Looks as if Higher Education Is About to Lose Another One

Since the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted high schooler Kevin Garnett, NBA scouts seem to be taking occasional looks at prep standouts, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Steve Aschburner.

Among a group of high school players who have been scouted is Kobe Bryant of Ardmore, Pa. He is a 6-foot-6 point guard averaging 35 points and 10 rebounds and is compared to Grant Hill.

Miami Heat executive Dave Wohl said none of this year’s prep players are at Garnett’s level. But recruiting guru Tom Konchalski said, “What Bryant can’t do can’t be done. He has no weaknesses. None. Zero. Zip.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most consecutive games scoring 30 or more points?

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Strong stuff: Doug Stange offered this recipe recently in Catfish magazine for an unbeatable sour bait for catfish anglers:

“Scale and fillet a carp and cut the fillets into 1-by-2-inch strips and place loosely in a glass jar.

“Add two teaspoons of water, beer or wine.

“Screw on lid, but not too tight--gas, you know--and bury jar about six inches deep in a garden (direct sunlight breaks down the bait too much).

“Your bait should be ready in five or six days . . . or a year or two.”

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Add strong stuff: Stange advises anglers to handle sour baits with rubber gloves and to transport them in leak-proof bags.

“An accident in the trunk of your car tends to decrease the vehicle’s value by about 100%,” he wrote.

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Kingly craft: Fountain Lightning, a 47-foot, 100-mph offshore powerboat on display at the Southern California Boat Show at the L.A. Convention Center, was recently purchased by Jordan’s King Hussein.

Price: $390,000.

The king paid cash.

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No Flo-Jo: The Amateur Athletic Foundation SportsLetter, on Florence Griffith-Joyner’s original announcement she’d try to make the 1996 U.S. Olympic team as a marathoner:

“Flo-Jo has trimmed her expectations by about 26 miles. Now [she says]: ‘I may do the 400 in Atlanta, then the marathon in 2000.’

“Call us skeptical, but the fact Flo-Jo has run 0 major races at any distance since 1988 makes us think she will run 0 meters in Atlanta.”

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Trivia answer: Wilt Chamberlain, 65 in a row, 1962.

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Quotebook: Houston Oiler scout Glenn Cumbee on Baylor defensive end Daryl Gardener, who is 6 feet 6 and 327 pounds: “His percentage of body fat is so low, you could strike a match on him. When I look at him, I see a bigger Reggie White.”