Columnist Ron Kantowski: Maybe Spoonhour should follow the son

Tuesday, April 3, 2001 | 10:13 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

Some Rebel fans have been complaining that the arrival of new coach Charlie Spoonhour could result in the departure of recruits Marcus Banks, Ernest Turner and Simplice Njoya, who committed early.

Of course, that remains to be seen.

So does determining whether or not that will be a bad thing, even if they do renege on their verbal commitments out of loyalty to interim coach Max Good or lack of familiarity with Spoonhour.

For instance, if the new guys aren't any better than old ones such as Lafonte Johnson, Omari Pearson or Lou Kelly, maybe he should just let them go.

From Spoonhour's standpoint, better to take the word on untested recruits from somebody you know than somebody you don't.

But I've got a better idea. Spoonhour should just let the early recruits go -- and take the five guys who started for his son, Jay, at Wabash Valley Junior College in Indiana. That quartet recently won the national JC title so you know that at least a couple of them can stick a jump shot and get on the boards.

Giving the 51s the benefit of the doubt, maybe they didn't know that Diamondbacks flamethrower Randy Johnson had decided to singe some minor league bats in Tucson last Thursday instead of against the Dodgers in a major league exhibition game at Cashman Field. So that would excuse the 51s for running ads early in the week that said Johnson would be pitching here, so get your tickets now.

But after the Sun reported in Wednesday's editions that Johnson would be staying behind, the 51s should have pulled the ad which ran again on Thursday, the day of the game.

And here you thought the phantom tag at second base was misleading to the public.

It also raises the question "Who was Chuck Taylor?" Well, the Chuckster never played in college, never suited up in the NBA. He was a traveling salesman whose claim to fame was playing semi-pro hoops and walking into the Converse sales office in Chicago in 1921 to ask if the company could make a shoe that didn't make his feet hurt after a game. Converse hired him, and put his name on its shoes.

In the 1960s, Converse claimed to have cornered 70 to 80 percent of the basketball shoe market. But in recent years, the brand all but died, at least on the court. These days, it's kids on skateboards -- not power forwards and point guards -- who have turned to "Chucks" more as a fashion statement than as a purpose built athletic shoe.

But anybody who grew up in the 1960s owned at least one pair. I had several, including a pair of Carolina blue, Bob McAdoo high-tops.

And finally, why is Opening Day so special? Well, for long-suffering Cub fans, it means the only day we can look at the standings at see "Chicago" atop the alphabetical list of teams in the N.L. Central.