QUESTION OF DEGREE: THE GRADUATION RATE AT CAL STATE FULLERTON : Wood Got Physical Education Degree Because ‘It Was Important to Me’

Leon Wood, an All-American, a first-round National Basketball Assn. draft choice and a 1984 Olympian, is generally acknowledged as the best basketball player Cal State Fullerton has produced.

He also is 1 of only 3 basketball players recruited by George McQuarn in his 8 years as coach to have graduated.

Wood transferred to Fullerton after playing his freshman season at Arizona. After sitting out a season, he played for the Titans from the 1981-82 season through 1983-84.

He was in school for 5 years and attended summer school twice. In 1984, he graduated with a degree in physical education.

“It was important to me,” said Wood, who finished last season with the Atlanta Hawks and now is a free agent.

“I think the only reason it was important to me is because people said to me at an early age, ‘You might need a degree to fall back on. You might not make it as a pro.’ I’m not sure everybody else (in the Fullerton program) had that same background. My mom leaned on me a great deal. . . . And the idea that I could be the first to graduate under Coach McQuarn registered in my head.”

Wood said he didn’t have to be a model student to earn his degree.

“I was always around the gym area,” he said. “The bottom line is I may not have studied every day, but when it had to get done, I got it done. I was no academic All-American, but I was no dummy, either.”

Wood said many of his teammates didn’t share his desire to earn a degree.

“(Other players) had the ability to graduate. The 4 years I was there, you cannot tell me (only) 1 person is going to graduate. That doesn’t make any sense to me. The ability is there. I think on an individual basis, it’s who you hang with. Where you’re from and who you hang with and why you’re in school.”

But Wood said the responsibility lies with the players, not the coaches.

“With 3 coaches and 15 players, there’s only so much you can do. There were times when coaches would call the teacher’s office and ask, ‘Did so-and-so show up?’. The teacher would say, ‘Who is he?’ They’d say he was big and tall, and the teacher would say, ‘There’s no one like that in my class.’

“(Players) would wait until the last minute and say, ‘Coach, I need help. I’ve got an F going into my last final.’ They were expecting a . . . miracle.”

Wood, unlike many others, got his chance in the pros.

“I graduated, and I got a chance to play. In the NBA, I’m hanging on by the skin of my teeth. The only reason I’m not in a panic position is because I have a degree.”