Fantasy /By Tom Borrelli
High draft slots bode well for two ex-UCLA Bruins
It’s been 39 years since UCLA teammates were taken among the top five picks in an NBA draft.
Guard Russell Westbrook, who averaged 12.7 points and 4.3 assists for the Bruins last season, went No. 4 to the Seattle SuperSonics, one pick before the Memphis Grizzlies grabbed center Kevin Love, who scored 17.5 points with 10.6 rebounds.
Memphis then traded Love to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a deal that involved Southern California guard O. J. Mayo, who was drafted with the third pick.
UCLA won two of three against USC last season, primarily because Westbrook did such a good job defending Mayo. Though he averaged 20.7 points per game for the season, Mayo netted just 11.7 against the Bruins, shooting 36 percent from the floor and committing 16 turnovers, including 10 in one game. Love averaged 16.7 points, 11 rebounds and 3.7 steals against USC.
Fantasy owners planning for next season need not be spooked by the fact two Bruins went so high. The last time it happened things didn’t turn out too bad.
The Milwaukee Bucks grabbed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) with the first pick in 1969 and he went on to become the Rookie of the Year by scoring 28.8 points to go along with 14.5 rebounds per game. Seattle took guard Lucius Allen with the third pick and he averaged 9.8 points and 4.2 assists.
This is the ninth time college teammates were selected among the top five and the second straight year. Former Ohio State center Greg Oden (first pick, by Portland) missed all of his first year following knee surgery and guard Mike Conley (fourth, Memphis) averaged 9.4 points and 4.2 assists.
Center Emeka Okafor (second, Charlotte) and guard Ben Gordon (third, Chicago) of Connecticut each averaged 15.1 points per game during their initial seasons of 2004-05, with Okafor winning Rookie of the Year.
Guard Magic Johnson (first, Los Angeles Lakers) and forward Greg Kelser (fourth, Detroit) of Michigan State both enjoyed superb rookie seasons in 1979-80.
Johnson, who finished behind Boston’s Larry Bird in the Rookie of the Year voting, averaged 18 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists while leading the Lakers to the championship. Kelser pumped in 14.2 points with 5.5 rebounds for the Pistons.
North Carolina has sent teammates to the NBA among the top five picks four times since 1984 and all eight Tar Heels had at least decent rookie campaigns.
Guard Michael Jordan (third, Chicago) averaged 28.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists as the 1984-85 Rookie of the Year and forward Sam Perkins (fourth, Dallas) had 11 points and 7.4 boards.
Guard Jerry Stackhouse (third, Philadelphia) put up 19.2 points and 3.9 assists as a rookie in 1995-96 and Rasheed Wallace (fourth, Washington) had 10.1 points and 4.7 boards.
Forward Antawn Jamison (fourth, Toronto) and guard Vince Carter (fifth, Golden State) were dealt for each other on draft day in 1998. Carter had 18.3 points and 5.7 rebounds with the Raptors and Jamison had 9.6 points and 6.4 boards.
Forward Marvin Williams (second, Atlanta) averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in limited time as a Hawks rookie in 2005-06 and guard Raymond Felton (fifth, Charlotte) averaged 11.9 points and 5.6 assists.
Really, the only time both college teammates selected among the top five underachieved as rookies was in 2002-03, when guard Jay Williams (second, Chicago) averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 assists and forward Mike Dunleavy
(third, Golden State) had 5.7 points and 2.6 rebounds after leaving Duke following their junior seasons.
Baseball’s week ahead
The good: On Friday, the New York Yankees make the first of three trips to Toronto’s Rogers Centre, one day after a makeup game in Pittsburgh. That’s great news for outfielder Bobby Abreu, who has a .329 career average in Toronto with 14 RBIs in 82 at-bats. He also went 4 for 9 with two homers and six RBIs in the first two games at PNC Park on June 24-25.
Red Sox outfielder J. D. Drew is 6 for 12 this year and a .375 career hitter against Minnesota, which comes to Boston Monday for three. But Twins first baseman Justin Mourneau is a .333 career hitter at Fenway Park, where catcher Joe Mauer bats .323.
Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre is a .393 career hitter at Kauffman Stadium, where his Mariners meet the Kansas City Royals for three starting Friday. Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima is a .323 career hitter there with 10 RBIs in 31 at-bats.
The bad: St. Louis third baseman Troy Glaus is a .160 career hitter at Citizens Bank Park, where his Cardinals meet Philadelphia for three beginning Tuesday, and has just a .189 career mark against the Phillies.
Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada bats just .227 for his career in Washington, where his Astros face the Nationals for three starting Friday. His teammate, first baseman Lance Berkman, has a .225 career mark in D. C.
Arizona outfielder is a .158 career batter in Washington, where his D’backs play three beginning Tuesday.
Start your engines
• Watkins Glen International, site of today’s IndyCar Series fourth annual Grand Prix at the Glen, has been the personal domain of Scott Dixon, who is 3 for 3 in Victory Lane.
Helio Castroneves started from the pole in all three races but finished 12th, seventh and 18th. He’s performed much better, finishing among the top nine in all six starts at Nashville, site of Saturday night’s Firestone Indy 200.
Dan Wheldon has held the lead in all three previous Glens and finished seventh last year and fifth in 2005. Tony Kanaan has placed second, seventh and fourth and Ryan Briscoe was third in 2006, despite starting 10th.
• Kurt Busch (7.3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8.3) and Brian Vickers (8.5) boast the best average finishing positions the past three years at Chicagoland Speedway, site of Saturday night’s NASCAR Series USG Sheetrock 400. But David Gilliland finished 16th there last year despite starting 42nd. Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson both have average finishes of 9.5 in two starts, though Bowyer’s average starting position has been 22.5 and Sorenson’s 20th.
