No Subject

(Read what Popovich sez about a trade towards the end of the article)
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Wake Forest star `very happy' about coming to San
                   Antonio 

                   By Jerry Briggs , Express-News Staff Writer 

                   WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Students, parents and onlookers
were encouraged to hold their applause until all the names had been
called during graduation ceremonies Monday at Wake Forest. 

                   That didn't stop everyone from bursting into one last
ovation for the greatest basketball player in school history. As soon as
they announced the name of Timothy Theodore Duncan, the cheers went up
from the cap-and-gown crowd. 

                   Duncan, towering over his classmates and beaming a
broad smile in response to the yells and applause, took his last steps
as a collegian. 

                   He is 21 and will be rich soon. He is 6-foot-10 and
248 pounds of power and finesse. And on June 25 in Charlotte, N.C., he
is  expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft by the Spurs. 

                   But here he was Monday morning, sauntering down a
sidewalk and moving slowly with his family and friends toward a news
conference. Still wearing his graduation gown in the muggy Carolina
heat, he playfully joked with brother-in-law Rick Lowery about how good
he looked. 

                   ``I like the long sleeves,'' said Duncan, the
consensus 1997 player of the year in college basketball, illuminating
his trademark goofy sense of humor. 

                   With much anticipation, Duncan watched Sunday's NBA
draft lottery on television at his home in Winston-Salem. Word got out
that night that Duncan was glad the Spurs won the right to choose him
No. 1 in an upset over the team given the best odds of landing the top
pick, the Boston Celtics. 

                   ``I was very happy, very happy,'' Duncan said. ``I
know a little about the team. They've got David (Robinson) and Avery
Johnson and Sean Elliott. They've got a great team and a great chance to
win a lot of games that first year. So I'm very happy with that. 

                   ``Also, I hear it's a nice place (to live). It's just
an opportunity (for me), a great opportunity.'' 

                   In the sunny, outdoor setting on the Wake Forest
University campus Monday, he received his diploma and made good on a
promise to his late mother - to become a college graduate. 

                   Duncan, projected as the starting center-power
forward for the Spurs next season, admitted the time seems to have flown
by since he arrived on campus four years ago. 

                   ``It really has,'' said Duncan, who earned a degree
in psychology. ``It seems like I walked in yesterday when I was a
freshman.
                   Now I'm walking out. It was a great experience. I
have a lot of great memories.'' 

                   Duncan, stating no preference for whether he would
rather be an center or power forward in the NBA, thinks he and Robinson
will be able to play as a tandem without much problem. 

                   ``I think the position is undefined,'' he said.
``It's center-power forward. It's pretty much the same thing. I think
we're both pretty agile and can play both positions. So I guess we'll go
back and forth.'' 

                   Already, talk is hot and heavy among Spurs fans. They
are hoping their team, which fell an NBA record 39 games in the win
column to a franchise- worst 20-62 last season, can bounce back quickly. 

                   Duncan and Robinson will be one of the most- watched
and talked-about combinations in the league. 

                   ``I think it'll be great,'' Duncan said. ``I think
I'll learn a lot from him (Robinson). It's a great opportunity to learn
from someone who already knows the game, (someone) who already has
experienced all there is to be experienced (as a professional).'' 

                   Robinson, recovering from back and foot injuries that
caused him to miss most of last season, has won a league MVP honor and a
scoring title and has played in seven all-star games and three Olympics. 

                   ``I think he'll help me along a whole lot,'' Duncan
said, ``and I hope I can just help out the best I can.'' 

                   Lowery said the major reason Duncan wanted to play
for the Spurs was for the chance to team up with Robinson. 

He wouldn't have objected to playing for the Celtics. Rather, he would
have welcomed it. But his first preference was to be on a team that
could be a winner immediately. 

                   Under that line of thinking, the family watched
intently Sunday when the televised lottery showed the favored Celtics
come up with the third and sixth picks. 

                   ``It got real quiet at No. 6 when Boston's first
number came up,'' Lowery said. ``Then, five, four and Boston again at
three. When they announced (No.) 2 (to Philadelphia) and then No. 1, the
house just went crazy. Tim was jumping all around.'' 

                   Admitting to an emotional release, Duncan said, ``I
leaped a few couches.'' 

                   Gregg Popovich, the Spurs' coach and general manager,
said it would be highly unlikely that the team would trade Duncan. In
fact, by league rules, they would have to draft him first, sign him and
then trade him - a complicated process that would likely involve
matching salaries of other players in the deal. 

                   All in all, it's not expected to happen. 

                   ``Coach Popovich ... sounded pretty positive,'' said
Duncan, denying any knowledge that he was going elsewhere. 

                   Duncan apparently was impressed that Popovich called
before the draft, just to talk. 

                   ``He just gave me a call a few days before the draft
and said he hoped they had a chance to get the (pingpong) balls (to)
come up,'' Duncan said. ``So I guess he was a little bit of a prophet.'' 

                   At Spurs games next season, Popovich won't have to
use his crystal-ball skills to predict an upswing in interest in the
team. Unlike the Wake Forest commencement exercises, fans won't have to
wait until the end of games to cheer for Duncan. 

                   They'll be able to yell for the newest franchise
player any time they like. 

                   ``I'm just going to go out and give it my best,''
Duncan said.