Packer Boils Over Whitsitt Comment

Billy Packer thinks Bob Whitsitt, the Portland Trail Blazers’ president and general manager, should get out in the sunshine more often.

Packer, the CBS college basketball analyst who will work Sunday’s Villanova-Connecticut Big East Conference game at the CoreStates Spectrum, was astounded to read a quote from Whitsitt in USA Today this week.

Whitsitt was asked if a player with obvious NBA skills will learn more being on an NBA team than on a college team.

“It isn’t even close,” replied Whitsitt, whose team drafted Jermaine O’Neal out of high school last summer. He said a player receives more practice time in the NBA than in college.

“When you get them early, you can groom them right away,” Whitsitt said.

Packer expected Whitsitt to say the choice would be college, not the NBA.

“If he thinks for one second that Allen Iverson’s long-term maturation as a basketball player wouldn’t have been better suited under (Georgetown’s) John Thompson than playing for Philadelphia this year, he’s crazy,” Packer said.

“What is so scary to me where it’s going is, we see a Michael Jordan now as the epitome of a basketball player and a professional on and off the court. You see Grant Hill coming up to be the next superstar. You see how they matured as players even after they got in the NBA.

“How many of these kids who are putting all this money in their pockets, at age 26, are going to say, ‘I really need to work on my game’ instead of being off with an entourage goofing off?”

Packer began percolating on the subject after discussing Villanova’s Tim Thomas, undoubtedly a future quality NBA player. Packer would advise Thomas to register for Economics 101 next fall at Villanova instead of taking a bundle of NBA money.

Packer and Jim Nantz called the action for Villanova’s helpless, 93-56 loss at Kentucky two weeks ago.

“You could see Thomas’ mind working, when everything was going to hell in a handbasket,” Packer said. “He was thinking, ‘I’m better than this guy. Watch me put the ball on the floor and go through him.’ Kentucky was well-prepared for that.

“Thomas doesn’t have the experience yet to know how to counter that, either emotionally or basketball-wise. I got criticized for saying I thought he would be more effective in the NBA rookie all-star game. He would have been potentially the best player in that game, but he can’t play this (college) game. That’s the sadness of where basketball is right now.”

Despite Villanova’s recent rocky ride, Packer still thinks the Wildcats can have a successful NCAA Tournament.

“This is a team with a lot of proven ability,” he said. “I expected them to be a formidable team, and I still don’t think it’s too late.”