No Defense for Ignoring Edney

Something bad happened at the NBA draft, and no, I am not talking about the Clippers, not at the moment.

Damon Stoudamire was drafted No. 7 and Tyus Edney was drafted No. 47, even though UCLA’s Edney can outplay Arizona’s Stoudamire any day of the week.

Why did Tyus go so low? Apparently, because he sprained his wrist before the NCAA championship game in April, then broke a bone in his hand playing basketball in May.

Man, between Ed O’Bannon’s leg and Edney’s arm, how did poor UCLA ever win a game? The whole team looked like a Revolutionary War fife-and-drum corps.

All I know is, NBA teams made a big mistake Wednesday.

Can Stoudamire outshoot Edney? Yes, he can. But the next defense Damon plays will be his first, and, crazy me, I thought basketball coaches were supposed to like defense.

Edney is the best defensive guard in America. He also can shoot (remember that bomb against Connecticut?) and score in the clutch (who can forget that drive against Missouri?).

Unselfish, a leader, a winner--this is exactly the sort of player coaches keep trying to develop.

Then they stiff him.

They take Damon Stoudamire ahead of him-- 40 places ahead of him.

And who ends up choosing Edney, almost by default? Sacramento, which had two pint-sized point guards, Bobby Hurley and Spud Webb, before it traded Webb to Atlanta on Thursday.

If the Kings let Edney play, I predict he can start over Hurley, and I mean by Thanksgiving.

Edney dealt with it well, as he deals with everything. He said, “It was very frustrating, yes. But I’m glad; I think I’ll have a good chance to play there. This is a great day for all of us,” meaning the UCLA seniors.

Unselfish to the end.

This kid had to sit there and watch the new Toronto team and its boss, Isiah Thomas, skip over Ed O’Bannon in favor of Stoudamire, a few days after claiming B.J. Armstrong of the Chicago Bulls from the NBA’s expansion pool.

Either the Raptors are planning a trade, or next season Isiah Thomas intends to start five Isiah Thomases.

For a fast second there, I thought that the Lakers would have a laugh on everybody again, including the Clippers, by using their 37th pick to claim Edney, which would have had half of Los Angeles grinning.

That would have been pulling off another Nick Van Exel, but the fact is that the Lakers already have Nick Van Exel. They needed a shooter, a bomber, so they took someone from Western Carolina instead.

I bow before Jerry West’s expertise. Knowing him as we do, Frankie King will probably be an all-star by 1997.

As for our old friends in Clipperworld. . . .

By proposing to, then jilting at the altar, Antonio (I Was a Clipper For 15 Minutes) McDyess, dealing him to the Denver Nuggets along with discards Randy Woods and Elmore Spencer for Rodney Rogers, Brian Williams and the rights to Brent Barry, here, in essence, is what they did:

Gambled. Gambled big.

They gambled (bravely) on getting three players instead of one, which hinges on Williams and Barry not riding the bench.

They gambled (foolishly) on losing ticket sales that would have been generated by Jerry Stackhouse, the people’s choice.

They gambled (understandably) that Rogers has to show up, whereas Stackhouse or McDyess could have double-crossed them.

They gambled (conservatively) that the No. 2 choice of the 1995 draft would be only marginally better than the No. 9 choice of 1993 (Rogers, who as a rookie averaged a skimpy 8.1 points a game).

They gambled (uncertainly) that Williams has overcome his emotional problems and that becoming a Clipper won’t give him more.

They gambled (confidently) that Barry, the 15th choice of this draft, can play point guard better than Woods, the 16th choice of the 1992 draft, who played there in college.

They gambled (curiously) that Oregon State’s Barry can outplay UCLA’s Edney, which he never has.

And, they got somebody to sing the national anthem.

Gene Williams, father of Brian, is an original member of the Platters who has sung the anthem before Denver Nugget games. So, bottom line, the Clippers have improved themselves before the game even starts.