College, Rhode Island’s Odom a Good Fit After All

Lamar Odom became a reputation more than a person awhile ago.

His name summons the details--the three high schools, the deluge of NBA talk, a stop at Nevada Las Vegas, a questioned ACT score, and finally a reappearance at Rhode Island, followed by a long wait to see if he would play college basketball at all.

He is playing now, and playing rather well despite some ups and downs after a year out of the game, averaging 16 points, nine rebounds and--perhaps most impressive for the versatile 6-foot-10 forward--a team-leading four assists.

Rhode Island’s game at Pepperdine on Tuesday in the Sparkletts Invitational will be billed as Jim Harrick’s return to L.A.

But let’s face it, like him or not, you pretty much know what Harrick looks like on the sidelines.

Odom is worth seeing, so you can form your own opinion.

To watch Odom play is to gaze at one of Harrick’s bigger gambles--one that has paid off.

“We never thought as a staff that it was a gamble,” said Jerry DeGregorio, an assistant to Harrick who was Odom’s coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High in New Britain, Conn., one of Odom’s three stops in a career that began at New York’s Christ the King.

Odom was going to play at UNLV until a Sports Illustrated story questioned his standardized test score, and UNLV tried to distance itself by letting it be known he was no longer welcome. He resurfaced at Rhode Island.

“We knew we’d take hits because of the young man, but I’ll be very honest, we really felt the kid had a strong desire to be in college basketball,” DeGregorio said. “I knew Lamar well. He graduated from my high school. I knew in my heart the kid was a wonderful young man, and with the proper guidance and structure he could succeed.”

So far, he has done that, gaining his eligibility at Rhode Island by attending classes last year, even though he went AWOL at one point last winter.

Steve Francis of Maryland is college basketball’s best newcomer, but Odom, the nation’s best high school player two seasons ago, is in the group not far behind.

People who have gone to watch him play, expecting to see another over-hyped, spoiled product of the often corrupt system that feeds players to colleges and the NBA, have often come away surprised.

The twists and turns of his career and the questions about his entrance exam almost lead people to forget it’s possible to be a likable player and not have a valid SAT or ACT score. Schea Cotton at Long Beach City is another example.

It raises questions that neither took the opportunity to prove the validity of their scores by retaking the test under satisfactory conditions. But say one thing for them: They could have gone to play somewhere and get paid--if not the NBA, the CBA or in Europe.

“Lamar always wanted to be a college athlete,” DeGregorio said. “I have a picture of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, and he always points to those guys and says, ‘They played college ball. I want to be a college student.’

“The talk about the NBA was inspired by people around him. He just wanted to be a kid, and people were saying he was the next Kobe Bryant. When he feels ready to be a pro--and not just be in the pros--then we’ll sit down and talk. Right now, he’s planning to come back.”

That remains to be seen, of course.

But for now, the magic that Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley made during Rhode Island’s NCAA tournament run to the final eight last season has been replaced by the early season ups and downs of a team regrouping around a new star.

Rhode Island is 6-4 with victories over Texas Christian and Utah, but losses to Providence, Cincinnati, Wisconsin and California.

“Lamar has learned now there are bumps in the road,” DeGregorio said. “He’s matured. He was only 17 and learned to deal with these things head-on. I’ve known him awhile, and saw him play as a 15-year- old, and the joy had escaped him for a couple of years. I’m happy to say the joy has returned. He has this smile, a great smile, and that smile is back.”

DUKE AGAIN

By banishing Kentucky Tuesday, 71-60, in a game that was a fainter image of their two epic NCAA tournament battles this decade, No. 2 Duke made a strong case for being the best team in the country.

No. 3 Kentucky already had overwhelmed Maryland, the early season wonder, and all that stands between the Blue Devils and their latest return to No. 1 is a loss by unbeaten Connecticut. (Duke’s only loss was by two points to Cincinnati, in a game decided in the final seconds.)

The Blue Devils were No. 1 a good chunk of last season, and this team is better.

William Avery for Steve Wojciechowski at point guard is an upgrade. Whatever Avery lacks in savvy, he makes up for as a scorer and playmaker, and his ballhandling--a concern early--already has improved.

The Blue Devils also lost Roshown McLeod, but with Elton Brand’s foot healed, they’re better inside too.

The victory over Kentucky on Tuesday belonged largely to a defense that pressured outside shots and blocked eight shots.

Kentucky shot 34.9%--that’s compared to 46% in the NCAA tournament game last season when the Wildcats came from 17 points behind to win on their way to the NCAA title.

ANOTHER SHADE OF BLUE

North Carolina figured to hit a rough patch this season after the early departures of Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter.

That fear was allayed by early victories over Purdue and Stanford.

Now the struggles are real, and the Atlantic Coast Conference season could get dicey.

The Tar Heels--ranked seventh and sinking-- started 0-1 by losing to Georgia Tech, 66-64, the game after Georgia Tech had lost to Kentucky by an astounding 41 points.

Already there has been a loss to the College of Charleston, and close calls in two-point victories over Old Dominion and North Carolina Charlotte.

North Carolina plays Cal in the Pete Newell Challenge on Tuesday in Oakland--an interesting opportunity for a Cal team looking to make more of an impression--then moves back into the ACC with

No. 16 Clemson on Jan. 2, Florida State on Jan. 6 and No. 5 Maryland on Jan. 13.

The record to watch: North Carolina hasn’t finished out of the top three in the ACC since 1964, and has been third only five times.

“From what I’ve seen, Duke and Maryland are ahead of everybody, and the rest of us are pretty evenly balanced,” North Carolina Coach Bill Guthridge said.

MOVING SOUTH

Seth Greenberg and South Florida are going to the Final Four--as the host school at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., that is.

But South Florida is on its way up under Greenberg, the former Long Beach State coach in his third season at the school.

The Bulls have gone from eight victories two seasons ago to 17 and are off to a 7-1 start and have a victory over Texas.

The only loss was in overtime to Tennessee, a team that has been in and out of the top 25. South Florida trailed by 17 in that game before forcing overtime.

“It’s been a resilient group,” said Greenberg, whose team has been hit by injuries. “They just play so hard. It’s a very satisfying group to coach. We knew we were going to get back in that Tennessee game. We knew if we played hard for 40 minutes we’d get back in it.

“We just didn’t play as well offensively as we can play. We held them to 32% from the field and lost.”

Greenberg’s best player is freshman B.B. Waldron from Lakeland, Fla., one of the school’s biggest recruiting coups.

Greenberg recruits mostly in Florida, but he uses Long Beach State in his pitch in a roundabout way.

“We have a track record developing players--with Lucious Harris, Bryon Russell and James Cotton,” he said.

Greenberg faces considerably tougher conference competition in Conference USA, led by Cincinnati and De Paul, than in the Big West.

“If you lose your confidence, this conference can devastate you,” he said. “This conference will put four teams in the NCAA tournament, maybe five.”

He has his ticket stamped for the Final Four, where he will have speaking engagements and do work for regional television and ESPN radio. But he’d like to coach a postseason game, too.

“This time of year, every 7-1 team in the country is thinking NCAA tournament,” he said.