Amal McCaskill

[CeltsSteve@AOL.com]

Spurs' traveling man ready to settle down
By Johnny Ludden
San Antonio Express-News

Web Posted : 10/12/2001 12:00 AM

After spending a second-round pick on him in the 1996 draft, the Orlando
Magic let Amal McCaskill play in 17 games his rookie season.

Then they let him go.

After McCaskill went to camp in Washington the next year, the Wizards told
him he was caught in a numbers game.

His number, they said, was up.

In Miami, he started the lockout-shortened season on the injured list only to
be waived before he ever appeared in a game. When he showed up again on the
Heat's preseason roster the following fall, he didn't play well enough b by
his own admission b to warrant a contract.

That spot on Chicago's summer-league team last year? It didn't earn him a
single invitation to training camp.

In between pink slips, McCaskill tried the CBA. He went to Greece. To Turkey.
To Spain. Back to Spain. Down to Venezuela.

Four years and four continents later, McCaskill is once again drawing a
steady NBA paycheck. After watching him play on their summer-league teams in
Boston and Salt Lake City, the Spurs liked enough of what they saw to sign
the 6-foot-11 center to a two-year contract for the league minimum.

"When Orlando cut me, I thought I would just go to the CBA, then get picked
right back up," McCaskill said. "It didn't happen that way, but I knew I
wouldn't stop trying to make it back.

"Sometimes you just have to take the long road."

McCaskill's journey has taken him everywhere from the back roads of Fort
Wayne, Ind., to the mountains of Leon, Spain. At 27 years old, he's already
made enough stops to know this might not be his last.

"I definitely learned from when I was in Orlando," McCaskill said. "You can't
get a false sense of security when you're in this league and not an
established veteran. I'm still trying to reach that status."

Even by NBA standards, McCaskill, who's nearly 7 feet and has long arms, can
stretch far enough. On the first day of training camp, David Robinson praised
his athleticism.

"I think he's been overlooked," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after
watching McCaskill total four points, five rebounds and one block in 16
minutes against New York's reserves Tuesday night. "He picks and rolls. He
likes to block shots, rebound and play (defense)."

That said, McCaskill also has no misconceptions about his role. He is a big
man on a roster stacked with big men. With Mark Bryant and Cherokee Parks
brought in to help Malik Rose back up Robinson and Tim Duncan, minutes will
be scarce.

"They expect me to come to practice and play hard every day: to push Dave and
Tim," McCaskill said. "My job is to basically improve as a player. This is
probably the best team for me just because I get to learn from Tim and David
every day."

McCaskill's travels have taught him a lot as well. His stay in Turkey ended
after three weeks when he was hospitalized after contracting a virus from bad
food. In Greece one of his teammates left the court with a permanent scar on
his forehead after a fan pelted him with a coin.

Whenever his Venezuelan team b his favorite foreign club b won on the
road,
the players ran to the bus to avoid angry fans.

"I don't think they wanted to hurt us, but they would throw beer," he said.
"And beer cans."

I was still blessed to be able to play over there. It's good money. It's not
NBA money, but it's still a good living. I was thankful for what I had, but I
still knew (the NBA) was my ultimate goal."

jludden@express-news.net


CeltsSteve

Comedian Argus Hamilton says Jordan made his decision to return out of
patriotism. "President Bush asked Americans to start traveling again, and
Michael never takes less than three steps with the ball."