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Odom impresses Pitino
 FIRST STRINGER
By Peter F. Stringer
January 13, 2000
When Lamar Odom declared for the NBA draft,
pundits questioned whether the young buck had what
it takes to survive as a professional basketball
player. If you've been reading the box scores
around the league, or better yet, if you saw his
42-minute, 26-point performance at the FleetCenter
Wednesday night, you know the answer.
"The kid is special. He's a loosey-goosey kind of
guy. He enjoys playing, he enjoys practicing, and
he just has fun being out on the court," says his
coach Chris Ford, a guy who's spent enough time
around the league both as a player and a coach to
know talent when he sees it. "I don't have a vote,
but he's my Rookie of the Year."
As his season stands thus far, Lamar Odom probably
doesn't need Ford's vote, because he's been
superior in his first season with the Los Angeles
Clippers. Averaging just under 18 points and 8
rebounds a game, Odom has wasted little if no time
acclimating himself to the NBA game. Wednesday
night, he racked up 26 points and nine rebounds in
a 95-88 loss to the Celtics, 18 points of which he
racked up in the first half.
Celtics Coach Rick Pitino was impressed.
"He's getting better and better, which is a scary
thought. I'm glad he's out West," said Pitino, who
tried in vain to recruit Lamar for Kentucky. "He's
one of the best runners I've seen. He's lightning
quick. Although he's left-handed, he goes right
well. He's a good passer. And he's really added
the threeball."
Sounds like the total package offensively. Looks
like it too. His defense still leaves a lot to be
desired, as he's easily pushed around underneath
the basket. But basketball players, defensively
anyway, are like wine. They get better with age.
But defense won't get you posters or headlines at
any age, and Odom has gotten attention for the
diversity of his offense.
He's a confident young man. He plays like a guy
who knows he can get his points. He's got a nice
jumper, he'll get to the hole quickly and, as
Pitino said, he can stroke the threeball just like
he did in his days at the University of Rhode
Island.
His connection to URI is still strong. Odom still
keeps tabs on the Rams when he gets a chance, and
he got a handsome reception from a small
FleetCenter crowd when he was announced. Several
Rams alumni and teammates were in attendance to
watch him play in New England for the first time
as a pro, and they had to like what they saw.
His head and chin clean-shaven, Odom has a big
smile that opens up on him when he talks to
reporters. He deliberately looks each of them in
the eye, giving them as much attention as they
drape on him. In just a few minutes, the
20-year-old basketball wonder makes you like him.
He makes you feel as comfortable as he looks on
the court.
And that level of comfort and composure he has
might be the key to his success. Whether you line
him up against Michael Jordan or Michael Hawkins,
this kid is going to think he can play with his
man.
"At first you're in awe a little bit, but it
always helps when you go out there and make a
lay-up and realize you can play with those guys,"
said Odom.
His teammates have noticed his maturity beyond his
years as well, and because he plays on the
youngest team in the league, Odom is practically a
defacto leader on what is usually the rudderless
ship Clipper.
"Lamar got a lot of bad press when he first came
out of school, questioning his character and
maturity. I think he's by far the most mature
rookie I've seen," said Clippers guard Eric
Piatkowski. "He's showed up almost every single
night to play. He's a leader; he doesn't have a
problem stepping up to take the big shots. He's
gonna be a superstar in this league."
Piatkowski isn't afraid to tell you he's awed by
Odom, who has the game of a guard with the body of
a young center.
"You look at Lamar, he's like Kevin Garnett long.
He's like 6-10, but he handles the ball like a
point guard. He can go out on the perimeter; he
can go coast to coast. It's amazing all the things
that he does, but wait until he has a whole
summer, another year of maturity and he gets in
the weight room and gets big and strong. Come on
now ­ right now, teams don't know how to guard
him. When he gets more mature and stronger, he
might be unstoppable."
Odom knows he needs to get stronger, and says that
he needs to get quicker if he's going to play out
on the perimeter. He also needs to get into better
condition for the NBA game, as he faded in the
second half, hitting on only three of his 11
attempts in the last 24 minutes.
But maybe the hardest adjustment for Odom, its
been adapting to the sometimes lonely life of the
NBA, where guys have plenty of spare time and even
more money, and not too many people to spend
either with during their days. That gets
compounded when your team isn't winning and you've
got empty days to contemplate why you can't get a
'W'. His Clippers are a Clipperesque 10-24 and
while they knocked off the Pacers last week,
they've been horribly inconsistent.
"There's gonna be times you're by yourself, you
have nobody to hang out with, especially with the
older guys who kind of go their own way after
practice. You've just got to stay focused and know
what you're there for," said Odom, who said
yesterday that he'd like to play in the NBA and
live at URI.
Dorm life at Rhode Island must be pretty good. But
while it takes most guys a few years to get
comfortable, already Lamar Odom is finding that
life in the NBA ain't so bad either.
The Man of String is a SportsCircuit staff writer.
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