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Austin American: No word yet from UT basketball recruit Aldridge on future
No word yet from UT basketball recruit Aldridge on future
Recruit, pondering NBA, has little impact on Wednesday night's McDonald's All-American game, won by opposing team
By Matthew Obernauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, April 1, 2004
OKLAHOMA CITY -- For much of the high school basketball season, one question has dogged LaMarcus Aldridge -- will he take his game to the University of Texas or to the NBA next season?
But after the 7-foot Seagoville center scored just five points and grabbed only one rebound Wednesday night in the 27th annual McDonald's All-American game, Aldridge said he was no closer to finding his answer.
"It doesn't have an impact (on my decision)," Aldridge said of his quiet performance in the game, won by the East All-Stars, 126-96, before a crowd of 14,040 fans at the Ford Center.
Aldridge said he was leaning 60/40 toward going to college. If he believes he will be drafted among or in close proximity to the NBA's lottery picks, he said he would go pro, but that if he were likely to go lower in the first round, he would join the Longhorns next season.
Aldridge's best play came with 1:28 to go in the first half, when he made a no-look, over-the head outlet pass to speedy guard DeMarcus Nelson. But Aldridge's bid for the highlight shows was wiped out seconds later when East forward Josh Smith brought the fans out of their seats, tracking down Nelson and elevating above the rim to smack Nelson's layup attempt into the crowd.
Leading up to the game, Aldridge said that if he played poorly in the all-star game, he would join the Longhorns next year. But afterwards, he downplayed the exhibition game as a poor gauge of his talents.
"I played horrible. I didn't get the ball that much, but when I did get it, I didn't do much with it," Aldridge said.
"If I had gotten the ball a lot, it might have had an impact, but they weren't using the big men a lot in the game."
Two players who also are contemplating a jump to the NBA shared the MVP award. Dwight Howard, the early choice as the No. 1 pick in this summer's draft, and J.R. Smith scored 19 and 25 points, respectively.
Sebastian Telfair, a 6-foot guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., and a recent Sports Illustrated cover subject, showed off some dazzling passes and led all players with 11 assists.
The game marked the end of five days in Oklahoma City for the McDonald's all-stars. Time in practices, at meals and in the team hotel allowed Aldridge to bond with fellow all-stars -- and fellow Texas recruits -- Daniel Gibson of Houston Jones and Mike Williams of Camden, Ala.
"That's why my decision is 60/40, because of them," Aldridge said.
"I've been beating him up, telling him to come to Texas," Gibson said. "We were all sitting at the (dinner) table, laughing, having fun. He felt like if he goes to the (NBA), he'll miss out on that because we've gotten so close."
Gibson and Williams both scored eight points, and Williams added four rebounds for the East squad.
The Longhorns hope Gibson, one of Houston's most prolific scorers, can become the team's point guard of the future, while Williams, a hard-nosed 6-9 forward, could pair with P.J. Tucker on the Longhorns' front line in the future.
The final piece of the puzzle, Gibson said, is Aldridge.
"If he comes here for one year, I see nothing but fighting for a national championship written all over us."
[email protected]; 445-3959
No word yet from UT basketball recruit Aldridge on future
Recruit, pondering NBA, has little impact on Wednesday night's McDonald's All-American game, won by opposing team
By Matthew Obernauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, April 1, 2004
OKLAHOMA CITY -- For much of the high school basketball season, one question has dogged LaMarcus Aldridge -- will he take his game to the University of Texas or to the NBA next season?
But after the 7-foot Seagoville center scored just five points and grabbed only one rebound Wednesday night in the 27th annual McDonald's All-American game, Aldridge said he was no closer to finding his answer.
"It doesn't have an impact (on my decision)," Aldridge said of his quiet performance in the game, won by the East All-Stars, 126-96, before a crowd of 14,040 fans at the Ford Center.
Aldridge said he was leaning 60/40 toward going to college. If he believes he will be drafted among or in close proximity to the NBA's lottery picks, he said he would go pro, but that if he were likely to go lower in the first round, he would join the Longhorns next season.
Aldridge's best play came with 1:28 to go in the first half, when he made a no-look, over-the head outlet pass to speedy guard DeMarcus Nelson. But Aldridge's bid for the highlight shows was wiped out seconds later when East forward Josh Smith brought the fans out of their seats, tracking down Nelson and elevating above the rim to smack Nelson's layup attempt into the crowd.
Leading up to the game, Aldridge said that if he played poorly in the all-star game, he would join the Longhorns next year. But afterwards, he downplayed the exhibition game as a poor gauge of his talents.
"I played horrible. I didn't get the ball that much, but when I did get it, I didn't do much with it," Aldridge said.
"If I had gotten the ball a lot, it might have had an impact, but they weren't using the big men a lot in the game."
Two players who also are contemplating a jump to the NBA shared the MVP award. Dwight Howard, the early choice as the No. 1 pick in this summer's draft, and J.R. Smith scored 19 and 25 points, respectively.
Sebastian Telfair, a 6-foot guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., and a recent Sports Illustrated cover subject, showed off some dazzling passes and led all players with 11 assists.
The game marked the end of five days in Oklahoma City for the McDonald's all-stars. Time in practices, at meals and in the team hotel allowed Aldridge to bond with fellow all-stars -- and fellow Texas recruits -- Daniel Gibson of Houston Jones and Mike Williams of Camden, Ala.
"That's why my decision is 60/40, because of them," Aldridge said.
"I've been beating him up, telling him to come to Texas," Gibson said. "We were all sitting at the (dinner) table, laughing, having fun. He felt like if he goes to the (NBA), he'll miss out on that because we've gotten so close."
Gibson and Williams both scored eight points, and Williams added four rebounds for the East squad.
The Longhorns hope Gibson, one of Houston's most prolific scorers, can become the team's point guard of the future, while Williams, a hard-nosed 6-9 forward, could pair with P.J. Tucker on the Longhorns' front line in the future.
The final piece of the puzzle, Gibson said, is Aldridge.
"If he comes here for one year, I see nothing but fighting for a national championship written all over us."
[email protected]; 445-3959
