8B
Wednesday, April 10, 1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Wooden urges players to stay in school
Veteran coach says athletes are tempted by both sides when going professional
INDIANAPOLIS Stay in school.
The Associated Press
That's the message former UCLA coach John Wooden has for college underclassmen — and high school players — who think they're ready for the NBA.
"Their education will last a lifetime," Wooden told reporters in his home state Monday just before giving a luncheon speech. "Basketball is just a few years."
Wooden, 85, led nearby Martinsville High School to the Indiana state basketball championship in 1927 as a player before heading to Purdue, where he was an All-American from 1930-32.
But Wooden made his name outside the Hoosier state at UCLA, where as the "Wizard of Westwood" he coached the Bruins to 10 NCAA titles from 1964 to 1975 with players such as Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton.
In town to speak to the Economic Club of Indianapolis, Wooden said that he saw little reason for players to leave school early and that the NBA needed to show some restraint in drafting
"The colleges can't do anything about that," he said. "It's the pros that have to do that. I think the pros would be better served themselves if they didn't take the youngsters out early."
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younger players.
In last year's NBA draft, the first four players chosen were sophomores.
This year, Georgia Tech freshman Stephon Marbury, 19, announced his eligibility for the draft.
And the fifth pick? Kevin Garnett declared himself eligible for the draft after his senior year of high school and now is finishing his rookie year with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Other underclassmen already in the draft include sophomore Lorenzen Wright of Memphis and juniors Ronnie Henderson of LSU and Darnell Robinson of Arkansas.
"I think that professionally, (players would) be better grounded, more mature, be able to deal with the professional aspects better if they finished college," Wooden said. "When they had the rule that they couldn't draft a player until he finished college, I thought that was a good rule."
Nor does he think college players should be paid for playing basketball, as proposed by serve.
"When you say 'Start paying them,' I say 'They are paid," Wooden said. "What is a college education worth?"
Among Wooden's other observations of the college game:
There's too much showmanship and too much taunting among players. "I blame the coaches."
The 3-point line is too close. "I think that a shot from 19-feet, 9-inches is worth three points is ridiculous," he said. "I like the 3-point shot, but it's much too close."
- There's too much emphasis on dunking. "I think a dunk shouldn't count more than one point."
And, finally, what did Wooden think about underdog Princeton's major upset of his beloved UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament this year?
"I enjoyed the game. I didn't like the outcome," he said. "I enjoy (Princeton coach) Pete Carril. I've known Pete for a long time. He's an outstanding coach for his style of play. He teaches it very well. He has bright youngsters who will listen."
Princeton beat defending national champion UCLA 43-41 last month in the first round of the tournament at the RCA Dome, adjacent to the building where Wooden gave his speech Monday.
Two days later, the Tigers lost to Mississippi State end ended Carril's 30-year college coaching career.
"I'm happy for Pete," Wooden said. "I thought UCLA would win, but I wasn't surprised. I knew that style of ball had caused us some difficulty."
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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What's going on in the mind of Glen Mason
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