---

A NEW BREED OF NBA PLAYER

Pro basketball desperately needs a couple of guys like Emeka Okafur and Dwight Howard. Both are young men who love the game, both are people who value keeping their priorities in order. Both will also be coming to an NBA city near you soon, as they're expected to be the top two picks in the draft at the end of June.

All of that is great news for a league thats been suffering an image problem for the past decade.

Unless something surprising happens, Okafur will be selected with the first overall pick by the Orlando Magic. As you know, he is a 6-foot-9 shotblocking machine out of the University of Connecticut. He led the Huskies to the national championship this past season, displaying tons of grit and smiling all the way. He also graduated in just three years with high marks, squashing any ideas that the true student-athlete no longer exists.

Howard is 6-11 and out of Southwest Christian Academy in Atlanta. He will probably be taken by the Los Angeles Clippers with the second pick -- although there are already rumors that the hometown Hawks are trying to orchestrate a trade to move up in the draft. They want Howard, and he wants them.

But no matter where Howard ends up, he says life in the NBA will serve as his venue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. He calls himself a missionary first, a basketball player second, and even plans to ask the league if he can wear a cross on his uniform.

While you may not believe in God, you still have to appreciate the wholesome ideals Howard will bring to the NBA. His goal is to spread love, and even multi-millionaires could use a little more of that.

Allow me to add that I rarely care what takes place Outside the Lines. The trials of Kobe Bryant and tribulations of Rasheed Wallace mean nothing to me. I don't know Bryant, I don't know his accuser -- and to be totally honest, if I'm not watching Bryant play basketball, I have very little interest in hearing his name. I am a firm believer that the fall of the modern day athlete is the direct result of us invading his privacy, and then demanding we find nothing wrong once we do. It's a fantasy that will never be fulfilled -- and all we need to do to understand that is take a good look at our own lives.

At the same time, I admit that to a point, we do need to keep each other in check. Plus, most of society DOES care what takes place in the lives of its favorite athletes. And to be honest, there are some things you just cant ignore -- in the case of the NBA, a lot of it has to do with too many players behavior ON the court.

That is why, even without once-in-a-generation talents such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, I am very much looking forward to the upcoming draft. Its why I'll enjoy following the careers of Okafur and Howard, hoping that each succeeds wildly by bringing sportsmanship and class back to the forefront.

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of things right with the NBA -- and James and Anthony appear to be two of them. That's especially true of the outgoing James, who is already very involved with numerous charities and has taken an active role in giving back to the community.

Okafur and Howard will only add to that type of openhanded, caring attitude. And when you love the NBA as much as I do, that's almost as sweet to hear as the sounds of squeaking sneakers and swishing nets.

Of course, it doesnt hurt that Okafur and Howard can play a little ball too.

LET ME KNOW

E-mail your thoughts on Emeka Okafur and Dwight Howard to me at amicoreport@hotmail.com. Do their lifestyles, religious beliefs, etc., matter to you? Is it important for NBA athletes to be good guys? Do you think Okafur and Howard will have an impact in the pros as players, or will they merely be good role models? Also, it's been widely noted that European players and other foreigners seem to be bringing a humble, fundamentally-sound approach back to the game. Is that important to you as a fan? Let me know and I'll print the best responses as we get closer to the draft.

WALLACE VS. RODMAN

Last week I wrote that Detroit big man Ben Wallace is a one-of-a-kind talent, that he's special in a way we've never seen before.

Ive received about 70 e-mails since then insisting that Wallace isn't any different than Dennis Rodman, another defensive-minded forward who once played for the Pistons.

OK, I can agree to a point, as Wallace and Rodman put up similar numbers in scoring average and rebounds (they're both lousy free-throw shooters, too). But for the most part, I disagree.

Rodman was a great perimeter defender; Wallace is a great interior defender. Rodman used to guard everyone from Magic Johnson to Michael Jordan to Patrick Ewing. Meanwhile, can you imagine Wallace going out to the top of the key and trying to shut down a shooting guard, even someone who's lost a step like Penny Hardaway? Basically, Rodman was a great STRAIGHT-UP defender; Wallaces strength is his HELP defense.

Rodman was also a very underrated finisher of the fast break, while Wallace isn't the type to score via running the floor. Wallace is a remarkable shot blocker; Rodman always put his body on opponents and a hand in their face, but he rarely swatted shots into the ninth row the way Wallace does.

Rodman's nickname was The Worm; Wallace makes his living in the weight room, and there isnt a thing wormy about him. So, yes, Rodman and Wallace have defined their careers as two guys who excel at doing the dirty work. And, no, neither was ever called upon to take a last-second shot with their team trailing by a point.

But that doesnt make them the same player -- or even all that much alike.

RANDOM STUFF

-- For the first time in about 22 years, I can't decide which possible Finals matchup I would enjoy watching the most: Lakers-Pistons, Lakers-Pacers, Timberwolves-Pacers, or Timberwolves-Pistons. Is it just me, or all four of those scenarios pretty intriguing? Right now, I'm leaning toward Lakers-Pistons, even though I think Indiana will overcome its 2-1 deficit (at this writing) to win that series.

-- By the way, is Lakers coach Phil Jackson the best ever at all but completely erasing the other teams star from a series? I'm talking about the Lakers defense of Minnesota superstar Kevin Garnett, who never has had such a difficult time getting 20 points and 10 rebounds as he has in the Western Conference semifinals. That's not a knock on Garnett, who is as good as any big man I've even seen. It's just that you get the feeling Jackson could devise a defensive scheme to stop Shaquille ONeal if he had to.

-- There. Hope that will put an end to all those e-mails screaming that I'm a Laker hater.

-- Besides, if you've read this newsletter long enough, you should know that I pretty much love all 29 teams equally (although I've had some real problems with the Boston Celtics lately). You also know that I'll be welcoming the Charlotte Bobcats with the anxiously awaiting arms of a new father (I know, I need some serious counseling). Anyway, the point is that I don't hate the Lakers, or feel much animosity toward them at all. I just feel that because they play in a major market and have the league's largest fan base, they sometimes receive undue praise. So I've taken it upon myself to make sure they also receive their share of undue criticism.

-- Are Phil Jackson and Shaq headed to Dallas after the season? Jackson's longtime friend and Fox Sports columnist Charley Rosen says it's a possibility: http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=2407936

-- Already, the Bay Area media seems to be less-than-enamored with Golden States hiring of Mike Montgomery as coach. One such media member, Skip Bayless of the San Jose Mercury News, wrote that Montgomery wasn't even new basketball boss Chris Mullin's choice. Instead, Bayless contends, the decision to pluck Montgomery from his longtime gig at Stanford was made by Warriors owner Chris Cohan in an attempt to revise his own image.

-- One Western Conference general manager agreed with Bayless' assessment of the Warriors situation, telling me, "Out of all the owners who have no idea how to run a team, Cohen's name doesn't get mentioned nearly enough. He's a prime example of the majority of owners in the NBA today. Too many are people who made their money through some other business, and therefore, think they have the know-how to run a sports team. They're almost always wrong."

-- I agree with that to a point, but I also know a few owners in the sports world who DO know what they're doing, and making sweeping generalizations such as the GM did is never a good idea. But as I always say, everyone has a voice in this newsletter -- even the downright bitter.

-- A poll on the Warriors Web site asked readers what they thought of the hiring of Montgomery. Thirty-seven percent said they don't like it, 34 percent said it's too early to tell, and 29 percent said they like it. I voted that it's too early to tell.

-- The Denver Nuggets have announced the date of their open tryout. It will be held June 26 in the Pepsi Center parking lot. Four players from last year's open tryouts -- Ramon Taylor, Pierre Wooten, Kevin Fletcher, and Ganon Baker -- were selected to participate in camp. Wooten also played for the Nuggets summer league team. I've already promised the Nuggets that I will be trying out next summer, and they're even less excited than I thought they would be. At any rate, you can get more info at www.nuggets.com.

-- The Memphis Grizzlies have a cool new logo. You can check it out: www.grizzlies.com.

DRAFT STUFF

-- Pistons coach Larry Brown in the New York Post: "The reality is, I wish we had an age limit. I get sick to my stomach."

-- A lot of NBA scouts are comparing high school point guard Sebastian Telfair, who has worked out for a few teams, to Omar Cook. (Telfair) cant shoot worth a lick, but he's a very good passer, one scout told me. He kind of reminds me of Cook and a younger version of Kenny Anderson. Although he's not nearly as polished as Anderson was when he came out of school. Those of you who have been reading the newsletter for the past three years know I'm a big Cook fan, so if Telfair is anything like Cook, he's OK by me. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean Telfair will be a decent NBA player.

-- Magic GM John Weisbrod told the Orlando Sentinel that trading the No. 1 pick isn't out of the question. To even consider it, you'd have to get something pretty special in return, he said.

-- The Chicago Tribune reports the Bulls will consider packaging their pick (third overall) with some unwanted players for a veteran. If they keep the pick, they'll most likely use it to take Duke freshman forward Luol Deng.

-- Meanwhile, Washington, which owns the fifth pick, is said to be very interested in Stanford junior swingman Josh Childress. I'm not sure what the difference is between Childress and young players already on the roster such as Jared Jeffries and Jarvis Hayes -- but I've had my heart trampled on by the Wizards long enough to know that I'll just shut up and learn to live with whatever decision they make.

-- Clippers scout Evan Pickman told Florida Today, Dwight Howard is very good now and he is going to be great someday. But the question is when will he be great?

--I may have just become the first writer in history to have run out of space on the Internet. So I'll have to save the many reader e-mails I wanted to use this week for another time. Thanks for reading, and ENJOY THE PLAYOFFS!

READ ME IN BT

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, you might want to check out my columns in Basketball Times. I write about anything and everything involving the game for the publication, which also includes columns by real experts such as Dick Vitale and Bob Ryan. You can subscribe to Basketball Times by calling 910-295-5559 or sending an e-mail to hoopgroup@aol.com.

CONTACT ME

You can e-mail your thoughts to me at amicoreport@hotmail.com. Please include your name and hometown in your e-mails. I will not publish unsigned letters, or letters from people who only use nicknames. I also like seeing where the e-mails are coming from. Also, dont feel bad if I don't reply. I rarely have the time. But I do read every last word of your e-mails, and am very grateful that you take the time to write.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!