Wednesday, March 12, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Lamar Odom, considered to be the top prep prospect in the nation, is on the move again.
Odom, the 6-foot-9 senior forward from Queens, N.Y., who has narrowed his college choices to UNLV and Kentucky, has left Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, N.Y., and has enrolled at St. Thomas Aqui nas Prep in New Britain, Conn. Odom began the school year at Christ The King in Middle Village, N.Y., before transferring to Redemption in early October.
In a prepared statement released by his family, Odom said in part, "I decided I would be better able to focus on academic excellence and scholarship." Odom began classes Monday but will not play basketball at St. Thomas Aquinas, which is currently competing in the Connecticut state playoffs.
Gary Charles, Odom's summer league coach with the Long Island Panthers, said Odom will announce his future plans April 6. He is scheduled to play in the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic in Auburn Hills, Mich., that day. Odom, who is said to be one English class short of completing his NCAA core requirements and has passed his ACT exam, is considering turning pro.
Redemption director Rev. John Massey told the New York Post that Odom's decision to leave wasn't his own.
"This isn't Lamar Odom speaking. This is the people representing Lamar," he said. "He never told anyone up here he didn't want to be here."
* PREP STAR EYES NBA: Tracy McGrady is the latest high school superstar skipping college and making himself available for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-9, 200-pound senior guard at Mount Zion Christian Academy said Tuesday he feels he's ready to follow the lead of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal and jump right into to the professional ranks. "I thought it'd be the best decision for me and my family, so I will make myself eligible for the 1997 NBA draft," the 17-year-old McGrady said as he stood with his coach, Joel Hopkins. McGrady averaged 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists this season at Mount Zion, which played one of the toughest high school schedules in the country and finished 26-2. "I had a great season and I feel like I can do some things like the other young guys," he said. "I just want to go in there and play with the professional players." McGrady, from Auburndale, Fla., said he made the minimum score on the Scholastic Assessment Test and narrowed his choices for college to Kentucky and Florida State.
* SAINT-JEAN READY: Olivier Saint-Jean, San Jose State's leading scorer the past two seasons, says his decision to turn pro isn't about money. "At some point, you have to move forward, especially if there is something to gain," he said. I've got the opportunity to fulfill a dream and become a better basketball player." Saint-Jean, the WAC's leading scorer this season, said Tuesday he plans to make himself available for this year's NBA draft. "The NBA has been one of my goals since I first entered college. Now I have the opportunity to reach that goal and I will take advantage of the opportunity," the 6-foot-6 junior forward said. Saint-Jean, who emigrated to the United States from France four years ago, is San Jose's first underclassman to declare himself available for the NBA draft before completion of his senior year. He averaged 23.8 points a game this year, second in Spartan history to Ricky Berry's 24.2-point average during the 1987-88 season. He averaged 8.8 rebounds a game this season.
* NEW BYU COACH: Steve Cleveland, pulled from the community college ranks to coach at Brigham Young, is pledging to recruit the best Mormon and best like-minded non-Mormon basketball players. "We'll open new doors," said Cleveland, who is completing his seventh season as coach at Fresno City College, where he compiled a 156-76 record. The Rams currently are ranked No. 1 in California with a 30-3 record. "We're going to go out and get the best LDS players in the world, and we're going to get the best nonmembers in the world who share BYU's values," said Cleveland, 45, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns and operates BYU. "We're going to be diverse and we're going to be comprehensive." The announcement Tuesday of Cleveland's selection came 10 days after BYU wrapped up a 1-25 season under interim coach Tony Ingle, who took over when Roger Reid was fired Dec. 17 following seven seasons as the school's most successful basketball coach (152-77).
* WYOMING'S CHOICE: Wyoming has named Clemson assistant Larry Shyatt its new head basketball coach, hoping he can revive a program that has suffered through five straight losing seasons. Shyatt, 45, signed a five-year contract with an annual base salary of $98,000, Wyoming Athletic Director Lee Moon said. "I intend to create a love affair between this program, the university and the people of Wyoming," Shyatt said. "I hope we can raise the level of enthusiasm as well as the game itself from the elementary grades right through college in the state of Wyoming." Shyatt replaces Joby Wright, who resigned March 4 after the Cowboys were eliminated in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament. The loss dropped Wyoming to 12-16. Wright's record with the school was 53-60 in four years.
* MICHIGAN PROBE: Michigan coach Steve Fisher got a vote of confidence from the school's president and athletic director on Tuesday -- the same day the school said it will investigate the leasing of a $47,906 vehicle to a player's aunt. The lease of the vehicle to the aunt of Robert Traylor was reported Wednesday by the Detroit News. "To my knowledge, the first time any of us heard about it was this afternoon," when the News called with questions about the car, Michigan spokesman Walter Harrison said. "We'll look into it." Traylor did not register the vehicle -- a custom-built Chevrolet Suburban with a television and two stereos -- with athletic department officials, as NCAA rules require.
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