Caught In Charlotte’s Web : Rookie Zidek Was Impressive After Trade of Mourning, but Arrival of Geiger Has Reduced His Playing Time and Development

It’s no surprise George Zidek is struggling in his first season out of UCLA, that his playing time is going down and his frustration level is rising.

The surprise is that it’s happening in the NBA, rather than the Continental Basketball Assn., the U.S. Basketball League or pickup games at the YMCA.

Four years ago when he left his native Czechoslovakia and arrived at Westwood looking like an amiable Herman Munster, there was little expectation he’d make a living at basketball, much less become a No. 1 pick with a three-year, $1.7-million contract who would be chosen to play in the rookie all-star game.

Two years ago, after he had posted averages of 1.1 and 2.4 points as a freshman and sophomore, he wasn’t gaining on it.

“Oh, heaven’s sakes, no,” UCLA Coach Jim Harrick says. “It was funny, I coached the USA World University Games team with Reggie Minton and Bob Huggins. He [Zidek] was playing on the Czech university team. So my wife and I, we went down to watch him play and she punched me about midway through the second half. She said, ‘He’s terrible.’ I was so depressed.”

Nor was Zidek dreaming such a dream.

“No way,” he says. “I mean, two years ago, I just started playing at UCLA because my first two years I didn’t play at all. When I came to UCLA, I was the 12th player, on the level of a walk-on.”

But, oh, how he worked. In school, even with the adjustment to English, he had a 3.77 grade-point average in economics. In basketball, he was no gazelle, but he had a nice touch and with only a few thousand hours or so of practice, he developed a nice old-fashioned right-handed hook and a decent left-handed one.

In his junior season, he averaged 11 points, splitting the position with Rodney Zimmerman. In the Bruins’ storybook run his senior year, Zidek woke up the pro scouts in the finals when he outscored Arkansas’ leading scorer, Corliss “Big Nasty” Williamson, 14-12. Big Nasty spent the night trying to knock the 250-pound Zidek out of the way but bounced off instead and picked up a new nickname: Scoreless. There was a $2-million swing that night; Zidek probably cost Williamson $1 million and made $1 million for himself.

At the Chicago pre-draft camp where the lottery picks no longer play, leaving the way open for dark horses, Zidek impressed several teams with his hustle. Sure enough, on draft day, he went to the Charlotte Hornets on the 22nd pick. Owner George Shinn declared Zidek had been 10th on the Hornets’ list.

“They had that much confidence in the guy,” said Shinn of Coach Allan Bristow and Bob Bass, vice president for basketball operations. “If we had the 10th pick, that’s who we would have picked.”

Anything is possible since the Hornets are known for their zany moves. With a 6-foot-9 center, Alonzo Mourning, a 41-year-old backup, Robert Parish, and a 6-5 power forward, Larry Johnson, they were desperate to add some size, however long it took to develop. Zidek was put down as a “project,” which meant check him in three or four years, wherever he was.

Instead, the hulking rookie, who had worked on his quickness all summer in Westwood with a personal trainer, turned in a big exhibition season. Headlines started popping up in the Charlotte press like “By George, He Might Have It.” When Mourning was traded the day before the season started, Zidek became the starting center.

In his pro debut at Chicago, he got Dennis Rodman in early foul trouble. The next night, Zidek scored 21 points.

That’s still his career high. After that, Glen Rice and Matt Geiger arrived from Miami, and there went a rookie’s shots, minutes and, finally, his place in the starting lineup.

“Those first two games, we were kind of getting together so I got to be a good part of the offense,” Zidek says. “But since then I’ve been used more for defensive purposes, to try and rebound, not as much offensively because we’ve got so many scorers. It’s not expected of me to score. My minutes have been going down.”

Says Hornet assistant coach Bill Hanzlik: “I think for George to be effective in the league, he’s going to have to play a Bill Laimbeer-type game or maybe a Rick Mahorn. He’s not real gifted athletically, but he is big and smart. Probably the best asset he’s got is the capacity to work hard every single day. I don’t think there’s a day that’s gone by that George hasn’t tried to make himself a better basketball player.

“You talk about rookies coming into the league, and he’s had his troubles like any other rookie and that’s one of the things you’ve got to learn. Like Allan said, this isn’t like your high school game now. This isn’t like your college game. I mean, this is really for business. This is your livelihood and your job and you can’t worry about hurting somebody’s feelings. You can be friends with them after the game, but during the game you gotta go at him.”

It remains to be seen if Zidek will try to knock anyone’s head off in the style of Laimbeer or Mahorn, but he promises to do what he can.

“Obviously, it’s more fun to play 25 minutes than five,” says Zidek, averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes, though he has played more than nine minutes only once in the last seven games.

“I just try to make the most out of my situation and keep working hard. The success at UCLA didn’t come at once; I had to earn it, so I think I’m going to have to earn my success in the NBA.”

The only thing anyone knows for sure, he’ll work at it. Just to be on the safe side, watch out for his elbows.