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Tuesday, July 21, 1998
Ex-Texas Tech star knows NBA eyes watching
By EDDIE SEFKO Houston Chronicle
MONTE CARLO, Monaco - The stars aren't here for the U.S. team
that is training for the FIBA World Championship of Basketball.
There are no NBA players within thousands of miles - other
than Hakeem Olajuwon, who is traveling in Europe on his way to
Mecca - but there will be stars on the U.S. team of replacement
players.
The problem is, nobody knows who they will be.
But just about everybody connected with USA Basketball is banking
on former Texas Tech standout Jason Sasser being one of the leaders
of this team, which has been thrust into the role of underdog
against the world. Sasser scored 15 points in Sunday's 95-78 exhibition
victory over Spain.
Even Rudy Tomjanovich, the coach who strives to treat the 12th
man the same as the No. 1 player, knows Sasser ranks as one of
the toughest and most effective players on his squad.
"I was talking with (Sioux Falls Skyforce coach) Mo McHone,
who has been real good in evaluating CBA players, and he told
us that he (Sasser) is the kind of guy you're going to want on
the floor," Tomjanovich said of the 6-7 Sasser. "Mo
said he's going to find a way to will it into the basket.
"And just watching him the past week or so, that (scouting
report) is right on the money. Sometimes the ball looks like it
squirts out of his hands, but he gets it done. He's what you'd
call a scorer without a great shot. He has a knack for getting
the ball in the basket. And he's got such a tough mentality.
"He's a guy who is going to be there at the end of a game
for us and the kind of guy we're going to look for to make big
plays for us."
Not a bad stamp of approval for a guy who, for two years since
leaving Texas Tech, has had what can only be called a near-great
career.
When you are the Continental Basketball Association Rookie
of the Year, follow that up by being one of that league's top
five scorers the next season and mix in six weeks in Spain and
three 10-day NBA contracts, it's evident you know how to play
the game.
But for two years, Sasser has been an "almost" player.
He has almost been able to nail down a permanent NBA job.
That's why he's perhaps the leader of this U.S. basketball
pack. He views this run for America's pride as another piece of
the puzzle that his basketball career has become. Someday, he's
certain, that puzzle will be pieced together and he'll have an
NBA career.
"It's a great opportunity to represent the country and
go over there and get a gold medal," Sasser said Thursday.
"But it's also a career move for me. We're coached by two
great NBA coaches and a great college coach. There's a lot of
eyes on you in a situation like this."
Tomjanovich, the Lakers' Del Harris and the University of Illinois'
Lon Kruger are running this U.S. team, but coaches always talk
to other coaches when evaluating talent, and word of Sasser's
play for the U.S. team will spread.
The Federation Internationale de Basketball Association World
Championship of Basketball starts July 29 in Athens, Greece.
Sasser hopes to parlay this experience into an NBA tryout with
a team that is the right fit for him because he would prefer not
to have another season like the last two, not that there's anything
wrong with the CBA, he said.
"The CBA is the second-best basketball in the world because
guys down there are trying to get a 10-day (NBA contract),"
Sasser said. "You're not trying to get a one-year (contract).
You're just worrying about getting a 10-day. It's a real competitive
league. You don't have the real quality 7-footers. That's about
the only difference between it and the NBA."
Well, that and the paychecks.
Speaking of which, Sasser said he expects to weigh his European
options after the tournament to see if it makes sense to return
overseas to play next season, especially because the NBA lockout
could extend through the early portion of the season. He said
he had a bad experience with Europe when he came out of college,
and only after spending six weeks last season with Caja San Fernando
in Spain did Sasser begin to accept Europe as a basketball-playing
option.
"My agent and I made a decision when I was a rookie to
test the waters overseas," Sasser said. "I went to Italy
to see how it was, and I really wasn't ready for that move. So
I went to the CBA and got Rookie of the Year. I felt like I had
a great CBA season with my team and individually. I got two 10-days
with San Antonio and one with Dallas. That made me actually happy
to come back to the CBA again the following year (last season)
and felt like I was going to go up early with an NBA team and
would stick there.
"Unfortunately, I didn't get a call-up, even though I
was leading the CBA in scoring. I went to Spain for a month and
a half this year, and I enjoyed it. I think it's something I could
do as a career move this year if I have to. As far as me, I would
make more there than the NBA minimum because of the taxes.
"But there's nothing like the NBA. It's a dream league.
It's the best basketball in the world, and there's so many people
striving to make it there and stay there."
Once again, Sasser is on the verge of being one of those who
make it. And his play for the U.S. team in the next three weeks
could be the steppingstone that puts him over the top.
---
Distributed by The Associated Press
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