Peter May on the Highschoolers in the Draft

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

It would not shock me if the C's select one of these guys - In fact,
it would make sense from a talent perspective...
Welcome to McDonaldland


Boston will be crawling with NBA executives and scouts over the next few days
. The reason: the annual McDonald's High School All-Star Game is Wednesday 
night at the FleetCenter. Scouts and general managers are likely to be more 
interested in watching the practices (tonight, tomorrow, and Tuesday) and the
 scrimmage (Tuesday) than the actual game, which has turned into a glorified 
dunk-o-rama. ''The games have been disappointing ever since the high school 
exodus started,'' said Celtics GM Chris Wallace. ''They've disintegrated into
 these rock-and-jock contests where there's no defense and everything is `can
 you top this?' The practices can be more revealing. And it's also better to 
either see these guys with their own high school team or at a summer event.'' 
There are six kids thought to be considering a direct jump to the NBA. The 
best of the lot, 6-foot-9-inch Eddie Griffin from Roman Catholic in Philadelphia, 
is believed to be thinking about honoring his commitment to Seton Hall. How's 
that for a concept? But 6-9 Darius Miles of East St. Louis, Ill., who has committed 
to St. John's, and 6-7 Gerald Wallace, of Childersburg, Ala., who has committed 
to Alabama, are thought to be closer to taking the plunge. (The Blue Ribbon 
Yearbook said last fall that Wallace and Griffin were further along than Al 
Harrington, Tracy McGrady, and Jonathan Bender were at this point.) Another, 
Jerome ''Buddy'' Harper, who hails from Columbia, S.C., is thought to be coming 
out as well. He's a 6-6 shooting guard who has bounced from school to school 
and may have eligibility concerns. Two others thought to be considering:
 DeShawn Stevenson, a 6-5 guard from Fresno, Calif., and Alton Ford, a 
6-9 Karl Malone-in-the-making from Houston. 

Wallace said he doesn't understand what all the 
fuss is about when the topic turns to high schoolers turning pro. ''I think 
it's been overblown,'' he said. ''First of all, you're talking about a 
handful of kids. It's not like we're getting 30 guys every year. Yes, a few 
shouldn't have done it. But how can you legislate away the freedom of a Kevin
 Garnett or a Kobe Bryant to protect a Red McDavid? And the teams that 
drafted these guys would do so again. Rashard Lewis [a second-rounder in 
1998] would probably be a top 15 pick if that draft were redone. Where I 
think it does hurt the league is on the promotional end. You don't see these 
guys in college and it takes a while for them to get the recognition they 
would have had had they gone to a Final Four or two.''