The "frenzied recruitment" of NJ high school basketball
player Al Harrington will end today when he holds a news
conference to declare his intentions, according to Lenn
Robbins of the N.Y. POST, who reported that Harrington will
announce he is making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. A
source "very close to the family" said Harrington was
"making the big jump" (N.Y. POST, 5/9). On Saturday,
UConn's Richard Hamilton said he would return to school for
his junior year. He said that a potential NBA lockout had
"little impact on his thinking." Hamilton: "Now I can sit
back and relax. I don't have to worry about growing up too
fast, worry about all these business decisions and things
like that" (Michael Arace, HARTFORD COURANT, 5/10).
PLUTO SAYS LET 'EM GO: In Akron, Terry Pluto writes
under the header, "Let Them Learn The Hard Way About The
NBA. Once Prep Stars Fall, Then They'll Understand Why They
Needed College." Pluto writes that student-athletes with
the NBA "on their minds" don't "belong in the same classroom
as those who really are there to learn," adding that the
average "18-year-old has about as much interest in college
as your average NBA player does in botany. So let 'em go
pro." Pluto: "Let those who aren't the next [Kevin] Garnett
or [Kobe] Bryant learn a real lesson in life. Then, one
day, some might decide it's time to go back ... [and] take
their education seriously" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 5/11).
AND WHAT OF THE LEAGUE? In N.Y., William Rhoden wrote
on the NBA's veteran stars who will leave the league in the
next three years: "Soon we will see what the league has
really become: style over substance, individual over the
team. Plucking young people off the vine ahead of their
time, lavishing them with millions. ... The N.B.A. is about
to reap what it has sown" (William Rhoden, N.Y. TIMES, 5/9).
STILL GOT GAME: Spike Lee's "He Got Game" fell to third
place in this weekend's box office returns, earning $3.8M.
Through its first ten days in release, the film has grossed
$11.4M (THE DAILY). In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin wrote the
film is a "must-see movie for anyone who follows basketball
and gives a hoot about the game, the people in the game, and
what has become of the game" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/10).
ROOKIE CAP: In Cincinnati, Mike DeCourcy wrote that the
rookie salary cap, introduced in '95 "as a cost-control
device for the league," is "viewed by many as having cut
loose the flood of inexperienced players who entered the
draft in recent seasons." The cap "does not appear to have
been a good deal for basketball at the high school, college
or professional levels." NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ
Granik admitted the cap hasn't "done as much as we would
have liked," but said it has prevented contract holdouts and
"avoided long-term, very expensive, contracts for guys who
really aren't worth it" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/10).
