Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
It's like passing a car wreck. They don't want to look, but something forces them to turn their heads, to stare, to study the scene.
Only these spectators won't be surveying unfortunate victims. As NBA scouts and executives, they'll be evaluating potential millionaires.
Whether they like it or not, most of the NBA's 29 teams will be in the stands when the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic tips off Thursday afternoon at Durango and Cimarron-Memorial high schools.
The 54-team tournament, which concludes Monday, features some of the most talented players in the nation, including Lamar Odom of Redemption Christian in New York and Tracy McGrady of Mount Zion Christian in North Carolina, two 6-foot-9 senior forwards with thoughts of entering the 1997 NBA Draft.
The phenomenon of high school stars jumping straight to the professional level has increased in recent years, as more and more shun college for cash.
"Whether we want them to come out or don't want to them to come out isn't the point," Golden State Warriors director of player personnel Ed Gregory said. "We have to know who they are in case they do."
And they do.
"Scouting the high schools is a necessity now," Sacramento Kings director of scouting Scotty Stirling said. "High schoolers entering the NBA has become a fact of life. Therefore, it becomes a part of your scouting."
Even though most NBA staffs don't like it.
"Unfortunately, the kids are coming out. You're just caught," Vancouver Grizzlies director of player personnel Larry Riley said. "Each NBA team would tell you they certainly do not want these kids to enter the draft, but rather go to college and stay in school as long as they can.
"But that is not what's going on. We have to be prepared for these things to happen."
The preps-to-pros trend began two seasons ago, when Kevin Garnett leaped from Chicago's Farragut High to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the 1996 NBA Draft, high school stars Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal were first-round picks.
"I remember when I heard about (Garnett), I was in the Chicago area and went to see him," said Gregory, who was UNLV's head coach from 1963-65. "I said to everyone 'I've never seen a kid that good that early.'
"Holy smokes. I told our people, 'That kid cannot fail.'"
Which is what nearly every prep star believes, especially after seeing Garnett hold his own against NBA veterans.
"What these kids don't realize is he's the best I'd seen in 40 years," Gregory said. "There aren't many like him. But because of that, we have to look at them.
"Still, most of them are going to fail."
According to many NBA sources, it's certain both Odom and McGrady are turning pro.
But Odom contends he still is considering college, with his choices down to UNLV, Connecticut and Kentucky.
"I've heard that Odom will go to school one year, but whether he or McGrady come out depends on if they pass their tests or not," Gregory said. "If they don't pass their tests, they won't want to sit out a season."
Redemption opens the tournament against Rangeview, Colo., at 2 p.m. Thursday in Durango's main gym. Mount Zion follows against Compton, Calif., at 3:25 p.m.
In addition to Odom and McGrady, Riley figures to "come out of the tournament with eight to 10 names." Most reports will be used as a foundation for the Grizzlies to track certain players through college.
"They're not ready to play in the NBA in terms of their overall development," Riley said. "I'm talking about the mental concept of the game, their ability to stay focused for periods longer than they're used to.
"Then there are the things that happen off the court that are really not in their best interests. I have some great concerns about it."
Especially since there's no turning back once a player turns pro.
"Normally, players might go to college and later make it in the NBA," Riley said. "But if they bypass college and fail in the NBA, then there's not too much left after that."
Added Stirling: "A lot of them are not going to make it."
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