THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504070669
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
All season long, they look at players. They scour the college ranks, scurry from game to game, scrutinize talent and scribble notes.
What could possibly be left for the NBA people to see at an event like this week's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament?
A lot, apparently.
There are 184 scouts, vice presidents and player personnel directors on hand this week, representing the 29 NBA teams, including the two expansion clubs.
``You very rarely get to see a good player play against a good player, and that's one thing we get to see here,'' said Marty Blake, the director of scouting for the NBA.
And they get to see players going head-to-head in an up-tempo, free-wheeling, NBA-style game, without the pattern offenses and zone defenses a college coach might employ.
``You run into quite a bit of structured offenses in college,'' said Gene Shue, the Philadelphia 76ers' director of player personnel. ``This format is much different. The player has much more freedom. Players are able to show their skills a little better.
``This is a great way to evaluate under different circumstances. There are so many things to look for. Players who make it to the NBA often have a certain skill.''
And that, several NBA people seemed to agree, is the primary thing they are looking for at the PIT. Can a player shoot? Rebound? Defend? Run the floor? Pass? See the court? Handle the ball?
``Does he have some NBA attribute?'' said Atlanta Hawks vice president and general manager Pete Babcock. ``You have to have something to hang your hat on.''
``A lot of these kids wouldn't be considered first-round players,'' said Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers' executive vice president of basketball operations. ``A thing that is important is, do they have a special skill that gives them a chance to play in the NBA?''
If they do, the NBA people want to see it.
The biggest mistake some players in the PIT make is fail to show it. In an effort to display overall talent, a player's chief skill sometimes suffers.
``When you get to this format, if you're supposed to be a rebounder, you'd better rebound,'' Shue said. ``If you're a shooter, you'd better show you can shoot from outside. It's good to show your strengths and that you can do other things, but you'd better show your strength first.''
Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Jack McCloskey said the team's scouts have probably seen 90 percent of the PIT players during their college seasons, and he has probably seen half of them.
``In a lot of instances, players don't realize most of the scouts have seen them play a number of times throughout the year,'' he said. ``They go out and try to impress and force things, and it doesn't work.
``Just play your normal game, and don't think scoring is of primary importance. Do what you do well and play both ends of the floor. Don't coast on the defensive end, because half the game is played there.''
How much of the scouting game is played in settings like the PIT and the more prestigious Night Desert Classic in Phoenix in a couple weeks?
It's tough to gauge what carries more weight, a regular-season evaluation or a pre-draft tournament.
``In some cases, this just reinforces what you think about a player,'' Babcock said.
``This can more clearly define an opinion over a four-day period, but to discount what you see during the regular season would be foolish,'' West said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON, Staff
Former Lakers Hall of Famer Jerry West, now an executive with the
club, signs autographs at the PIT.
by CNB