Vecsey On The Bad Desert Classic

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

Peter Vecsey
NY Post - 4/16/00

THERE are no standouts at the Desert Classic, which ends today, maintain
several GMs attending the NBA tournament for college seniors. The
consensus is, it's a bad group. "I can't give you five guys who
distinguished themselves," one executive said. "I can't give you three.
I can't even give you one. They're all second round picks." 

That being said, Indiana's A.J. Guyton's shooting may have propelled
himself into the late first round. Still, he's only 6-1 and will
probably have to convert to the point in order to earn a pro roster
spot. 

Oklahoma State's Desmond Mason had one good game. The highlight for
Hofstra's Speedy Claxton (he was OK) was turning in a 371/2 inch
vertical leap. The league measures everyone in that regard. Ohio State's
Scoonie Penn was just OK. Same for St. John's Lavor Postell. St. Louis'
Justin Love had a solid Portsmouth Tournament and was vaguely impressive
in a couple practices in Arizona. Stanford's Mark Madsen proved he's not
shy about banging. Auburn's high-energy Chris Porter looked good on the
offensive boards, but the tape shows he's only 6-5. Meanwhile, Temple's
Pepe Sanchez was injured. 

There were no noteworthy big men. No denying the athleticism of Northern
Arizona's 6-11 Dan McClintock (31 vertical), but he's closer to
qualifying as a tenement than a project.