[net.sport.hoops] NO to Olympics

notes@iuvax.UUCP (04/17/84)

#N:iuvax:10100002:000:137
iuvax!brennan    Apr 16 21:40:00 1984

[purdue purdue purdue]

Okay, I give up.  How come Turpin and Bouie don't want to tryout for
the Olympics?  What has Joe B. told them???

david@tekig.UUCP (David Hayes) (04/20/84)

Turpin and Bowie are both seniors and will be eligible for the
draft.  If you are drafted, then you are considered pro, besides,
I think only underclassmen are eligible anyway.

Next question, why can't seniors wait until after the olympics
to be drafted?  It only happens every four years.

dave

brennan@iuvax.UUCP (04/21/84)

[dried apricots]

The NBA has been most cooperative and has agreed not to sign draftees
until after the olympics so all seniors ARE eligible.

Turpin has now said something about the NBA as his reason.  But a clever
reporter (Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald-Leader) read between
the lines and surmised that Turpin didn't want to play second fiddle
to Ewing.  That sounds more likely.

Rumor has it that Turpin and Bowie are both afraid of injury keeping them
from making it big in the NBA.  I guess no one will ever know the real
reasons.  I just can't imagine anyone passing up a once in a lifetime
chance to complete in the Olympics.

JD Brennan
...!ihnp4!inuxc!iuvax!brennan	(USENET)
Brennan@Indiana			(CSNET)
Brennan.Indiana@CSnet-Relay	(ARPA)

jlilien@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Joel Lilienkamp) (04/21/84)

I don't know about only underclassmen being eligible.  About being drafted
by a pro team making an athlete professional:
	Wasn't there a player on the US hockey team (Lafontaine, or such)
	who had been drafted by the Nassau County (New York) Islanders
	before the Sarajevo games, but still got to play?

Joel

tommyo@ihuxw.UUCP (Tom O`Connor) (04/24/84)

Another interesting point about professionalism.
There`s an American who`s been playing professionally,
yet is eligible for the U.S. team, and made the first
cut.  What am I talking about?  Antoine Carr plays in
Italy, professionally, and he`s still got a chance
to make the team.  Seems kinda strange that
you can be a pro in Italy and be eligible, but
guys like the Doc, Magic and Kareem are ineligible.
It oughta be in Ripley`s!

Incidentally, I read in the paper Sunday that alley-oops
for slammin` hoops are illegal in the Olympics.
To clarify, if you`re in the key, you can not receive a
pass which goes above the rim and slam it in for 2.
It appears that after the `76 Olympics, when the U.S.A.
really used the play a lot, it was outlawed.  Geez, you
do something awesome and it gets banned.

For you die-hard b-ball fans, can you name the coach
of the `72 U.S.A. team that got the royal rip-off in
the infamous game vs. the Soviets, or the American
who put the U.S.A. ahead by 1 point with his 2 clutch
free throws??