Gentry Doesn’t Want Odom Passing Up Good Shots

Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry pulled Lamar Odom over for a chat the other day. The subject should have been obvious to anyone who saw Odom take only three shots in Wednesday’s victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Granted, Gentry praised Odom for his unselfish play in scoring six points, taking nine rebounds and adding nine assists in the Clippers’ 94-75 victory. But Gentry wants to see Odom look for his shot more often.

“I’ve told him if he’s got shots, he’s got to shoot,” Gentry said. “Lamar understands that if he doesn’t take his shots, then he’s going to hurt our team.

“He’s a natural playmaker. He can score when he wants to, but he would prefer to pass.”

Odom then went out and took nine shots Friday against the Denver Nuggets, making four en route to 10 points in the Clippers’ 96-93 loss at the Pepsi Center.

He also had five rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots in 33 minutes.

However, Odom missed two key shots in the final 1:08, a jump shot that would have tied the score at 90-all and a three-point shot that would have tied the score at 94-all with less than 10 seconds remaining.

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David Thompson, a Nugget of some renown, stopped by the Clippers’ shootaround Friday morning. Thompson and Gentry are cousins, although their games as youngsters weren’t the mismatches you might think.

Or so claimed a laughing Gentry.

“I shut [him] down,” Gentry said of one high school matchup. “I think I held him to 42 points. He was a senior and I was only a sophomore. We got killed.”

Among Thompson’s most unforgettable moments as a pro in Denver was his victory in the slam dunk contest in the final ABA all-star game in 1976 at McNichols Arena.

Thompson, nicknamed “Skywalker,” began his leap from behind the free-throw line to deliver a thunderous dunk, as cameras around the arena captured the moment.

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Michael Olowokandi lived most of his 26 years in England, transferring from Brunel University to the University of the Pacific when he was 20. He had played basketball only recreationally until arriving at the Stockton campus.

Like any self-respecting North Londoner, Olowokandi’s first passion was soccer, and the Arsenal club team.

“Highbury,” he said, referring to the Arsenal stadium. “What a great atmosphere, with all the signing and chanting. You can hear the fans when they get off at the Tube stop.”