Will The C's Draft Olumide Oyedeji?

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

The 6-10 Nigerian can block shots and rebound and is declaring for 
the draft; Tony Parker deserves a big look too....



US has game, but others are getting closer 


By Bob Ryan, Globe Staff, 4/3/2000 


NDIANAPOLIS - Tony Parker, his American-sounding name aside, was just
like every other kid growing up in Paris.


''I played soccer,'' he says. ''In France, soccer is the No. 1 sport, so
I played soccer.''


And then came the Barcelona Olympics, the Dream Team, and all that.
Bonjour, basketball. Adieu, soccer.


''I switched because of Michael Jordan, the things he could do with the
ball,'' Parker explains. ''After seeing that, I wanted to play
basketball. In 1996, I came to Chicago and had my picture taken with
him. It's hanging in my room.''


Now, it didn't hurt that Parker's dad, Tony Sr., was a Chicago native
who had played at Loyola before embarking on a professional career in
Europe. Genes never hurt (See Kobe Bryant). But Parker the Elder was not
the pushy type. ''He let me do what I wanted to do,'' young Parker says.


So it was exposure to the Dream Team that led to Tony Parker being in
the Conseco Field House yesterday, scoring 20 points and handing out
seven assists as his International team of junior players was losing an
entertaining 98-97 game to a USA squad. It was the sixth annual Hoop
Summit, which is held each Final Four Sunday, and for anyone who'd like
to get a glimpse of where the game is heading, it really ought to be a
must see.


International coach Allessandro ''Sandro'' Gamba, a charming Italian who
was captain of the 1960 Italian Olympic Team, knew exactly what was
going to happen in Europe, and elsewhere, once people got a look at the
Dream Team.


''When I played in the 1960 Olympics,'' he says, ''I played against the
first Dream Team, the one with Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry
Lucas. We actually played them twice, in both the quarterfinals and
semifinals. We drew inspiration from that team. So when the 1992 Dream
Team came along I knew what would happen. You [in America] have idea.
The kids wolf it all down. In my opinion, the Dream Team was the best
thing to happen in basketball. It was a big show, and kids are attracted
by the show.''


Yesterday's USA victory included a pair of debatable noncalls in the
final minute that might have altered the game, not least a putback of a
forced Parker airball at the buzzer by Serbian Goran Cakic, who slammed
the ball down in disgust when no foul was affixed to his basket. An
overtime probably would have been the proper way to go, so wonderfully
skilled and competitive was this game.


The series now stands 4-2 in favor of the USA team, but there are
important factors to consider, and Gamba, who has been the International
coach from the beginning, is quite willing to enumerate them.


''If we played in Europe, we could win some of these games,'' he
insists. ''There is a difference in the mentality of officiating, not
that this is a lamentation. We would have the support of the crowd. We
always play these games on the road.''


There's more. This is, after all, USA vs. The World. Gamba's squad
included players from Croatia, Canada, France, Spain, Yugoslavia,
Latvia, Qatar, Slovenia, Australia, Nigeria, Senegal, and England. With
better luck, he also would have had key players from China and Russia at
his disposal.


''We practiced for five days,'' he says. ''It was a matter of
communication. We had to teach and demonstrate everything on the floor.
It does help that in basketball the universal terminology is English.
But it is not easy. That's why I am happy we had an identity today. We
played as a team, not just a bunch of players in an All-Star game.''


The team he was up against had some really interesting players, most
notably Zach Randolph, a 6-foot-9-inch, 270-pound combination of
wide-body load and ballerina finesse. Randolph, fresh off an MVP
performance in Wednesday's McDonald's game at the FleetCenter, had a
game-high 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. It is quite easy to see
why his Marion (Ind.) High team won its state championship, and why
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo will start looking forward to next season
as soon as tonight's championship game is completed.


Other Americans who impressed included a pair heading to St. John's,
guard Omar Cook (14 points, 6 assists), and smooth forward Darius Miles.


But anyone in attendance had to come away realizing that we simply do
not own this game any longer. We are not in immediate jeopardy of losing
an Olympics because no one country has enough top-level players within
its own borders to give the NBA stars a game. But a game like this
demonstrates just how much general talent is out there.


Almost every player on the International roster would have strong appeal
for most of the many college coaches taking in this game. You'd start
with Nigerian center Olumide Oyedeji, a 6-10 swatter (19 points, 13
rebounds) who intends to apply for the NBA draft. You'd also drool over
forward Abdou Diame of Senegal, but he's already spoken for (Auburn).
The aforementioned Cakic has some serious hops and inside moves.
Croatian guard Marko Popovic ran the team and popped in three
3-pointers. Australian Andrew Rice demonstrated a soft shooting touch
and nice moves. And then there was our man Parker, who drew many
ohh-la-las with some poised all-around guard play. He shot it deep, he
penetrated, he hit open men, and he acted as if he'd been in the NBA for
10 years.


He won't be 18 until May, but he is aware in that classically European
way, and he knew he had accomplished what he set out to do when he
walked onto the floor. He had come with two purposes: win the game and
audition for Whatever, be it an American college or anyone else who'd
like his services over the next few years.


''There were college scouts and NBA scouts here,'' he says, ''and now
they will know me and maybe in three or four years they will remember me
and know I can play.''


Oh, he can play, all right. And he's not the only one. Basketball is no
longer just our game. It's everyone's game.


This story ran on page D8 of the Boston Globe on 4/3/2000. 
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.