Bob Ryan Bashes The Draft And Other Stuff

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

                                [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
                                [Boston Globe Online / Sports]

               

                                Offering up top-drawer musings

                                By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, 05/05/99

                                 Emptying Out The Desk Drawer of the
                                        Sports Mind ... <snips>

                                What's Wrong With Sports Dept.: You know
                                and I know that there isn't one kid among
                                the top 100 high school basketball players
                                who would list Joe Dumars among his top
                                five favorite players, and yet there isn't
                                a single player in the NBA more worthy of
                                emulation, both on and off the floor.

                                The ever-astute Elaine Ryan says they
                                should not have bothered to play an NBA
                                season, and she happens to be 100 percent
                                correct.

                               

                                If Lamar Odom doesn't come out, stop
                                worrying about Cleveland having Rick
                                Pitino's No. 1 pick. There's nobody else
                                worth crying about.

                             

                                When the NBA playoffs come, underestimate
                                San Antonio, and especially the
                                better-than-you-think Avery Johnson, at
                                your peril.

                               

                                Win or lose, I can see Larry Bird
                                returning to civilian life next year. And
                                Kevin McHale makes two.

                                

                                OK, Messrs. Jacobs and Krezwick: It's Year
                                4 of the Fleet and we're still waiting for
                                some photos and murals and, you know,
                                stuff on the walls to let people know
                                they're in the home of the 16-time world
                                champion Celtics and a Bruins franchise
                                that has given us Shore, Schmidt, and Orr.
                                Oh, I forgot. The good stuff's all in
                                ''Legends,'' isn't it?


                                A Dumars addendum: A big issue in his
                                draft ('85) was which one of four
                                perceived equal guard prospects did you
                                like between 15 and 25. Dumars went 18th
                                to Detroit. The others? Steve Harris
                                (19th, Houston), Terry Porter (24th,
                                Portland), and Sam Vincent (20th, Boston).
                                Two big hits, two bad misses. Never doubt
                                that the entire enterprise is anything
                                other than an inexact science.

                                When Duke starts losing 'em early to the
                                NBA draft, college basketball as we know
                                it is over.

                
                                Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist.

                                This story ran on page C01 of the Boston
                                Globe on 05/05/99.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.