It’s a year later, after they urged him to go to college, to stay away from the NBA, to take time to mature, to save himself before it’s too late.
Well, Kevin Garnett just finished his first season in the NBA, and as he looks forward to celebrating his 20th birthday next month, Garnett can say he didn’t get suspended for bumping or head-butting a referee, and he didn’t quit playing hard to get his coach fired or himself traded.
All Garnett did without the benefit of any time in college is start to stabilize the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been one of the worst teams in the NBA since their inception and have never won 30 games in a season. Garnett also showed signs of becoming a big-time star in the NBA.
“You look at where Garnett is today,” says Minnesota coach Flip Saunders, “and he’s a player who can carry a team. All the great teams have someone they can go to at crunch time, not only someone who makes plays for themselves but someone who makes plays for other players. He can be that guy.”
Garnett, right out of Farragut Academy in Chicago, finished the season second on the team in games played with 80. He averaged 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds, but much of that came after he began starting in midseason.
He endured the taunts of former teammate Christian Laettner and the doubts of the experts, and even had time to remain a kid, naming himself “Da Kid” after a big game against the Bulls and coming to practice in a Friday-the-13th mask on Halloween.
“The season was long,” says Garnett, who said he’ll split the off-season between Minneapolis and South Carolina. “I learned a lot. I learned . . . just to be myself.”
And that has served Garnett well. He still stays with a small group of friends and never needed the family-support people the Timberwolves had arranged for. Garnett has stayed away from most late-night activities, and teammates say he never failed to play hard.
“My biggest concern was the road,” says teammmate Terry Porter. “I couldn’t imagine doing it (after skipping college). He’s learned to be prepared night in and night out.”
“A lot of people didn’t think I’d make it,” says Garnett. “It shows you how much they know.”
Slick image: If anyone thinking black socks and sneakers like the Bulls wear for playoff unity is something, the Knicks are now up to eight shaved heads–Derek Harper, Charles Oakley, Hubert Davis, Gary Grant, Herb Williams, Anthony Mason, Charlie Ward and Ron Grandison–for playoff unity. . . . U.S. Olympic Committee President Larry Walker says he’ll continue to work to bar NBA pros from the Olympics, based in part on their commercial spectacle of draping themselves with American flags in Barcelona to hide competing corporate logos. “I’ve got a stack of letters on my desk disagreeing with pros at the Olympics, disagreeing with the Dream Team,” Walker told the Forum Club of Palm Beach (Fla.) last week. “The NBA loves it because it’s a marketing tool.”
Situations wanted: Expected to be in the job market with Allan Bristow out in Charlotte is former Bulls assistant John Bach.
“We had premonitions of this,” says Bach, finishing a two-year deal. “The organization was not happy, the fans were not happy. Now we’ll be working on the draft.” But Bach enhanced his reputation the last two years as Charlotte became a hard-working defensive team last season, and this season just missed the playoffs even after trading Alonzo Mourning. Detroit coach Doug Collins tried to hire Bach last season and is expected to again. . . . The infighting in Toronto got so bad between General Manager Isiah Thomas and coach Brendan Malone that the Raptors sent the league a letter saying Malone had voided his contract with his behavior and the Raptors didn’t have to pay him. With Malone’s dismissal, the Raptors agreed to pay Malone the rest of his deal ($700,000) in exchange for some silence. . . . Former Bucks coach Mike Dunleavy reportedly ended up remaining as general manager when he couldn’t agree with management on a buyout. Dunleavy reportedly was seeking about $4.2 million of $6.4 million owed him and management was hoping to pay off Dunleavy for about $3.2 million. And so much for showing the players who’s in control with an eight-year deal. Said Dunleavy: “I’m disappointed I won’t be back as coach. It’s a situation where I understand the move. I’m respected by a lot of people out there. I knew the perils of the job when I took it. I had hoped it wouldn’t get to this. I’d hoped my eight years would insulate me. But I’ll coach again in the NBA.” The feeling is Dunleavy, who was 107-221, will wait for another job, then accept a buyout from what is obviously an uncomfortable situation.
