No Subject

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@sjbj.com>]

LAWRENCE, Kansas (AP) -- Former Kansas
                         All-American Paul Pierce is one of those caught in the
                         middle of the lockout of NBA players by owners.

                         "It had to happen this year," Pierce said Tuesday in his
                         first visit back to Kansas after he gave up his senior year
                         to enter the draft. He was taken in the first round by the
                         Boston Celtics.

                         "I'm ready to go out there to the minicamps and go to
                         work, but this [lockout] is holding everything back. The
                         way I feel, the players don't want to lose any money. I
                         think they'll get the thing settled on time, and we'll go out
                         and play," he said.

                         Pierce, who asked coach Roy Williams whether he could
                         visit with kids attending a basketball camp on campus,
                         said he had been working out on his own at his home in
                         Inglewood, California.

                         "Right now, I'm just waiting around to see what
                         happens," he said. "I've been at home, training every day.
                         When it's over, I want to be ready to go into camp right
                         away. Nobody knows when it's going to end."

                         Pierce said he might have stayed for his senior year if he had known the lockout would happen or
                         would last this long.

                         "If somebody were to tell me the NBA would go on hold for a year, then, yeah, I probably
                         would have stayed in school," he said. "But that's something that's never happened, and I'm
                         happy with the decision I made."