Jamison has message for young athletes

Victoria Sun

Friday, July 14, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

At a glance

What: The adidas Training for Sport Center, an interactive showcase that will allow boys and girls ages 12-18 to learn drills for Olympic and non-Olympic sports

Who: Top athletes including Golden State Warriors forward Antawn Jamison teaching drills to youngsters

Where: All-American SportPark

When: Today and Saturday

Time: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

Get Golden State Warriors forward Antawn Jamison talking about high school basketball players bypassing college to enter the NBA and he sounds like a wise old man of 64 -- not 24.

"I think these kids," Jamison began to say Thursday night before smiling and shaking his head in amusement at the words he just spoke. "Look at me, I'm talking like I'm a grown-up."

Jamison, dressed in a big white adidas T-Shirt and jeans shorts, looks more like a teenager than a grandpa.

Jamison, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lamond Murray and Sacramento Kings guard Darrick Martin are in town to participate in the adidas Training for Sport Center being held today and Saturday at the All-American SportPark from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event is free for boys and girls ages 12-18. Athletes will be taught drills for different sports from various professional athletes.

"I think they do need the experience of college, because it does prepare you if you don't make it to the pros," Jamison continued. "If you're a 17, 18-year-old kid coming out of high school and you have to worry about agents, financial matters and buying a house, it's too much.

"I think there should be a rule that at least you have to attend two years of college before you enter the draft. I know that some guys who don't have the grades or the SAT scores use the draft as an out. But I think there should be some kind of standard."

When Jamison was in high school, he said, talk focused on where you were going to college, not which agent you were going to sign with. By his sophomore season he already knew he would attend North Carolina.

He marveled at how fast things have changed over the last several years.

"It's crazy, man," Jamison said. "I think we really need to pay close attention to these agents.

"You can be in eighth grade and they're already starting to persuade you because the potential is really starting at a very young age. Usually they (didn't) do it until you (got) to college; now it's going to high school, even junior high."

Clearly, Jamison is wiser than his years.

He credits legendary former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for teaching him to handle himself like a gentleman in the face of adoring and aggressive fans who want an autograph, a handshake or a picture. And it was Smith, he says, who groomed him to field questions from the media with the poise that many of today's athletes lack.

He's getting ready to answer his critics' most pressing question: Was last season a fluke?

After a rookie year full of disappointments during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, Jamison entered last season determined to prove his worth.

Success didn't come immediately, but Jamison found his groove when Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean took over as coach in mid-season. He began to score like he did when he averaged 22.2 points a game as a junior (his final season) at North Carolina. His hot streak was highlighted by a 37-point performance against the Cavaliers on Jan. 21.

But just when it looked like he was shaking his funk for good, Jamison blew out his left knee shortly before the All-Star break and sat out the remainder of the season. In 43 games, he led the Warriors with 19.6 points a game and averaged 8.3 rebounds.

"I experienced all the highs and the lows last year," Jamison said. "To go from what happened my rookie year to that, it was a big turnaround.

"Then, with the knee injury, that really put a whole lot of things in perspective. It was a real bummer for me because we just got Larry Hughes (in a trade from Philadelphia) on the team and it would have been real exciting to see what we could do together, but I never got the opportunity to play beside him."

The prospect of sharing the court with Hughes and playing for new head coach Dave Cowens has given Jamison reason to believe the Warriors will be much improved this coming season.