BASKETBALL THE NBA DRAFT : Controversy, Interest Center on Schintzius

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

June 24, 1990 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

He is 7-feet-1, an unselfish center with skills that make him a fine passing big man and, perhaps, the most talented player in Wednesday’s NBA draft.

But he also has an independent streak, and the general manager who dares pick him may find himself fired in a couple years.

“He is the most controversial player in the draft in many years,” said Pat Williams, president and general manager of the Orlando Magic, of Dwyane Schintzius, one-time player at the University of Florida. Williams’ club will choose fourth and could use a center.

“With all his doings at Florida, there are many questions that surround him,” Williams said. “Each week brings more. He has been scrutinized, analyzed and psychologized for what seems like forever.”

Actually, only in earnest since January. Until then, his talent still outweighed his seeming immaturity. But when he refused to cut his Andre Agassi-like locks and quit the team rather than submit to being disciplined by Coach Don DeVoe, he was labeled a discipline problem.

He was gone from the school midway through his senior season, the only player in Southeastern Conference history to collect more than 1,500 points, 800 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 blocked shots.

Were it just for those figures, and considering that talented centers are always the prime property of any draft, Schintziuswould been given serious consideration as the No. 1 pick.

But when it came time to prove his seriousness about pro ball, when a good performance at the Orlando Classic, a postseason competition among many of the top draft prospects, could have made him unquestionably the first pick, Schintzius showed up grossly overweight at 293 pounds. He blamed it on a bad scale, claiming it read 280 at home.

At the final scouting combine workouts, earlier this month at Chicago, his weight had dropped, all the way down to 288.

Which brings Schintzius to the present, where people are showing their respect. They’re laughing.

“He can turn around in a classroom and wipe the blackboard,” Williams said.

Even so, the lure of the big man keeps him alive among the top dozen picks, and he may go no lower than No. 10, when Golden State, desperate for size, will pick. If he is still available at 13, the Clippers, well versed in the ways of project centers, may find the talent too much to pass on. They are planning to go big with that choice anyway.

Bob Woolf(cq), Schintzius’ agent, said his client is the product of overblown media stories. Just the same, the drafting clubs seem wary.

“Somebody, I’m sure, will take the plunge,” said Sacramento personnel director Jerry Reynolds, whose Kings will pick seventh.

Asked who it might be, Reynolds broke into laughter.

“I know who’s not going to,” he said.

The lack of other quality big men means that whatever depth there is in this shallow draft is at guard. Starting with Gary Payton going No. 2 to Seattle, six backcourt standouts could go in the first 11.

The best of the off guards are Kendall Gill of Illinois, Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount and Travis Mays of Texas. The Clippers, at No. 8, may have their pick of Kimble, with better range, or Mays, more versatile with the ability to play the point.

Relative unknowns worth knowing about, because the NBA certainly does:

--Willie Burton, small forward, Minnesota. Got very little attention outside the Big Ten until the NCAA tournament, when he led the Gophers to the East Regional semifinals. A great showing at the Orlando scouting combine made his stock soar even higher. Now, he may go in the top six and ahead of Lionel Simmons, a more publicized player at the same position.

--Dave Jamerson, big guard, Ohio University. From the Mid-American Conference to the middle of the first round.

“He really shoots the ball well,” Reynolds said. “Until they change the rules, that’s important.”

--Duane Causewell, center, Temple. Washington General Manager John Nash calls him the only legitimate shot-blocking center in the draft, enough to draw notice in a year devoid of many quality big men. Built the reputation in a short time, having missed his freshman year and all but 12 games of the senior season because of academic problems.

--Jerrod Mustaf, forward, Maryland. He is going through the draft after his sophomore season but being 6-10 tends to make up for a lot of inexperience. Besides, he has talent to go with size.

“He is everyone’s sleeper,” Williams said. “Our mock draft had him going 17 to the Knicks. He helped himself dramatically at Chicago.”

--Anthony Bonner, forward, St. Louis. While most eyes were on the NCAA tournament, Bonner’s showing while leading the Billikens to the NIT final was more impressive than his finishing No. 1 in Division I in rebounding.

The Los Angeles-area influence will be prominent Wednesday, if not dramatic.

No local players figure to go in the first dozen, Kimble being a Philadelphian, but the familiar names will roll after that.

Trevor Wilson of UCLA and Cedric Ceballos of Cal State Fullerton, similar players in that neither gets much respect for his shooting but is awarded high marks for intensity, could go late in the first round. Likewise Derek Strong from Xavier by way of Palisades High School, who has caught the interest of Phoenix at No. 21.

Others: Scott Williams of North Carolina-Hacienda Heights Wilson, and Elden Campbell, Clemson-Inglewood Morningside, both centers in college who may end up as forwards in the pros, are in the 20-30 pick range.

Sean Higgins, Michigan-Fairfax, has fans after a good showing at Chicago, but would have more if he had waited a year and come out as a senior.

Stephen Thompson is followed by the same concerns as when he went from Crenshaw to Syracuse, that, at 6-3, he has the size of a guard without the shooting touch to play the position.

DRAFT ORDER 1. New Jersey

2. Seattle

3. Denver (from Miami)

4. Orlando

5. Charlotte

6. Minnesota

7. Sacramento

8. Los Angeles Clippers

9. Miami (from Washington through Dallas and Denver)

10. Golden State

11. Atlanta

12. Houston