Leon Wood Takes On a New Calling : Pro basketball: Former Cal State Fullerton and NBA player is training to become an official.

On the surface, the scene at the Long Beach Pyramid was a familiar one: Former Cal State Fullerton and NBA player Leon Wood running warm-up laps on the basketball court, getting ready for a summer pro league game.

But there were obvious differences.

Instead of a team jersey with a number, he wore a gray pullover with blue trim. And a whistle hung from his neck.

During this session of recently completed summer games, Wood tried to take steps toward another career change. He wants to go from player and a former assistant coach at Fullerton to official. Instead of committing fouls, he wants to call them.

“I’m definitely going at this full speed,” Wood said after a game. “I’m pretty much on a mission now to get this done. This is not an experiment, which some people thought it was at the beginning.

“So far, it’s exciting. The only thing--originally we were supposed to be in Utah for their pro summer league. But the NBA lockout brought us here. When I heard I was coming [to California], the thing going through my mind was I had just played in the summer league last summer--I had played in it for 10 years--and all of a sudden I’m going to be refereeing guys I played against and with. Against coaches I played for. This was going to be the biggest challenge.”

When not working games, Wood attended classroom sessions supervised by Darell Garretson, chief of the NBA’s officiating staff.

Garretson said he and the staff were pleased by what they saw, and he is considering Wood for some assignments in the Continental Basketball Assn. this fall.

“I think he’s passed all the tests here,” Garretson said. “There are two positives for Leon. Each night he progresses, showing excellent judgment, and he has decided his playing days are over. We have seen nothing bad this summer.”

But that doesn’t mean Wood will be working in the NBA soon. Normally, a candidate will come to the NBA camp three to four years before he is hired, Garretson said. “We have a backlog, but no pecking order. We evaluate and re-evaluate non-NBA staff officials every year. But we don’t have to look at someone long to decide if he can work for us.

“We look for someone athletic--a person who can run the floor. I also talk with them, to find out what they would like to do. I want someone who is successful outside officiating. I don’t want them sitting around, waiting for the NBA phone to ring.”

Wood, considered the best player produced by Cal State Fullerton, set school records in points (1,876 points) and assists (744). He also is Fullerton’s single-season record-holder in points (719), assists (319) and scoring average (24.0).

Now 33, Wood said he thought of officiating even while still a pro--although he wished his career, which lasted six seasons and was hampered by injuries, had turned out differently.

“It was a little difficult in the beginning, being a No. 1 draft pick,” he said. “But as I look back now, I can say I did accomplish what I wanted--be in the NBA, my No. 1 priority, and play in the [1984] Olympics. So even though I didn’t become an all-star, I did get to the main show. Some things you have no control over.

“Even when I was in the NBA and not playing that much, I studied the game. I didn’t just sit there. I not only studied from a player’s point of view, but tried to see what the coaches were seeing and what the referees were seeing. Sometimes when a player would come out he’d grumble, ‘I can’t believe [the ref] made that call.’ I would tell him, ‘Trust me, that was the right call. You did walk.’ ”

His NBA playing career ended in 1990, but Wood continued playing in the CBA and European pro leagues. He joined the Fullerton staff for the 1991-92 season but still had a desire to play and joined a team in France. In December, though, Wood reconsidered his career path.

“When I had to make the decision between the two, I thought coaching would always be there--at 30, 40, 50, whenever I decided to coach,” Wood said. “Refereeing--I had to decide from the standpoint I was young, healthy and had the legs to go up and down the court. If I tried to wait until my 40s, it could be a little difficult; I had no idea physically how I’d be 10 years from now if I just started.”

So Wood found work wherever he could. He officiated in recreational leagues, boys’ and girls’ high school games in Orange County, pro-am leagues in Los Angeles. He was spotted by NBA scouts at a referee camp in Texas. Garretson said it was “a step we’d never seen an ex-player take before.”

Wood said he needed to start from the bottom.

“These were some of the dues I’ve had to pay,” he said. “It was something I had to do on my own because when I started it was the end of December, and it was too late to get into anything major. So I did this for experience--to see if I like this. Bottom line is, I like the game of basketball.”

At least one former player who has seen Wood officiate said he can make it. And, Magic Johnson said, “He’s doing it the right way.

“Because he played, when he makes it the players will respect him. They’ll understand the calls. Those are the guys you want in big games. The best refs are the ones you can talk to.”

Wood said he received some early tests of his authority, but for the most part he was not blasted by summer league players and coaches.

“Some of the tricks they try to get away with they see I’m calling,” Wood said. “They would say, ‘You used to do that,’ and I tell them, ‘That’s why I made the call. I know what those tricks are.’ So from that standpoint, guys are starting to respect me a little bit.”