ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 28, 1996 TAG: 9606280017
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
GEORGE LYNCH of Roanoke isn't sure about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he's ready for the challenge.
Sitting in a chair at William Fleming High School, George Lynch pondered his future with the Los Angeles Lakers.
``I really don't know what to expect,'' the Roanoke native said at his fourth annual boys' and girls' basketball camp. The Los Angeles Lakers ``are trying to get a couple of guys off of free agency. I have been told that the Lakers have been happy with me. And my name has not been brought up in any trade talks.
``But I know if they have the opportunity to make the team better by trading me, I'm sure they will do it.''
Three years ago, that thought never crossed his mind.
After leading North Carolina to its second NCAA title, Lynch was the 12th player taken in the 1993 NBA draft.
``Back then I was just glad to be in the league. I thought it was a great opportunity to come in and play,'' said Lynch, who played on Patrick Henry High School's Group AAA championship team in 1988. ``I had the opportunity to play with some of the guys on television that I had the opportunity to play against in college.''
The 6-foot-8 forward started 46 games during his rookie season, averaging 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Lynch even showed signs of greatness. He scored 30 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 27, 1994, becoming the first Lakers rookie since Magic Johnson (Feb.2, 1980) to reach the 30-point plateau. And he became the first player in team history to grab more offensive rebounds (220) than defensive rebounds (190) in a season.
Since that season, his numbers have declined.
Lynch averaged 6.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in his second season, when he missed 23 consecutive games after breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot.
He started the first five games of the 1995-96 season. But when Johnson rejoined the team as a forward, his minutes decreased to 13 per game. Johnson, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, had been retired since the 1990-91 after contracting the HIV virus.
``I was discouraged at first,'' Lynch said of Johnson's return. ``Magic and I played the same position and I wasn't used to sitting the bench.''
He expects good things for next season. His foot is close to 100 percent and Johnson has retired again.
``This year I know what I have to do,`` he said. ``I have to have in my mind if I don't want to be traded, I'll have to come in this year as a better player.
``But this league is a business. If they trade me, I will just pick up my things and move on to another team.''
And if that day comes, the children of Roanoke have nothing to worry about; Lynch will continue to come back and run his weeklong camps during the summer. And he'd rather give his time than his money.
``I'll always run these camps,'' he said. ``This is one way I can give back. A lot of people say, `Give a lot of money to the community.' I'm a basketball player. I want to make these kids better basketball players and keep them out of trouble during the summer. That's more valuable to a young player than giving them money. That's how I look at it.''
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PHILIP HOLMAN/Staff. Lakers forward George Lynch teachesby CNBaspiring basketball players at his camp at William Fleming High
School.