Pacers Feel Smits Could Elevate Game Into Ewing Class

At first, Rik Smits approaches the subject cautiously, almost as if he is driving into a congested intersection. Will his favorite activity be discussed at length, or only in passing?

As he lists his acquisitions, he detects genuine interest, and that is exciting. Finally, his friendly demeanor reflects unrestrained happiness.

The subject is not basketball, but that is not an offense in itself. There’s more to living than basketball, which has been an important part of Smits’ life for only the last six years.

But if Smits, 23, can develop the passion for basketball that he has for his collection of 13 cars--mostly old Cadillacs--then look out.

Pacer assistant Bob Hill, a former Knick coach, said of Indiana’s 7-4, 250-pound center: “Rik has every bit as much talent as Patrick Ewing. And as he grows in this league, I think we’ll see that he’ll do for Indiana what Patrick does for New York.”

Big words, yet Hill’s opinion is credible. He was a Knick assistant during Ewing’s rookie season in 1985-86, and when Hubie Brown was fired 16 games into the next season, Hill was head coach for the final 66 games.

Hill seems comfortable in making the comparison between Ewing and Smits. The Knicks won the first meeting on Jan. 12, 101-96 in overtime, as Smits outscored Ewing 22-20 but Ewing outrebounded Smits 11-7. As a rookie last season, Smits was outscored by Ewing 96-55 in five games, but Ewing held only a 42-37 edge in rebounding.

Hill qualifies the comparison between Smits and Ewing by noting Smits still must develop, particularly in two areas.

“Confidence level and aggression,” Hill said. “Rik’s still apologetic on the floor when he shouldn’t be. It’s going to take time.”

That is evident when one watches and listens to Smits. He seems far more delighted in discussing his cars than in speculating about being a dominating center. Establishing a career high of 32 points and tying a career high of 15 rebounds this season was nice, but, man, wouldn’t it be great if one of his cars could win a demolition derby? (He purchased two “derby” cars last year.)

“They were two old Cadillacs,” Smits said. “We entered (a demolition derby), but we made a slight mistake. The battery and cable were too close to the exhaust manifold, so the cable melted.”

That is the rough equivalent of what Smits sometimes does in the heat of competition. Part of being a great center is handling the attention from opponents. When the Pacers opened the season with a 19-9 record, Smits was averaging 15.1 points and shooting 54 percent from the field. But in the next 15 games, when defenses paid more attention to him, Smits averaged 13.7 points and shot 45 percent.

Smits also seems uncomfortable projecting how good he can be. When contemplating his potential, he almost visibly melts. “I don’t know,” he said. “To see Patrick Ewing and to see me . . . “

Big difference. Yet Pacer Coach Dick Versace noted it was not until this season that Ewing regularly dominated games the way he was supposed to from the beginning.

“It’s interesting that Patrick is in his fifth year, and they’re now giving him the accolades and the status that I think everybody expected sooner,” Versace said. “In Rik’s case, it’s going to be a similar path.”

It will be if Smits can develop the confidence Ewing has had from the beginning. But it will be more difficult for Smits, because Ewing entered the NBA as a “franchise” center. He was born in Jamaica, but he moved to the United States when he was 11. He benefited from high school coaching and helped Georgetown win a national championship.

Smits, however, did not even touch a basketball until he was 15. He played on a club team in his hometown of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, but was not exposed to sophisticated coaching until six years ago, when he arrived at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N..Y., where he received a scholarship because of his size alone. No one from Marist had ever seen Smits play in a game.

By the ninth game of his freshman season, Smits was starting. And he improved faster than Mario Andretti blasting down a straightaway. In the last game of his sophomore season, Smits matched up with Georgia Tech’s John Salley, a senior who would become a first-round draft choice. Although Tech defeated Marist in the NCAA Tournament, Smits outscored Salley 22-9 and, for the first time, understood how good he could be. In fact, he celebrated during the summer by purchasing his first Cadillac--a 1976 Coupe de Ville.

“When I held my own against Salley,” Smits said, “I figured I could go to the pros.”

He underestimated himself.

In the 1988 draft, the Pacers selected Smits with the second pick in the first round. They were excited. Everything about him was impressive. He was a legitimate 7-4. When he stood flatfooted, he could reach 9-9. He had a vertical leap of 32 inches. And, most important, despite his late start, he was an outstanding shooter.

“The one thing you can’t take away from him is that he’s got the most amazing shooting touch,” Versace said. “This is not something that has to evolve as well as all the other things. And Ewing did not have that great shooting touch when he came in.”

The Pacers also were impressed by Smits’ demeanor. He is a nice person, which makes him enjoyable to be around, but it is not a good disposition to have around the basket. Despite his size, Smits, who is averaging 14.6 points this season, is not a good rebounder. He averaged 6.1 last season and is averaging 6.1 this season.

“The first thing you’ve got to understand,” Pacer forward LaSalle Thompson said, “is that being under the basket is not a walk through the garden. You have to learn to hit somebody or be hit. I think he needs to get meaner, but that is part of maturing. I think he’ll get meaner. He’s not naturally an aggressive person, so he has to teach that to himself.”

Smits chuckled when he heard he was being criticized for being too nice. “I try not to be nice,” he said, “but that’s the way I am.”

The Pacers can accept Smits’ being nice, but they don’t want him to be passive about basketball--on or off the court. Versace says Smits has the potential to be one of the top eight centers in the league by the end of next season and can be even better. Yet there is a price to pay--a price that Ewing, an avid weightlifter, has paid. Versace wants Smits to bulk up to 270 pounds but said Smits was passive during the off-season about weight work.

“We had a little problem with him in that regard,” Versace said. “He didn’t do a lot of weight work, but he did some. He needs to get stronger. The thing that is going to make him a great player is his own desire to be a great player. That’s entirely up to him.

“He’s had some nights where you think he’s going to be one of the top three or four centers in the league. And he’s had some other nights where he looks like he’s going to be a backup center. That’s part of the normal process.”