Monter Says DerMarr; Bulpett On Trading Down; May looks At Pryzbilla

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

Chris Monter in his latest draft has D. Johnson slipping down
to the C's.

Steve Bulpett mentioned yesterday that the C's are receiving a
lot of offers and could trade down. Their interest in Speedy Claxton
suggests that possibility.

The Usenet Mock Draft has the C's taking Moiso. 


Unfinished business awaits 

Przybilla projects as a top prospect


By Peter May, Globe Staff, 6/26/2000 

     CELTICS COVERAGE
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The general manager of the Orlando Magic, sitting on three lottery picks
in Wednesday's NBA draft, has presided over workouts, interviews, and
dinners with more than three dozen prospective rookies. Among those seen
by John Gabriel was 20-year-old Joel Przybilla, a center who may be
around when/if Orlando picks first (No. 5), might be around when/if
Orlando picks second (No. 10), and definitely won't be around when the
Magic make their last pick (13th).


Przybilla is a raw, 7-foot-1-inch player who bolted the University of
Minnesota in February because of problems with a different coach and the
same old, academic requirements. He is a shot-blocker, an interior
presence, a true stopper. He has, like most of this unfinished class, a
lot of upside, which is the scouts' favorite word to describe a player
who isn't quite ready for the big time.


''He represents what this draft is all about,'' Gabriel said. ''And that
is development.''


Przybilla will be right at home on draft night, sitting in the green
room at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It's not far from his home in
Monticello, Minn., where he became the most sought-after high school
player in the state since Kevin McHale. It's even closer to the U - the
university - where Przybilla played for 11/2 seasons until tensions with
coach Don Monson and his own decision to stop attending class led to his
departure.


On Feb. 9, he had 33 points and 14 rebounds in an upset win over No. 10
Indiana and, for the second time, was named Big Ten Player of the Week.
He never played another game for the Gophers. He was suspended Feb. 15
for skipping classes and, four days later, left the program and the
school.


He has spent much of the last six weeks answering the same questions
posed by Gabriel as well as other GMs and personnel men: Why would he
bail out on his team?


''It's a decision I made and I have to live with it,'' Przybilla said in
a recent telephone interview. ''It wasn't easy to do. I was close to a
lot of guys on that team. I'm not sure I'd even do the same thing if it
happened again, but it's over, and I've got to move on.''


In a nutshell, it came down to Monson. Przybilla had been recruited by,
and been close to, Clem Haskins, whose tenure as coach ended after the
revelations of academic fraud. Monson and Przybilla did not hit off; by
the time Przybilla left school, they hadn't spoken for some time.


''You could say that,'' Przybilla said, when asked if his conflict with
Monson was the main reason for his decision to leave school. ''I was
frustrated a lot. There wasn't a lot of communication. I wanted to play
for Clem Haskins. He was the main reason I chose Minnesota in the first
place and I'd probably still be there if he was coaching. But it was
hard, because I also felt I should be loyal to the school.''


It wasn't because he wasn't playing, or that he wasn't playing well. He
led the Gophers in scoring at 14.2 points a game, in rebounding (8.4)
and in blocked shots (almost 4 per game). He also shot 63 percent from
the field, but that is misleading in that he's an around-the-basket
scorer. He shot only 49.5 percent from the free-throw line. Those
statistics were for 21 games.


Przybilla was warned by Monson about repercussions for not attending
classes and study halls. He was well within the NCAA guidelines for
eligibility, but Minnesota had just instituted new academic regulations
in the wake of the Haskins scandal.


''It was a buildup of a lot of things,'' Przybilla said. ''It was
gradual.''


He also took some flak immediately after leaving. Two days after
suspending Przybilla, Monson received a standing ovation when introduced
before the game with Illinois. Even worse, a fan was booed during a
halftime contest when it was revealed he also was from Monticello.


By the time Przybilla decided to leave school, his parents already had
talked to several player agents. All told them the same thing: Your son
is a lottery pick. The family settled on Bill Duffy (a Minnesota alum)
and he brought Przybilla out to San Francisco for daily drills,
weightlifting, and conditioning.


Or, as Przybilla put it, ''it was a lot of training.''


Once the NBA lottery determined draft positions, Duffy started setting
up visits and workouts. Przybilla never made it to Boston; the Celtics
might like someone with his intimidation skills, but, at 11, it's a
reach. He just completed his final workout over the weekend, visiting
Chicago for a second time. He's also been to Orlando, New Jersey,
Vancouver, Houston, Cleveland, and Atlanta.


Of those teams, all are either in the hunt for a center or have one who
is on the edge of either free agency or retirement. The Nets would take
him only if they traded down - there have been rumors of a deal with the
Magic - while Vancouver seems a long shot given it already has Big
Country Reeves.


''I really don't care where I go,'' Przybilla said. ''Every place I've
gone, the people have been great. But at the same time, it's been tough.
There are lot of drills, and it's not like when you're in college, when
you can go back to the hotel and be with your teammates. Here, you go
back and you're alone.''


How is he viewed? One general manager, preferring to remain anonymous,
said, ''he could be the next Jim McIlvaine,'' a reference to the
foul-prone, offensively challenged but shot-blocking center for the
Nets. ''McIlvaine was a shot-blocker in college too.''


Gabriel thought that was a bit harsh.


''He's got a big upside,'' Gabriel said. ''He is a legitimate
shot-blocker and there aren't many of them in the draft. Most teams
would like to have one. In workouts and interviews, he's been very
upfront and conscious of what he said and did and how it reflected on
him. I think it weighed heavy on him.''


But all that is behind Przybilla now. He soon will become a very wealthy
man and an NBA player. That is what he envisioned when he went to
Minnesota. It's just coming sooner than he thought and definitely not by
design.