Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 13, 1994 TAG: 9404130113
SECTION: NATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Lynch knows how to get what he wants. He's a good rebounder, he often has said, because that's the only way he'd get the ball during pickup games as a kid. Now that his office is about 2,500 miles from where he was born and he and his Los Angeles Laker buddies brag about their hometowns and home states, Lynch has another goal:
To be, when he can, in Roanoke, of Roanoke and for Roanoke.
For the city's young athletes, especially.
``I did what was right,'' said Lynch, the former Patrick Henry High School and University of North Carolina star whose Laker career is ascending.
``Most of the guys I grew up with are dead. Out of my sixth-grade class [at Hurt Park Elementary School], I'm the only one who went to college. That's real bad. We need to talk about those things.
``[I'm] someone [who] has made it out of Roanoke. Myself, and Roanoke, have done a poor job of promoting athletes that have done good.''
Few could argue when Lynch calls himself ``one of the bright spots'' from his hometown. Even the secretaries in the Lakers' front office were so impressed with him during his pre-draft workout that they nagged Laker general manager Jerry West to draft Lynch with the 12th pick in last summer's draft.
The Lakers did. After sitting the bench early in the season, Lynch got playing time when teammate Doug Christie got hurt, and he hasn't given up his minutes since.
Yet Lynch doesn't want to forget the faces and dreams in places like Hurt Park, Lansdowne and Lincoln Terrace. Still nettled by the perception that he scribbled on Roanoke's basketball reputation when he chose to finish his high school career at Flint Hill Prep instead of at Patrick Henry, Lynch seems set on building George Lynch Inc., a not-for-profit presence back home.
His basketball camp will run from July 25-29 at North Cross High School. He and longtime friend and coach Joe Gaither, director of the Inner City Athletic Association, are looking for local businesses to sponsor campers who can't afford the $120 fee.
Lynch said part of the proceeds from the camp will go toward sponsoring dental work for a needy kid, whom Lynch will send to Dr. M.R. McCorkle Jr., the orthodontist who cared for Lynch's molars.
More camp money, Lynch said, will be funneled into Hurt Park (where he grew up), Lansdowne and Lincoln Terrace to ``better the projects.''
Lynch is doing a March of Dimes spot in Los Angeles - Lynch was born prematurely, and March of Dimes specializes in battling birth defects - and he said he'd be willing to offer his services in Roanoke to that charity or others in the form of public-service announcements.
``I wouldn't mind doing something like that for the city,'' he said. ``It's not like Roanoke doesn't have anything positive.''
Those who know Lynch were not surprised when he kept a positive attitude early this National Basketball Association season while coach Randy Pfund used him mainly at the end of blowouts. Lakers assistant general manager Mitch Kupchak knew Lynch was upset, but said he'd ``bite his lip'' when asked about it.
Kupchak said management never intervened to tell Pfund to play Lynch more - even though the Lakers had invested a reported $1.1 million and a near-lottery draft pick in the 6-foot-71/2-inch forward.
``In training camp, some things jump out at you. At that point in time, George did not jump out at our staff,'' said Kupchak, a fellow UNC alum who has seen dozens of rookies come and go. ``I told him that: 'You're going to get a chance to play. It happens to everybody. You'd better be ready.'"
Though Lynch had played in only 22 of L.A.'s 33 games through Jan.9, Kupchak noted Lynch wasn't out of shape when Christie sprained his ankle in practice Jan.10. In Lynch's second start after Christie went out, he had 24 points and 10 rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets.
``When I signed my contract, I signed for five years, everything guaranteed. I was set for the rest of my life,'' Lynch said. ``It was an ego thing that was taking place.
``I just wanted to ... show I should've been playing earlier in the year.''
Lynch produced and moved into contention to make the NBA all-rookie team. His 30 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 29 were four points better than his high at UNC, but the Lakers continued to lose in a season in which they could miss the playoffs for the first time since 1976.
Now Lynch says he can read the Lakers' mood like a veteran. The team has rallied since Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson replaced Pfund as coach, responding well to the change that includes three-hour practices as opposed to 90-minute workouts.
``Randy had his style, and Earvin has his style of play,'' Lynch said, measuring his words. ``I prefer the way Earvin plays.
``It's been great. I know guys hate going to practice now, but that's the way it should be. I hate practice, but his practices are very enthused; there's a lot getting done.''
That's what Lynch needs. His stats might be fine for a rookie, but the Laker front office isn't toasting itself (yet) over believing in Lynch.
``He has not been around the league once yet,'' Kupchak said. ``It's not surprising to see some guys go around the league, play extremely well, then guys pick up on their game and before you know it you have an average player. We do have to wait and see. [But] if there was a work ethic we'd like all our players to have, it is like George Lynch's.''
Lynch's toil isn't confined to hardwood floors, and he's put his community-service intentions near the top of his to-do list. He's convinced that kids can benefit from his image and his message; one not-so-youngster apparently already has.
In L.A., Lynch rooms with cousin and former PH teammate Jamie Gravley, whom Lynch said has helped him adjust to the glare of the star-saturated city. Gravley has benefited from Lynch, too.
Lynch said Gravley, who attended Averett College before leaving to join Lynch in Chapel Hill, N.C., is an assistant manager at a record store in L.A. Gravley wants to finish work on his college degree and to become store manager, Lynch said.
``Now, he's more ambitious. He could have stayed in Roanoke, just doing something common. He's driven to be the manager,'' Lynch said. ``He didn't understand what else was out in the world until he was around me and I exposed him. We can do the same things to kids in Roanoke.''
by CNB