen with ahy andsomeni*^ f irst; f ew picks. i damageorddl rage tan prokii t the way “You’ll neverorl cal die-hardf are needed." \A adopted sid proposed refer id ding Carter lid the Johcian; ight Fountoai| I consorts® "• commissm® those re:' ig money Among them are teen-agers Fddy Curry (18), Kwame irown (19) and" lyson Chandler (18), who are jumping directly [from high school to the NBA, land Seton Hall freshman for- (ward Eddie Griffin (19). “I look at it like this: There I are a lot of 7-footers and 6-11 guys, and big guys are always I going to be picked first,” said Tinsley, the top-rated point guard. “Teams are going to take a chance.” That statement couldn’t be any more true than it is this year, with 7 5 underclassmen eligible to be drafted. Last year, a record 18 underclassmen were chosen in the first round. The Wizards hold the first pick and could become the first team to select a high- schooler as the overall No. 1 pick, but Washington also could end up trading the pick to a team more eager to take a chance on a teen-ager. “The one thing you can nev er get enough of in this league is talent,” incoming Wizards coach Doug Collins said. “Get ting quality big men is critical if you’re going to have success. When you’ve won 19 games, you’ve got a lot of holes. We’ve got to try to fill those, and we’re going to do that by maximizing the No. 1 pick.” Not too long ago, a tough player considered the best point guard in the draft wouldn’t drop below the eighth or ninth pick. Five years ago, guards Allen Iverson, Stephen Marbury, Ray Allen and Kerry Kittles all went in the top 10. A year lat er, point guards Chauncey Billups and Antonio Daniels went third and fourth. In 1999, Steve Francis and Baron Davis went second and third. This year, only Jason Richardson of Michigan State, Tinsley, Joe Johnson of Arkansas and Joseph Forte of North Carolina are considered sure filings to be chosen some where in the first round. Only Richardson is certain to be among file top 10. Among small forwards, Duke’s Shane Battier will un doubtedly be the first four-year college senior selected, but Se ton Hall’s Griffin could leapfrog him in the order of selection. The top-rated centers in clude high schoolers Brown, of Glynn Academy (Ga.) and DeSagana Diop of Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. The top pow er forward prospects include Chandler, of Dominquez H.S. (Calif.), and Curry, of Thorn- wood, Ill. “The depth in this year’s draft will be at the power positions, center and power forward,” said Marty Blake, NBA director of scouting. “The power forward position in particular is unusual ly strong, with the depth of good players at that position extend ing into the second round.” Following Washington in the draft order are the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Vancouver Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons. The Boston Celtics hold the 10th, 11 th and 21 st picks, while Houston also has three picks in the first round: Nos. 13,18 and 23. Golden State has the fifth and 14th picks; Orlando holds the 15th and 22nd selections. New York, Indiana, Mil waukee, Minnesota, Denver and Dallas do not have First- round picks, and the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers do not have any picks in the first or second rounds. The Milwaukee Bucks are not scheduled to have a selec tion until late in the second round. ise. nission prom inent of a grot Coalition offc i would worb- oard of direct® mission also A i new distribute elevision revet-' :n’s NCAA Dir tball tournaiutij take victories:t | veil as the estafj i watchdog gr®! he largest colls ims. mission consU] d not proposej against pM of college tofj Basketball As* mission i nst(! :d that the Football Leu; leagues, was released 1 e NBA drafts op prospect graduates college. TAUO or in Chief ging Editor f, Radio Produce' , Opinion Editot Graphics Editor boro Editor Mews Editor s, Sports Editor , Webmaster , Asst. AggiclirT , Design Director N #1055-4726) is ^ Friday during ttie fall a"' iy through Thursday It University holidays s University. Periodica® IX 77840. POSTMA® , Batta/ion, Texas AW ation.TX 77843-U rws department is a 13 "'. , j University in the « '■ jnit of the Depa» as are in 014 Reed ^f ihone: 845-3313. ti :alion@hotmail.com; JUNIOR fiOLF CLINIC Yt i ONT MISS OUT! July 23-27 Ages 8-12 meet from Sam to ! 0am. Ages 13-17 meet from 10am to noon. DST: $75 per camper. Space limited to first 20 golfers in each group. This clinic will cover all aspects of golf including: Full Swing Putting Rules Chipping Trouble shots Etiquette . yyei iceshf 1 si#, ipy free, additional f the Student Ser* udent to pick up a s 160 per school year 3 nd $17.50 for the “ arCard, Discover, o' legistration forms are available at the Texas A&M Golf Purse Pro Shop or by calling 845-1723. leNs IAN Golf durst OPEN TO THE PUBLIC MICHAEL BALHOFF I t is the time of year when NBA executives and coaches will gather in their war rooms and take part in the 2001 NBA Draft, their version of pin the tail on the donkey. This year may be more difficult to pinpoint than usual, considering the large contingent of underclassmen and the lack of a consensus No. 1 pick. Teams will have the option of selecting from a group of 18-year-old high school prospects or selecting 31-year-old Gulf War veteran George Evans. With a record 58 underclassmen on the early entry list, trying to get a handle on this year’s draft can be overwhelming. If the past has taught us anything, it is that the Clippers will draft someone who is vastly over rated, the Mavericks will surprise everyone by passing up a known commodity for a European player, and Hubie Brown will have the vital sta tistics of every player drafted — no matter how obscure. In addition to these eternal truths, there are other intriguing aspects of this year’s draft to keep in mind. Recently, college underclassmen have made a habit of grabbing the spotlight and push ing the more polished four-year seniors to the background. The 2001 NBA Draft offers a new twist to this phenomenon. Six high school seniors have crashed the party, garnering all the headlines and hoopla. Wary of missing a future Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett, NBA teams are content to nurse the likes of Eddy Curry, "Tyson Chandler and Kwame Brown until they are ready to make an impact. Seton Hall forward Eddie Griffin and UNC-Charlotte forward Rodney White also fall into this young and untested group. After trying college for a year, they now figure to be chosen in the top five. Teams are searching Europe for potential tal ent to uncover the next Dirk Nowitzki or Peja Stojakovic. Pau Gasol and Vladimir Radmanovic are foreigners expected to be lottery selections. For those not counting, that is eight players expected to go in the first 13 selections that lack either United States citizenship or the legal right to drink. They are players that were not even on. , the average fan’s radar screen a year ago. Of course, Duke senior Shane Battier, with PR di rector Dick Vitale in tow, is also a safe bet to be a high pick. What does the infiltration of younger players say for the prospects of well-known entrants like Troy Murphy and Joseph Forte? In today’s NBA, teams will pass on these types of solid players now for a chance to obtain a player who may be great several years from now. At least they can rest assured that their names will be called on draft night. The early entry list See Draft on Page 6. RUBEN DELUNA/Ewf Battalion CCDVS 4 < 111 < ■ STATIONS #1 DANCE CLCE SC’S REVR© M 'S WEDNESDAYS CDDDEDD NITE TDDDSDxSYS (SC c ent DAD DDINDS cent DCNDNECDS S - 11 D-A4. $100 HOT LEGGS CONTEST TCIDAr SL SATUCDAT S1.CC CAR CEINtS & LCNCNECES TILL 11 I.A4. IS + METVER A COVER CHARGE WITH COEEEGE I.O. Texas Avenue @ Southwest Pkwy. (Next to 4.0 & Go) 694-0018