Clippers Tackle Youth Factor

They are close but not inseparable. They’re young but not immature. And, when everyone is together, they are more like brothers than an NBA team.

That’s the breakdown of this season’s Clippers, who tonight against the Utah Jazz will open the season with the youngest team in NBA history, thanks to a core of five players who are under 21.

On the court, Darius Miles (19), Keyon Dooling (20), Quentin Richardson (20), Corey Maggette (will turn 21 on Nov. 12) and Lamar Odom (will turn 21 on Nov. 6), have more than enough talent to belong in the NBA. It’s off the court where the Clipper youngsters are entering unchartered waters.

“They can be mature and handle themselves well, but they are still not ready for all the temptations and tricks grown people, who have been in the game for a while, will throw at them,” said Clipper backup big man Sean Rooks, 31, in his ninth season in the league.

“If a young guy is going to be off on his own. I definitely think someone should be there to try and look out for his back. To not baby-sit him but to be there kind of like a guardian angel.”

Although the Clippers have not designated a chaperon for their young players, the team does have an unofficial support group for them. Conditioning Coach Johnny Doyle hung around Odom so much last season, some people thought they were related. The same goes for trainer Jasen Powell and equipment manager Pete Serrano, who have added the responsibility of keeping close tabs on this season’s rookies.

“The one thing I talked to the young guys about is that there is obviously a lot of envy and jealousy . . . out there,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “These kids make an awful lot of money and are in a situation where they drive nice cars and are hard to miss. It is important to give guidance, but I don’t think you can ever tell a guy who his friends can be and not be . . . they have to be smart enough to know when it is not good for them to be hanging out with certain people in certain situations.”

In the old-school days of the NBA, when tight shorts and crew cuts ruled, players didn’t have to worry as much about staying out of trouble off the court.

Back then, players were generally treated with respect because they played in the best basketball league in the world. Today, players have to be leery because they play in the best basketball league in the world.

Teams have been forced to address this issue after several incidents involving young players this past summer.

Paul Pierce, 23; Stephon Marbury, 23; Antoine Walker, 24; and Nazr Mohammed, 23, all had run-ins during the off-season that likely happened because they were NBA players.

* On Sept. 25, Pierce, a Los Angeles native and forward with the Boston Celtics, suffered multiple stab wounds in an attack at a Boston nightspot called “Buzz Club.” Pierce’s attackers hit him over the head with a bottle, opening cuts above his right eye. He was knocked to the floor and stabbed in the face, neck and back. One cut penetrated his abdomen, diaphragm and lung.

* On July 2, Chicago natives Walker, a third-year Boston forward, and Mohammed, a third-year center with the Philadelphia 76ers, were robbed of a reported $3,000 in cash, and jewelry that included a $55,000 wristwatch. The players were sitting in a vehicle with three friends at 4 in the morning waiting for a South Side restaurant to open when three men with guns robbed them.

* On June 19, Marbury, a New York City native and New Jersey Net point guard, left a Manhattan nightclub and was robbed of a $150,000 diamond necklace when two men reached into his Bentley at a red light.

“It was a lot different [when I played] compared to today,” said hall of famer Elgin Baylor, an 11-time NBA all-star who played with the Lakers from 1959-72. “All the social activities they have now. There are so many places players can go. And most of the guys when I was playing, were married. I can remember being on a team and only one guy wasn’t married.

“Another thing is that players back then had four years of college because you couldn’t come out until your class graduated. So, there was more maturity because we had older guys with more experience. When you’re young, you don’t have the responsibility of a family. You have more freedom, more time.”

For years, the Clippers stayed away from “under-21” players because the team wanted guys who could step in and play right away. But the Clippers’ thinking has changed, and with this switch has come the responsibility for making sure young players like Miles, Dooling, Richardson, Maggette and Odom don’t become victims.

“As a league and as a team, we think it is important that players make a successful transition to their pro careers,” Clipper Executive Vice President Andy Roeser said. “There are a lot of programs in place that are designed to make that transition as easy as possible. There’s the rookie orientation being one and a rookie hotline being another. Another key is the support from players who have been through it.”

But the Clippers realize it is impossible to protect their young players from everything.

“You can get into a situation that you do not have any control over,” Baylor said. “It can happen. A player can simply be in a place at the wrong time. The bigger the name, the bigger the target a player becomes when he goes to places. Sometimes, people are just looking to make trouble . . . the [players] are usually not the instigator, it is someone else.”

Baylor has a point. A study done earlier this year by APBnews.com found several incidents in which players appear to have been targeted either as victims of crime or with wrongful accusations, based on their status as stars. Jason Kidd of the Phoenix Suns, for instance, was booked on a misdemeanor assault charge after a man told police Kidd had punched him for asking to take his photograph. Police dropped the case because the man’s attorney advised him not to cooperate with authorities.

Odom believes it is a full-time job watching your back.

“I’ve always been a person who has known that eyes are going to be on you. I always tell my teammates, ‘Everyone knows how much money you make. It is in the papers,’ ” Odom said.

“I’ve always been one to tone myself down as far as how I act off the court. I don’t get into what I’m driving or what I am wearing around my neck or wrist.”

Since Odom and Maggette have a season under their belts, they consider themselves veterans compared with Miles, Dooling and Richardson. Both have offered advice to the rookies.

“The only thing I do is play basketball and go to the movies,” said Maggette, whose parents moved in with him as an Orlando Magic rookie last season and who now lives with his older brother in Los Angeles.

“It was good for me to have my parents with me last year, and I feel the same having my brother with me now. You always have someone to talk to, and you can have home-cooked meals. It would have been tough for me to be by myself . . . I tell [the rookies] that you’re playing an 82-game season and you need time to relax. You might as well get your rest now.”

Added Odom: “I keep a tight-knit group around me . . . there is no one around me who was never around me before. I try to tell the young guys to stick [with] your same guys, your same team. Don’t switch now because it is too late.”

To help their transition to the NBA, each Clipper rookie has brought his own support group to Southern California. Miles lives in Marina del Rey with his mother and her longtime boyfriend. Richardson lives in Encino with his older brother, Alvin, and Dooling lives in West Los Angeles with his fiancee, Natosha Smart.

All three players agree that becoming a major player in the Los Angeles night ife is not for them.

“I’m not worried about anything happening . . . I don’t go out,” said Miles, the league’s youngest player. “People out here are crazy. They’ll do stupid things and I don’t know why. It’s jealousy and it could be over anything from a girl to you having more money than them. You’ll never catch me involved in any mess like that.”

But the Clipper rookies also know they can’t stay out of the public eye forever. Alvin Richardson offers one simple message.

“Be man enough and walk away,” Richardson, 28, said. “You never know what other motive someone has. It’s important not to hang out with the so-called ‘in-crowd.’ You can’t just hang out with anyone or go any place.”

It’s on the road where the Clippers’ young players are expected to face their biggest challenge to stay out of trouble.

“They have to be very prudent but they have to be aware of everything they do on the road, off the court,” third-year center Michael Olowokandi said. “Some things may seem like they are going to be a lot of fun, but you have to take a few steps back and look at the consequences. You always have to think about how people can get to you.

“It sounds crazy because you almost can’t live your life the way you normally do. You have to think of things twice.”

Only time will tell if the Clipper young players are wise enough to do so.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Clipper Roster

*--*

NBA No. Player Pos. Season 11 *Earl Boykins G 3rd 33 **Keith Closs C 4th 1 Keyon Dooling G 1st 25 *Zendon Hamilton F-C 1st 50 Corey Maggette G-F 2nd 5 Jeff McInnis G 4th 21 Darius Miles G-F 1st 8 Tyrone Nesby G-F 3rd 7 Lamar Odom G-F 2nd 34 Michael Olowokandi C 4th 52 Eric Piatkowski G 7th 3 Quentin Richardson G 1st 45 Sean Rooks C 9th 32 Brian Skinner F 3rd 30 Derek Strong F 10th

*--*

* on injured list

** on suspended list