University Daily Kansan / Wednesday Aug. 23, 1989
5B
Former KU forward Milt Newton tries to block an opponent's shot. He tried out as a shooting guard with three NBA teams this summer
Milt Newton impresses Lakers coaches as free agent in summer rookie league
by Gene King Kansan sportswriter
All Milt Newton can do now is wait by the phone.
During the summer, he tried out at rookie camps with three National Basketball Association teams, including the 1988 world champion
Newton also played in the Seattle Supersonics camp and just finished triving out for the Miami Heat, a
second-year expansion team.
Newton played for the Jayhawks for four years, and was instrumental in KU's drive for the national championship title in 1988. He was also the team's leader last season after it was hit by protection and prevented from defending its title because of NCAA rules violations.
The Lakers will announce today the players they will invite back for a formal training camp, General Manager Jerry West said. The Supersonics list was unavailable and the Heat were still unsure of whom they will invite back for formal trousls.
West said he liked what he had seen of the former KU forward.
"He played really well during our summer league out here," West said. "There are 'so many teams' and players out here. The competition is intense. For him to play for us this summer was a real plus for him."
In addition to trying out for NBA teams as a free agent, Newton was the 36th pick in the Continental Basketball Association draft. He was picked by the Grand Rapids (Iowa) Hoops.
West said that Newton had a serious chance of being called back.
Newton is back in Lawrence now, but could not be reached for comment.
McMahon receives new start, challenge Charger coach says benefits outweigh risks with former Chicago quarterback
The Associated Press
LA JOLLA, Calif. — Jim McMahon's history of friction with his past head coach doesn't concern his new one.
"I like Mike Ditka. I like Jim McMahon," San Diego Chargers coach Dan Henneng said.
"I think there's some things there that nobody knows about, and I don't think it's that important to this situation. We start out fresh," he said. "I'm going to deal with him straight up and I expect him to deal with me straight up."
McMahon's soured relationship with Ditka likely contributed to Chicago's willingness to deal the winning but injury-prone quarterback to the Chargers, who surrendered a conditional 1990 draft pick in Friday's trade.
He is the first of 14 quarterbacks who have won the Super Bowl to be traded before his 30th birthday, celebrated Monday by sleeked late.
Because of the extra sleep, McMahon missed a scheduled interview on a network morning program but made it to the mandatory weightlifting session with teammates later.
Hennning said the benefits McMahon brought to the club outweighed any injury-related risks. He added that McMahon was sound now and the Chargers intended to do everything they could to keep him that way.
In seven years in Chicago, McMahon was 49-17 as a starter. But he has missed 23 games because of injuries since leading the Bears to a 46-10 victory over New England in the 1966 Super Bowl.
"I don't have any concerns," sait McMahon, who is coming off a knee sprain that required minor off-season surgery. "I can throw the ball just as well as before. I might have lost a little zip but I can throw it probably just as far."
As for McMahon's "wild thing" image, Henning said he could live with that.
"He'll kid around, so what?" Hening said. "I do a lot of kidding myself. Sometimes he says what other people would like to say. In that respect, he's a lot like Mike Ditka."
McMahon said his free-spirited ways often were misunderstood but it was the way he handled them.
"I don't think I did anything out of
the ordinary." McMahon said. "I have fun at my job and with the people around me. And sometimes people take that wrong."
Henning said McMahon's acquisition "gives us a better chance to win than five days ago or five months ago, that level is going to be I don't know."
At the same time, Henning, who replaced the fired Al Saunders after San Diego finished 6-10 in 1988, caught a pass that should not be considered a "savior."
"I don't think any one player can be a savior," Henning said. "It's a team game. Players who are capable of playing on a high level and who transmit confidence to others are special people in this league. Jim is one of those people."
He said getting away from Ditika was not the only attraction of the trade. He likes San Diego's weather and the idea of playing most of his games on San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium's natural grass.
McMahon also was reunited with Ted Tollner, the Chargers' quarterback coach who tutored him when the two were at Brigham Young.
"San Diego is an up-and-coming team," said McMahon, who made a brief appearance in the Chargers' 24-7 exhibition win Saturday night over the Bears. "They don't know where they're at right now. They've got a lot of young personnel."
And he regards the Chargers job as a fresh challenge.
"I wanted to come here because the team's been struggling," McMahon said. "Anybody can go to a good team and do well. It's a big challenge to come to a team that's been struggling and try to turn the program around."
At the Chargers' training camp,
a course on San Diego is offered.
"You have to learn before you can have fun," said McMahon, who considers training camps "boring."
McMahon is expected to make his starting debut for the Chargers in today's exhibition game at San Francisco.
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