DATE: Tuesday, October 21, 1997             TAG: 9710210407
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEONARD LAYE, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER 

DATELINE: CHARLOTTE                         LENGTH:  109 lines

J.R. VIRGINIA BEACH'S REID HAS RETURNED TO THE HORNETS - FIVE YEARS AFTER AN UNHAPPY EXIT.

Of all the people who have played in teal and pinstripes through the years, J.R. Reid was just about the last to figure he'd wind up back in Charlotte, in a Hornets uniform.

Too much mental baggage. Too many unpleasant memories.

Reid left town during the 1992-93 season with the boos of Charlotte Coliseum fans, radio talk-show critics and even his own coaches ringing in his ears.

Now he's back; older, wiser, more experienced and more productive. He has changed, and so has his NBA environment.

``It's different,'' Reid said. ``Now the team is so much better. Better players, better coaches, better front office.''

``J.R., The Sequel'' promises to be different as well, say those he works with.

``I didn't really know him a whole lot then,'' coach Dave Cowens said of Reid's first Charlotte stay. ``I know he was a lot heavier. I don't think he was as quick.

``When I saw him in San Antonio, he was playing like he is now: really active around the basket, talking all the time, helping people out, just playing very aggressively. And that's what he needs to do.''

Reid couldn't have known what was ahead when he was traded from Charlotte to San Antonio on Dec. 9, 1992. He just knew he was ready for a change.

``It was tough,'' he said. ``I was young then. . . . We were pitiful.''

At 6-foot-9, he had been asked to play center against much bigger men, and expectations were high from the public and the staff. When it didn't work as well as everyone had hoped, he bounced from a tense early relationship with the Hornets' first coach, Dick Harter, to an open feud with Harter's successor, Gene Littles.

Reid didn't handle it well.

J.R. Reid had been thrust into North Carolina's basketball consciousness in 1986. A high school All-American at Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach, he signed with the Tar Heels, became the ACC's rookie of the year and went on to average 16.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists over three seasons.

In the summer of 1989, after his junior season at North Carolina, he entered the NBA draft and was a first-round pick, fifth overall, of the Hornets. His status as one of the state's most visible amateur athletes lifted the pro expectations to unreasonable levels.

``They thought I was going to bring wins with me from Carolina and it just wasn't working like that,'' Reid said. ``The team wasn't that good, and we needed a franchise center. I know I wasn't that, but for whatever reasons we were unable to get a center in at the time.

``I took my lumps. I understand I was playing out of position. I was trying to figure ways to get shots off on big guys, playing against centers. I never had a comfortable go-to move (for that situation).''

Reid averaged 11.1, 11.3 and 11.0 points in his three full seasons in Charlotte. The Hornets went 19-63, 26-56 and 31-51 in that span.

``We weren't a very good team,'' he said. ``We didn't have go-to guys, we didn't have any of that stuff. We were feeling ourselves out as an organization as I was as a player. So it was a real tough situation for everybody all the way around.''

Reid said he is more mature now, the result of age (29) and his experiences. He said he understands he shouldn't allow fan reaction to affect his game or his life but admitted that it was difficult during the early 1990s.

``That's part of the game,'' he said. ``I know how fans are. You just come to accept that. You can't worry about it. Some guys let it get to them. But those guys in the locker room, as long as you get their respect and the coaches' respect, that's all you need.''

Bob Bass, now the Hornets' executive vice president, was running the Spurs at the time of Reid's trade. Later, Cowens joined the Spurs' staff as an assistant. None of the three could have known it at the time, but each would have a hand in Reid's maturation and development as a player and, last summer, his return to Charlotte with a two-year contract paying him about $650,000 in 1997-98.

Reid prospered in San Antonio, playing significant minutes in primarily a backup role, expanding parts of his game and eliminating others, developing a jump shot, regaining his confidence.

``What it's all about is timing and location,'' Reid said. ``I got a chance to go to San Antonio and play some quality minutes. I spent a lot of time working on my jump shooting. I worked on my post moves and narrowed them down some. It's all been good for me.

``Here, Dave wants me to rebound and score inside. I'm not a shot-blocker, so I strip guys when they bring the ball up. I try to get my body on smaller guys and get them out of position. I've always had quick feet and been able to move my feet on defense.

``The Charlotte experience really helped me mature as a player. I realized that once you get to this league, you've got to have guys helping you out, because you're on your own.''

Reid was married while in Charlotte the first time, and he and his wife, Pansy, have two children.

``I'm still the same guy,'' he said. ``I still like to have a good time, joke around. But when we hit that court, man, we go at it.''

After three preseason games, Reid is averaging 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 25.3 minutes. In his one start, a victory over Golden State, he had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

``I didn't know what to expect from the Charlotte crowd,'' Reid said. ``But it doesn't make any difference. That's just the way fans are. So I'm not here for fans, I'm here for the Hornets' organization.

``B.B. (Bob Bass) called me. Charlotte . . . I didn't want to come back. But B.B. called and came and talked to me. If B.B. hadn't called and Dave wasn't coaching, I wouldn't have been here. No way.''

And now?

``I don't have any (junk) to talk. Let's just play and see what happens for two years.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]

Associated Press Photos

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