THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501280339
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LANDOVER, MD. LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
For various reasons, Chris Gatling's head has always been an interesting subject.
He survived emergency brain surgery after a fall in high school, and had a supportive plate replaced a couple years later. In college at Pittsburgh, where he never played, and Old Dominion, where he starred for three seasons, Gatling drove people to distraction with bursts of immaturity and mental vacations.
Now, four seasons into his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors, Gatling has made Bay Area headlines, so to speak, for the headband he began wearing on a lark in mid-December.
Almost nobody wears them anymore. Still, since his head has gone blue-and-gold sartorial, Gatling has improved upon what was already a respectable output. After recording 18 points and a season-high 12 rebounds Thursday when Golden State defeated the Washington Bullets, 121-118, in overtime, Gatling was averaging 15 points in 10 games with a brightly colored ring around his skull.
``It's been bringing me good luck,'' said Gatling, averaging 11 points and seven rebounds overall. ``It might be bringing the team bad luck, but it's been a plus for me.''
Of course, there's more wrong with the Warriors than fickle fate. Before Friday's game in Boston they were 12-25 and had lost 10 of their last 12 - with Thursday's road victory the first since Nov. 11.
Injuries and the bitter Chris Webber-coach Don Nelson spat that resulted in Webber's trade to the Bullets, then Nelson's bout with viral pneumonia, have helped riddle Golden State, which went 50-32 a year ago.
Through it all, though, Gatling, 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, has produced his finest season since the Warriors made him the 16th pick overall in the 1991 draft.
Until he sliced open his right wrist with a knife Jan. 8 while trying to open a package, Gatling led the NBA in field-goal percentage by a wide margin. He returned last week and, with a shooting mark of 68 percent (132 for 194) before Friday, Gatling was a few field goals shy of qualifying for the league lead, held by Shaquille O'Neal at .594.
Nevertheless, his is a proud number for a guy who admittedly entered the league as a ``project'' but who has steadily forged for himself a comfortable niche.
Gatling is so at home that he is on pace to do something only one other player, a famous headband model named Wilt Chamberlain, has done - shoot better than 67 percent from the floor for a season.
``It's so hard to lead the lead this league in something because there's so many great players,'' Gatling said. ``I feel happy I'm up there, but you can be there one day and gone the next.''
He is flourishing not only because of the slithery, lefthanded post moves with which he became a two-time Sun Belt Conference player of the year, but improved confidence and discipline. Maturity, they call it.
These days, Gatling has an idea, a purpose for every action, assistant coach Bob Lanier said. He is thinking the game, not just playing it.
``I think he's always been a real energetic player, but with no focus,'' Lanier said. ``He was like a balloon you let the air out of and it just fizzles all around the room. I think he channels his energy better now, knowing when to turn it on and off. His intensity has been very good for this ballclub.''
The club has been good for Gatling, too. With one season left in a deal worth a reported $5.6 million, Gatling, a bachelor, has a home in wooded seclusion in the Bay Area and ``just three'' cars at his disposal. He has moved his parents into a new place in Warren, N.J., but said he has mostly banked his money.
``My next contract I'll take care of myself,'' Gatling said.
He'll have plenty to bring to the table. Though he's 27, Gatling and Nelson think he has ample time for greater improvement. A forward/ center, Gatling, the Warriors' so-called ``Energizer'' off the bench, has expanded his abilities each year and turned in his most consistent efforts this season. Even so, he earned the Warriors' Jack McMahon Award last season for being their most inspirational player.
``He's worked on his concentration and learning the plays, to make sure he knows what he's doing out there,'' said Nelson, mindful of the scattershot mental baggage Gatling brought to the Warriors. ``We've noticed some real growth there.''
Gatling has lived with the blessing and curse of wide-open potential since his days at Elizabeth (N.J.) High School. At ODU, despite averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds for his career, Gatling could not carry the Monarchs to any postseason tournaments. He took heat for it, and in fact claims no fond memories of his college days.
He has no relationship with former ODU coach Tom Young, athletic director Jim Jarrett or most of his college teammates. And he still professes bitterness over being barred, he said, from using ODU's facilities after he left school in the middle of his final semester to prepare for the draft.
``I'm not sorry I went there, I'm just disappointed how it ended,'' Gatling said. ``I wish it could have ended on a positive note.''
With the Warriors, Gatling is enjoying more good vibes than he can wrap a headband around.
``I have more within me,'' Gatling said. ``I haven't developed a right hand or, really, a jump shot from 12 or 13 feet. My ballhandling still needs a lot of work. There are a lot of ways I can improve.
``But it's in the numbers - I'm getting better each year. I'm happy with myself.'' by CNB