Sonics Get Look At Coveted Teen

The Seattle SuperSonics got their first look this week at Portland rookie Jermaine O’Neal, the 6-foot-11, 18-year-old who jumped straight from high school in Columbia, S.C., to the NBA.

O’Neal was on the injured list when Portland visited Seattle Nov. 2.

Karl likes O’Neal’s talent and said he was the one player the Sonics would have kept their first-round draft pick to take last June. After O’Neal was taken 17th by the Blazers, the Sonics traded what was the 28th pick of the first round.

Karl said he would have favored taking O’Neal to keep up with the competition, but didn’t like him being available in the first place.

“I will never say any (player who jumps from high school to the NBA) has made a good decision,” Karl said.

Karl thinks the NCAA should do something like institute a stipend as an inducement to keep players in college.