Tracy McGrady

[Kenneth Mattina <mattina@hevanet.com>]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for a couple of months and thought it was time to make a
contribution.  This article is from today's Nando Times.

Ken



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McGrady's the latest prep star to test NBA waters


(c) 1997 Copyright Nando.net
(c) 1997 Associated Press

DURHAM (May 25, 1997 - 09:13 EST) -- It has been about a year since Tracy
McGrady sat down for a dinner meeting that
would drastically change his life on and off the basketball court.

Mount Zion Christian Academy coach Joel Hopkins visited McGrady's home in
Auburndale, Fla., with one thing in mind --
trying to convince Melanise Williford to let her 6-foot-8 son play his last
season of prep basketball 600 miles away.

"When I first came to his house and met him, I made him take his earrings
out at the dinner table," the 28-year-old coach said.
"I told him I was going to leave his house if he didn't take those earrings
out. ...

"Those things are for sissies."

The jewelry was quickly discarded. Almost as fast was McGrady's rise from a
player unpolished and unranked among the
nation's top 100 high school prospects to a probable lottery pick and the
fourth prep star in three years to be selected in the
NBA draft.

In his one season at the Durham, N.C., school, McGrady averaged 27 points
and led his team to a top-five national ranking at
26-2.

"He just came in and took advantage of an opportunity -- a lot of kids have
and a lot of kids haven't," Hopkins said.

Hopkins made it clear to McGrady that at the academy he would study, go to
church and play high school basketball, in that
order. Like the rest of the players, he would live with the coach and his
wife.

Players rise at 4:30 a.m. each day, run the steps at Duke's football
stadium, jog seven miles, return for breakfast, head to
school with tie on, attend study hall, church prayer meetings, dinner,
practice and then head back to Hopkins' house for the
rest of the night. The rules of the house include no personal TVs or
phones, and no dating.

McGrady believed he had little choice but to accept. He had been suspended
from his high school team for a problem with a
teacher. He was also overshadowed by 6-11 Alvin Jones, a local rival who's
going to Georgia Tech.

"Everybody here thought Tracy had a tremendous amount of talent and they
were sure hoping that it wasn't going to be
wasted," said Auburndale assistant principal Jerry Neely.

The first months in Durham were the hardest for McGrady. Many times, dog
tired and legs cramping, he wondered if he made
a mistake.

"I was listening to how the program was run and I was thinking to myself,
'I don't know if I can do this because I was back at
home wearing earrings and I wasn't going to church. I was just doing my
thing," McGrady said. "I couldn't really adjust to it at
first."

McGrady was raised by his mother and grandmother in a middle-class
household in central Florida. His mother works as a
housekeeper for the Walt Disney Corp. and his grandmother is a custodian
for a local school district. McGrady's father never
married his mother, who is expecting a third child as a single parent.

Neely said McGrady had some maturity problems while at Auburndale, but went
out of his way to say McGrady was not a
problem student and was a good kid.

"But I think had he stayed here there may have been enough negative forces
in his life that may have kept him from being as
successful as quick as he is now," Neely said.

Only 30 percent of students at Auburndale go to college. Although McGrady
was well on his way to being able to attend a
university, Neely said some of his pals were not.

In Durham, McGrady immediately impressed Hopkins with his willingness to
work hard. He took 500-700 shots a day and,
working with a personal train, raised his bench press from barely 135
pounds to 230.

"I played one-on-one against him and I usually beat all the guys I have. I
was trying to shoot my shot and he was blocking my
shot," said Hopkins, who played on North Carolina Central's 1989 NCAA
Division II champions. "I said, 'Damn, how long
are this boy's arms?"'

For the record, McGrady, who turned 18 Saturday, weighs 210 pounds, has a
40-inch vertical jump, a 44-inch sleeve and
wears a size 16 shoe. And he's still growing.

Because McGrady was not considered one of the nation's top 100 players,
Hopkins had to pull some strings to get his player
invited to the prestigious Adidas basketball camp in New Jersey. There,
McGrady dominated both the event and Lamar
Odom, a 6-9 UNLV-bound player ranked as the No. 1 prospect on most
recruiting lists.

"McGrady had something to prove -- that he was as good as any player -- and
he was," recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons said.

McGrady said he began to think about skipping college after his success in
the Adidas camp. Now with with his agent, he
drives a $50,000 Lexus and plans to buy his mother and grandmother a new
house once he signs his pro contract.

McGrady is projected to go as high as seventh overall in the June 25 NBA
draft.

"Size like that at the point guard position is literally unheard of," said
Bill Branch, director of scouting for the Charlotte Hornets.
"He would definitely create a lot of matchup difficulties."

But Branch added that the NBA will be another world for the kid.

"It is really hard to see if a guy like that can handle the ball against
pressure, not just good high school pressure but the best
there is," he said.

The recent history of players who have jumped from the preps to the pros is
spotty. While Minnesota's Kevin Garnett became
an all-star in his second pro season, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and
Portland's Jermaine O'Neal remained role players in their
initial seasons.

"I think Garnett was just a special, special, special situation," Branch
said. "Kobe, on the other hand, had flashes -- yes -- but
look at his turnovers and the way he handles the ball, his selections
during the games. He has had a couple of big games, then
you'll see games in a tight situation that (Lakers coach) Del (Harris) will
bring him out after two minutes because he makes a
stupid decision."

The NBA rookie salary structure will not earn McGrady a fast $50 million. A
potential big payday could come three years
down the road if he matures, improves his game and tests the free-agent
market.

"The only reason this makes sense is, under the rookie salary cap (the NBA)
can afford to invest in futures," Gibbons said.
"McGrady is like on the commodity exchange. He's not ready, mentally or
physically, but he thinks he is and the more
important thing is, the pros are going to be patient in bringing him along."

Hopkins is confident about his star pupil's future -- even predicting
McGrady will win the NBA slam-dunk contest next
season.

"People laughed at me when I said he is the most talented player in the
state behind Tim Duncan," Hopkins said. "A lot of
people said, 'Coach you are crazy, that's a big statement.' I said that the
bottom line is, we'll see in the end."

End adv weekend editions May 24-25




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