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Blackmon, Walls Take 'Different' Paths
Readers Like Three-point Shot
One break. It can make all the difference in going in opposite directions. Unpredictable as college basketball has been this season, the expression "going in opposite directions" is a cliche much in demand in sports these days.
Ironic then that two college players with whom most of you are acquainted by way of sports pages and television are going the same way. In opposite directions. James Blackmon and Kevin Walls.
Walls quit the University of Louisville team last week. And 24 hours after the door at Crawford Gym closed behind Walls, a
	
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few miles down 1-64 James Blackmon ran and jumped and swished his way to the pinnacle of his college career. A personal-best 27 points led Kentucky past Auburn, 75-71. It was Blackmon's second straight MVP performance.
The similarities between Blackmon at Kentucky and Walls at Louisville are striking really. Both were high-school heroes.
At Marion High in Indiana, Blackmon scored 52 points in the last game of his senior year. For the season he averaged 32.6 points, was Marion's all-time leading pointmaker, was the co-darling of Hoosierland (with Steve Alford) and was recruited by all the majors.
Meanwhile, at Camden High in New Jersey, Walls rang up 52 points in a game during his senior year too ... twice. In other games that winter he scored 81 and 62 and 50 (twice). Walls was voted all-everything. Who recruited him? Pick a school. But it was only natural that Walls would follow Billy Thompson and Milt Wagner on the glory road to Louisville.
Time marched on. Adjusting to college life is tough for any kid. It is doubly so for sports heroes, particularly those who zoom in from the Swish Zone where celebrities named McGuire, Packer and Vitale hold sway. Al, Billy and Dick were goo-gooing and ga-gaing about how great Blackmon and Walls were going to be. Eighteen-year-old kids believe "experts." Two winters went by and college sophomores Blackmon and Walls were averaging 5.4 and 2.1 points respectively.
In fact, as incomprehensible as it might seem, Walls would never score in double figures at UofL. And, to date, Blackmon's three-season average at UK is only 9.4.
Each player became unhappy early in his sophomore season, being out of the limelight, having to endure the intensity and drudgery of practices and compete for, but to not get, play time. And, as much as anything, not getting any shots might have been toughest of all. The chance to prove something. So, Blackmon and Walls quit their teams. Walls stayed on campus at UofL, thought about things, got some good advice, changed his mind, and returned to the team.
Down the road, Leonard Hamilton, then a UK assistant, drove to Marion and persuaded Blackmon to return to Lexington.
Much the way Walls must have been, Blackmon was told to forget about what McGuire, Packer and Vitale had said. The advice must have gone something like this: "Go to school, play the game. Be yourself, try and fit in. Wait, and 'things' will come."
Sounds remarkably like the real world, doesn't it? In short, Blackmon and Walls were encouraged to "grow up."
But growing up is tough. When you're a stallion in sneakers, accustomed to swishing 40 a game, well, it must be scary tough.
Blackmon settled down, started to fit in, waited. A coaching change at Kentucky opened a new vista for him. By last Wednesday night against Auburn he was glowing. Running ... passing ... swishing ... high-fiving. Going in the right direction.
Walls? He settled down to college life, or seemed to. But echoes of glory times at Camden never went completely away because the sound of swishing nets never does. His bum knee made things harder. The coaches tried to make him a playmaker. A passer.
Walls a point guard? It was like asking a bird not to sing, instructing a point machine who had once upon gunned enough to score 81 and 62 and 52 twice, to "give the ball up."
Even before a knee injury that probably doomed his NBA dreams, the program at UofL was never right for Walls. The chemistry wasn't there because among the things he wanted to do (shoot it), could do (make it), versus the things Coach Denny Crum wanted done (fit in, play defense), Walls simply chose the wrong glory road.
So, Kevin Walls quit Louisville's team last week. It was all he could do. In retrospect, he should not have gone to UofL. Having made that mistake, he should have transferred last season. The echoes from Camden High never went away.
Blackmon. There he was after the Auburn game smiling and talking with Joe Dean in front of a television camera. Prime time.
Blackmon stuck it out and got the one break that didn't come Walls' way. For Blackmon it was a new coach with a different approach to the game.
For Walls the break never came and now he's on the road.
One break. It can be all the difference in going in "opposite directions."
Readers (write) right
Reaction to a survey last month on what you think of the three point shot in college basketball, has been brisk. Results will be tabulated and reported later. Meanwhile, here are some comments received.
Steve Hurt of Burksville in Cumberland County "It's the best rule change since reinstatement of the dunk. The rule has and will continue to spread the players out and make the game less like a football game."
Rick Mercader of Albany in Clinton County "I think the 3 point shot is good for the game because it has stopped the traffic in the lane. Kenny Walker would have broken Dan Issel's scoring record if it had been adopted last year."
Richie Phillips of Radcliff in Hardin County "At the high school level it would be a tremendous boost for the fans who (are now) staying at home. It will get them out more to watch their favorite sport."
Sid Rogers of Clarkson in Grayson County "I like the new rule it makes the game more exciting. It helps the smaller, finesee-type player besides helping the big man by keeping defenses from collapsing. I believe it takes more skill to hit one from 19-9 than it does for a 7-footer to tiptoe and dunk. And, 20 feet, five inches (international distance) might be okay, but the pro distance (23-9) is to far."
R.L. Doris of Frankfort in Franklin County believes the shot will bring the little man back into the game, but the shot would be more exciting if it were moved to 20.5.
Michael Dwyer, Elizabethtown says "most of the fuss is by coaches and teams who do not have a three-point game (shooter)."
Dwyer also thinks a year of experimenting with 'the 3' at the high school level would attract more fans back to prep games But he would like to see the shot installed at 20-5.
Virginia Harvley, Sonora in Hardin County believes "the 3" has made the game harder on coaches, but "let 'em earn some of their money."
And, she says, moving the line from 19-9 to 20-5 "would make no real difference."
Gerald Fowler, Lebanon Junction in Bullitt County is emphatic, "the 3" has "improved the quality of the game!" He would like to see the college distance set at 20-5, but high schools experiment with a 19-5.
Robert Grubb, Hodgenville in LaRue County believes "the shot" at 20-5 might be less exciting, "but it would be more of an accomplishment (too count for three points)." He would also like to see high schools experiment with "the shot" at 19-5.
Mike Lee, Hodgenville, LaRue County "Recruiting, it will change, but not dramatically. Coaches will look for the big, long range shooters of course, but the big man is more valuable than ever.
"As for coaches," Lee adds. "Sure (Louisville's Denny) Crum is unhappy. I don't blame him, but I can't help but think if he had a Tony White, Scott Draud or even a (Wally) Lancaster from Virginia Tech, his attitude would change. You don't see their coaches complaining. Personally, I love it."
Steve Kirby of Franklin in Simpson County offered the insightful view that the three-point shot will have a dramatic impact on who makes it to the Final Four in New Orleans this spring.
Bob Shearer, Elizabethtown "If you back it (the three-point line) out farther you'll be rewarding a kid for taking a shot that coaches don't want their kids taking."
Shearer, who was a high school coach at E'town until this season, also believes the high school game would be made more exciting if the three-point line were installed at its present distance, 19 feet, five inches.
"Three progressions, the present distance for high school, the college line moved to the current NBA distance (23 feet) and leave the NBA line where it is," he said.
Russ Reed, E'town, who calls himself Roundball Fan Extraordinaire offered an extensive (two pages) examination of "the shot." Here are some pro and con highlights.
Pro: "Definitely has added excitement to the game. Has allowed some big men to become more active (in the offense). If the distance remains at present length, recruitment will change in favor of shooter."
Con: "Causing some teams to rely almost entirely on the
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Oscar Combs
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players (actually 1986 squad) were presented their national championship rings during ceremonies while all the recruits were on campus.
And the third angle of the trio which figured into the Jacobs recruiting derby, played some pretty heavy ball itself. Reports have it that Jacobs was escorted by none other than Larry Bird during the first day of his visit recently at Boston College and the second day a fella by the name of Doug Flutie showed Jacobs the nice places around Bean-town. Still pitching and considered to be in the race as late as Sunday were Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Ellis, according to reports in Louisville, was still considering UCLA, Alabama, Ohio State, Louisville and Kentucky as late as the past weekend.
The son of former boxing champion Jimmy Ellis, Jeff is considered one of the nation's top 50 prospects and most likely will sign Wednesday with the lucky school.
Logan, who is being recruited by a long list of top football schools around the country, is the other link of the great Kentucky triangle of stars who were uncommitted as of late Sunday.
With Jacobs, Ellis and Logan are the only major Kentucky prospects uncommitted (as far as Kentucky recruiters are concerned), reports have it that UK has some private committments which have not been made public and won't be until they're signed, sealed and delivered on Wednesday.
As late as Sunday night, the Kentucky staff was in a very upbeat mood, cautiously optimistic that this group of signees will indeed be the best in recent Kentucky history.
Coaches have been scurrying all around the country for the past several weeks and Claiborne summoned his staff in for a final staff meeting Sunday afternoon before heating up the ole helicopter Monday morning for a last-minute search-and-strike mission to several prospects' homes on Monday and Tuesday.
Other prospects who have made verbal committments to Kentucky are listed in other stories inside this issue of TCP. We'll have a complete wrap-up of all the signees in next week's TCP. Be looking as we recap Jerry Claiborne's finest recruiting harvest since his return to Kentucky five years ago.
UK baseball coach Keith Madison has become known for putting on one of the finest baseball clinics in this part of the country and last Saturday was no exception as a record 700-plus baseball coaches, players and fans showed up in Lexington.
What attracted the record attendance were appearances by baseball superstars Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres, Rob Murphy of Cincinnati Reds and Joe Cowley of the Chicago White Sox, plus ex-major leaguer Doug Flynn and UK coaches Madison and John Butler.
Madison's clinic has grown tremendously over the past seven years and the personable UK coach says the clinic will probably have to find a new home in future years before the event has outgrown its size at the Lexington Hyatt Regency.
If all goes according to plans, next year's UK clinic will feature one of, if not the, game's greatest players (not Pete Rose) and this fella's name could well draw more than 1,000.
"To say we were pleased would be an understatement," said Madison of the turnout last Saturday, "baseball is growing by leaps and bounds in the state and this is proof that the sport has arrived. Baseball has a great future in this state."
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