Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408170018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TORONTO LENGTH: Medium
There's no way to wipe the smile from Orlando Vega's face.
Fifty-point losses to a team of NBA stars certainly couldn't do it, not after more than three years in federal prisons didn't.
Orlando Vega, a high school All-American at Oak Hill Academy who never played college basketball but went on to start a promising career in the Puerto Rican league, has made the biggest comeback of any player at the World Championship of Basketball.
He's playing for Puerto Rico against the best in the world with a new outlook on life and that smile.
``These people gave me a chance to be on the national team and all I can do is carry myself right, act right, take care of my family and appreciate everything - the way the wind blows, the trees. I'm serious,'' Vega, 26, said sitting outside his team's locker room at Maple Leaf Gardens, seven months after being released from prison. ``Things like watching my own TV in my own house and not worrying about some guy coming to whack you in the head to watch what he wants. Hey, I appreciate everything now.''
Vega was born in New York and moved to Washington, D.C., when he was 14. He graduated from Oak Hill in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and was selected to play in the usual array of postseason all-star games.
At the Dapper Dan Classic in Pittsburgh, he was chosen MVP.
``Chris Jackson, Billy Owens, Alonzo Mourning, Shawn Kemp, Marc Dowdell, Chucky Sproling, David Johnson ... and that was just on my team,'' Vega said, rolling back with a hearty laugh. ``They had me playing point guard and all I did was throw alley-oop passes to Shawn for dunks. It was an unbelievable game for me. The highlight of my life. On the other team was LaPhonso Ellis, Anthony Peeler. There was a lot of talent and most are in the NBA now. Almost all of them.''
Vega chose Arizona from a long list of schools, but stayed a very short time, deciding to return to the Northeast. He transferred to Providence, but sitting out the year was too tough, and he accepted an offer to play in Puerto Rico's pro league.
``My father was born in Puerto Rico, so that makes me a national,'' he said.
Vega, a 6-foot-2 offensive dynamo, made a big impact in the league. The fans took to him and his slicing drives and deadly jumper.
But in June 1990, his life changed forever.
``I was in an apartment in Washington with a bunch of guys and I knew they were into stuff, I just didn't know it was in the apartment,'' he said. ``The cops came in and I wouldn't give up my friends. I would never do that. I wasn't doing anything, never would. I was in the wrong place and I paid for it.''
Vega was convicted of cocaine possession and spent a little more than 31/2 years in federal prisons. He made the most of it.
``All I did was keep in shape and keep my mind,'' he said. ``I was tutoring guys for their GED, so my job let me stay near the library so I kept my mind right and tried to help other people, too.''
Then, there was basketball.
``I worked on everything possible as far as my game went. I was down to 6 percent body fat. The guys in there got me in shape. They pushed me. They helped because it's hard to push yourself the way you should.
``A lot of people in there knew me and some didn't believe it. They would make me prove it. I knew I could handle it. You can when you have that in you.
``There's some good players in jail and they push you. There are some guys in jail who could play here. They just did the wrong thing, made a mistake.
``There were some battles in jail, very physical, but everything was clean-cut because they didn't want to hurt me and that helped me out.
``They helped me whether they know it or not. I helped them with their education, and they helped me to get here.''
The trip might not be over. Vega averaged 10 points in Puerto Rico's first six games in Toronto, and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers have contacted him about coming to training camp.
Vega scored 12 points against Dream Team II and engaged in some lively discussions with Mourning and Kemp during the game.
``That was a lot of fun. I know Alonzo and Shawn, and they were messing with me,'' he said. ``That's part of the game.''
Vega led the Puerto Rican league in scoring at 26 points per game this season. The playoffs start this month and he'll be there.
``I knew I would make it back to the [Puero Rican] league,'' he said. ``But I never thought all this - a gold medal in Russia at the Goodwill Games, playing against Magic Johnson's all-star team, the World Championships. I never thought this. But I knew if I ever got the chance, I would be ready.''
by CNB