SPORTS
What’s so horrible about chasing your dream?
No more mouthpiece dangling out of his mouth No
more of his energetic smile No more amazing passes
or impossible Jordanesque jumpers with opponents in
his face Simply put. no more Terrell
Less than a month after being named Pat ific Hi Most
Valuable Player. Terrell Brandon. Oregon's a foot 11
do-evervthing floor general, made all the rumors offi
r ial during a press conference at McArthur Court
Thursday; he dropped out of school and dec hired him
self eligible for the NBA draft
Terrell said he opted for the NBA to fulfill .1 life-long
dream and because the timing was right
As the possibility of Terrell's leaving increased, so
did the number of opinions ac ross the country that he
should stic k around for his senior campaign After all.
he had everything to gain and nothing to lose by stay
ing in school
Anybody who shares that opinion is missing the
point.
What it boils down to is whether he is good enough
to play in the NBA Period laid of disc ussion.
People who say Brandon should stay in sc hool to
raise his stoc k are demonstrating more greed than they
accuse Brandon of having
'! can't believe you're leaving early to grab the
money when you could stic k around a year and grab .1
From the Sidelines
b)
KOIO K I WEBKR
lot morr money.' seems to bo the main i redo of pen
pit* against undergraduates c nming out early
The only real reason to argue for athletes to stay m
si hool is the pursuit of a i ollege degree In Brandon's
i .isc. the threat of tieronung academically ineligible
was something that couldn't he ignored
Since sitting out his freshman year due to Prnposi
turn 4ti. Brandon has worked hard at si hool. hut said
l hursdav that halatu mg basketball and Ixioks was dll
ficult
Whether he makes Ins hid for the pros now or a year
from now Terrell's success will depend on his play
mg ability and little else
The Ixiuk on Brandon says he's too short, doesn't
play enough defense and suffers from a lack of experl
ence Sint e lie lias probably rear bed his full height
and understands that defense is more hard work than
anything else, let k of exponent e seems to lie his big
gest ollStUl It*
Why slit k around for thi* experience yvhen scouts
art* telling you that teams art* interested right noyy
Hrarulon said he has been told by numerous NBA
si outs that he will be drafted probably near the end of
the first round or early in the second
A favorite comparison lately has been between Bran
don and former t fregun State star l iary Bay ton
Bay ton s sui i ess as a senior, after resisting the temp
lation of turning pro, was the major reason the Seattle
SuperSonii s made him the set ond pu k in last |une s
draft It may have worked out for Payton, hut Bran
don's game is more developed scoring wise than Bay
ton s is even now
At 2t> r> points a game, it's obvious that Brandon is a
scorer but more importantly he is a shooter The mu
jority of Ins points i ante from the perimeter unlike
Bavton s. making him a more attrar tivr* prosper t
Instead of getting bogged down in tile the re,isons
vvhv Terrell is leaving. Ituik fans should concentrate
on yy hat he did when he vsas here and wish him rsell
Hopefully when people look I mi k at Terrell s > areer
at Oregon, they w ill coin entrate on what he did yy ith a
basketball and the class he displayed both on and off
the court
I kiioyy I will
Coaches react
differently over
Brandon decision
By Ashley Conklin
Emerald Sports Editor
Several basketball coaches
expressed mixed reactions con
corning Oregon guard Terrell
Brandon's decision to forego
Ins senior season of eligibility
and enter the NBA draft
While University of Portland
Coach l-arrv Steele and Port
land's (.rant High School
( uai h John Stilvvell. Brandon's
high school coach, supported
Brandon's decision, UCLA
Couch |iin Harrick bad a much
different opinion.
“Honestly. I am disappoint
ed with his decision to go.
Harrick said of Brandon "lie s
certainly not ready for the
NBA “
Steele, who recruited Bran
don when he was a s!,tr point
guard under Stilwell. said he
supported Hrandon's dei ision
largely because ot Hrandon's
close consultation with his
family on the matter
"I echo (loach (Don) Mon
son's reply.” Steele said
'When Terrell was in high
si hool and we were recruiting
him. I met his parents and was
impressed that all of his (loci
sums were made after discuss
ing the matter thoroughly with
his family
"If the situation w-as re
versed. I’d say the same
thing,” he said “I feel good
aliout what he's doing. 1 wish
him all the luck in the world
even though we don't have to
play them anymore."
Stilwell, a close personal
friend of Brandon and his par
ents. agreed with Steele that
Hrandon's decision should re
ceive only support, not criti
cism.
”1 am sad that there are
things that he won't he able to
accomplish at Oregon and that
he can't complete some of the
things he helped start there,”
Stilwell said "(Hut) he made
Ins decision and all you can say
aliout it is that if it's great for
Terrell, it's a great decision "
No coach has been more
against players leaving college
early for the NBA than Harm k
Earlier this season, when
l.'Cl.A came to Oregon on [an
Turn to REACTION Page 15
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