Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 25, 1993 TAG: 9303250234
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
ROGERS CONCENTRATES ON MASHBURN, NOT NBA
Here was a chance for Rodney Rogers to answer questions about something different than where he will be playing basketball next year.Here was his coach setting screens for the ACC player of the year. Here was Dave Odom, playing help defense for Rogers on Jamal Mashburn.
On the eve of the NCAA Southeast Region semifinals, Wake Forest coach Odom knew Rogers, the Demon Deacons' junior star, would be peppered with questions about Kentucky's Mashburn.
So, before anyone could ask, Odom explained that "at times," Rogers will guard Mashburn in a matchup of All-America forwards who, as juniors, are likely to be among the top three selections in the NBA draft in June.
Even if it isn't a strict Rogers-Mashburn matchup, their presence in today's 10 p.m. tipoff makes the game the most anticipated of the eight regional semifinals - at least by NBA scouts.
The Demon Deacons (21-8) will play second-ranked Kentucky (28-3) in a Charlotte Coliseum where about 14,000 of the approximately 23,000 tickets are in Kentuckians' hands. In the opener, Florida State (24-9) is favored over Western Kentucky (26-5) in a 7:33 tipoff.
"It will feel somewhat strange playing what will feel like an away game in our home state," Odom said. "The other thing is that the coaches here include three devout Catholics and one little, short Southern Baptist."
Religious beliefs aside, Odom has the premier power player in this piece of the Sweet 16 in Rogers. When the media did get a question past Odom to Rogers, the 6-foot-7, 235-pound junior took it to the hoop.
"Depending on where [Mashburn] gets the ball, I figure he might go outside," Rogers said of his buddy from the college squad that prepped the Dream Team for its Olympian assignment last summer. "He'll be out there more than inside.
"I figure I'm stronger, so he's not going to post me up. He's either going to shoot the three or try to go around me."
To nobody's surprise, Rogers and Mashburn agreed that neither has been "crazy" about the hype attached to their meeting. Linked first as competitors at the Nike Camp as high schoolers, they find themselves linked again as junior mentionables for the NBA draft.
Mashburn has declared. If this is Rogers' final Wake season, he isn't ready to say. As at the ACC Tournament in the same arena two weeks ago, Odom didn't exactly get on his knee and beg his southpaw star to return.
"I think Rodney has handled all of it very well, and I think our team has handled it well," Odom said. "Because our team has handled it well, it's helped Rodney handle it well.
"Unlike the Kentucky situation where Jamal knew early that he wanted to leave, Rodney is the type of person who is somewhat methodical in his thought process, and plans things very precisely.
"He has a plan for his life. It's not one that's set in stone, but he understands that he's blessed with a lot of God-given talent. But he also understands that there is no one person that can be everything to everybody."
Rogers said he likes college life. However, his father died when he was 8, and growing up in the projects in Durham, Rogers has a grasp for what NBA millions could mean to his mother, who was injured in an auto accident five years ago.
"In time, I think Rodney would like to do something very special for his family," Odom said. "He also knows that he has to do for himself first.
"He understands that once you cross that line, his life will change dramatically and he can never go back. He enjoys walking on campus; he enjoys college basketball; he enjoys his studies.
"No one has ever said, `Rodney will never be whatever in basketball.' A lot of people have said, `Rodney, you can never get a college education.' I think that drives him as much as the basketball."
Around the ACC, it will be more shocking if Rogers returns to Wake Forest than the coaching move to South Carolina made by Georgia Tech's Bobby Cremins on Wednesday.
"It's a big decision for me," Rogers said. "It's tougher than deciding where to go to college."
In Wake's first two NCAA Tournament games, Rogers scored 59 points and collected 15 rebounds. He and Mashburn prosper, however, because they have teammates who can open up defenses by shooting 3-pointers, too.
"It's not just Rodney against me," Mashburn said.
Said Rogers: "I think people are blowing this thing with Jamal and me out of proportion."