Nba’s Super Class Of ‘95 No.1 Smith, Next 4 Picks Under 21, Including Prep

Even more than usual, the NBA draft belonged to the young.

The first five selections Wednesday night were players younger than 21, including four who left school after their sophomore years and one straight out of high school.

The Golden State Warriors made Joe Smith, a 6-foot10 forward from Maryland with silky inside moves, the first pick. The Los Angeles Clippers followed with another forward, Antonio McDyess, a player largely unnoticed during his two years at Alabama until his strong postseason.

Later, the Clippers traded the rights to McDyess along with Randy Woods to Denver for the 15th pick, Brent Barry of Oregon State, and forward Rodney Rogers.

With NBA commissioner David Stern announcing the selections for the first NBA draft held outside the United States, Philadelphia used the third choice to take North Carolina’s Jerry Stackhouse, a forward expected to play shooting guard.

The fourth selection belonged to Washington, which went for another sophomore Tar Heel - Rasheed Wallace, a 6-10 center-forward who shot 65 percent from the field.

Minnesota went fifth, producing the biggest question mark of the draft, Chicago high schooler Kevin Garnett. The rail-thin 6-10 forward is only the fourth high school player ever selected in the NBA draft.

“I’ve seen a lot in my 19 years,” Garnett said. “I do not think I’m the average 19-year-old. Given the chance, I’m going to prove to all of you that I am man enough to take what is given and mature enough to give it out.”

McDyess, Stackhouse and Wallace are 20, and Smith will be 20 next month. Despite their talent, all come with questions about how soon they can make an impact.

Not until the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies took center Bryant Reeves at No. 6 was a four-year player selected.

The NBA’s other new franchise, the Toronto Raptors, made Arizona point guard Damon Stoudamire a surprise seventh choice. The Raptors already had a point guard, former Chicago Bull B.J. Armstrong, from the expansion draft, but general manager Isiah Thomas said Armstrong would be traded.

The selection of Stoudamire drew a mixed reaction from the crowd of 21,268 fans in the SkyDome.

Smith became the third sophomore selected No. 1 overall, following Magic Johnson in 1979 and Chris Webber in 1993. Smith also was the first No. 1 pick from Maryland since 76ers coach John Lucas, selected by Houston in 1976.

“When I got to Maryland, no one expected me to have as successful a season as I had,” said Smith, who was not heavily recruited out of high school. “I came out and surprised everybody, even myself.”

In Oakland Coliseum Arena, about 2,000 fans cheered wildly when Smith’s name was announced.

“You will love this guy,” new Warriors general manager Dave Twardzik told the fans. “He’s a bluecollar worker; he’s going to do a lot of dirty work for us.”

Last year with the Terrapins, Smith averaged 20.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game. For the Warriors, he fills a void up front left by the departure of Webber, who was traded to Washington early last season after a dispute with ex-Golden State coach Don Nelson.

Stackhouse, projected as the second pick but didn’t want to play for the hapless Clippers, was thrilled to slip to third. “When I heard McDyess at No. 2, I was as happy as if they had called my name.”

And McDyess was relieved to swap his Clippers cap for one with the Nuggets’ name on it. “It is a better program and situation for myself,” he said. “I will be able to learn a lot from (center) Dikembe Mutombo.”

Portland, which had traded with Detroit to get the eighth pick, took shooting guard Shawn Respert of Michigan State. The Trail Blazers traded his rights to Milwaukee for 11th selection Gary Trent of Ohio, and a 1996 first-round pick.

New Jersey followed with UCLA forward Ed O’Bannon at No. 9, and Miami took Texas Christian power forward Kurt Thomas at No. 10.

The 12th pick went to Dallas, which selected Duke center Cherokee Parks. Sacramento selected Arkansas forward Corliss Williamson 13th, and Boston chose Eric Williams of Providence with the 14th pick.

The Atlantic Coast Conference had 10 players drafted, including a record eight in the first round.

The New York Knicks had no draft pick, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets had only secondround picks, No. 37 and 41 respectively.

The four-hour draft ended with Detroit’s selection of Georgetown’s Don Reid, the 58th pick.

O’Bannon, whose surgically repaired left knee was “flagged” by doctors at the Chicago pre-draft camp, was originally expected to be one of the top six or seven picks.

There were bigger falls to come. Rashard Griffith, the 6-10 center who left Wisconsin after his sophomore season and was first projected as a lottery pick, fell off the first round and sank to the Bucks at No. 38.

Arizona State junior center Mario Bennett, expected to go in the 12-15 range, fell to Phoenix at No. 27.

UCLA guard Tyus Edney, considered a sure first-rounder when he led the Bruins to the NCAA title, broke a bone in his hand in May and dropped to Sacramento at No. 47.

The biggest leaps were taken by Oregon State’s Brent Barry, considered a late first-rounder, taken at 15 by the Nuggets and traded to the Clippers; UCLA’s George Zidek, who wasn’t expected to be drafted at the start of his senior season but went No. 22 to Charlotte, and Eric Williams, a 6-8 forward from Providence, expected to go late in the first round, taken by the Boston Celtics at No. 14.