UNLV recruit was certain he'd nix NBA draft

It was much ado about nothing.

While much of Las Vegas fretted over whether Shawn Marion would attend UNLV or would turn pro, Marion spent the weekend driving around the Midwest, knowing his immediate future was secure.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward left Vincennes University in Indiana last Friday with his junior-college degree in tow and headed for Clarksville, Tenn., where he had been a high school star. Then it was on to Chicago, where his mother Elaine lives.

Next stop, Glitter Gulch.

"I'm looking forward to getting out there," Marion said Tuesday of his impending arrival to UNLV. "I hope to be out there by the end of the week."

Marion had made up his mind a few weeks ago that he was going to go to college for at least one year, though his mother would like to see him go for two and get his degree from UNLV. Still, that didn't stop speculation that he could make an about-face and take the NBA's money.

It wasn't until Sunday's deadline to declare for the June 24 draft had come and gone that everyone breathed a little easier.

"The NBA people told me I'd be better off waiting a year," Marion said. "I think I can make a lot more money if I wait."

Marion said a lot of people tried to get his ear. But deep down, he knew he wanted to stay in school.

"There's nothing like college basketball," he said. "I didn't want to miss out on that.

"I had a lot of people telling me a lot of things. But this is want I want to do."

Coach Bill Bayno said the only time he really was concerned about losing Marion was in mid-March when Vincennes was playing in the national junior college tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

"Everybody was trying to get in Shawn's head," he said. "I was worried we might lose him at that point. But once the tournament was over and we talked, I believed he was coming (to UNLV)."

Once Marion gets to town, he will get to know two places very well -- the weight room in the Lied Athletic Complex and the North Gym. Fortunately, he won't have to walk more than 50 feet to get from one to the other.

"I'm looking forward to getting with the guys," he said of playing with his new teammates.

Bayno wants Marion to get stronger and work on his shooting in the coming months.

"He's going to get pounded like he never has, so Shawn's got to get himself stronger," he said. "His shooting, we want to work on attacking the basket off the dribble. To become a complete player, we want him to be able to play inside-out."

It'll be up to Marion to be a self-starter once he arrives. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from working with the players until late August. But with his future teammates in town as well as the many ex-Rebels and current NBAers who come to Las Vegas, Marion will have no shortage of people to work out with.

But even that may have to wait.

Marion is hoping to attend the USA Basketball tryout camp in two weeks, which will produce the 1998 Goodwill Games team that will compete in New York come July. Thirty players will take part. If he is one of the 12 selected to play, his plans obviously will change.

However, he is currently an alternate. Apparently, there was some miscommunication between Marion and USA Basketball and he was never on the official list of invitees, something which irked Bayno.

"He deserves to be there," Bayno said. "I don't know if it's politics, an oversight or what. But Shawn definitely belongs on that list."

Bayno was working with USA Basketball officials trying to sort out the situation. All Marion can do is sit tight and wait.

No late signees

The spring signing period ends Friday and Bayno said there are no plans to bring another player into the fold. UNLV signed four players during the November early signing period -- Marion, 6-7 forward Chris Richardson, 6-5 guard Desmond Herod and 6-8 center Matt Seibrandt.

"I think we're going to hang on to it," he said of the lone remaining scholarship. "If we find a transfer or a foreign kid we like, we may use it.

"But right now, I think we're in good shape. We've got plenty of players and our lineup is pretty much set."

UNLV still is awaiting word on whether or not Richardson and Herod have passed their Scholastic Achievement Test which would make them eligible next fall.

Hoop du jour

* VINCENNES SWAP: Shawn Marion for Ali Kaba? It doesn't seem like a fair trade. But it only is the illusion of a swap. Marion is UNLV-bound and Kaba, the 6-9 freshman from Liberia who wound up redshirting after playing less than five minutes all season, is headed to Vincennes University in Indiana to play for Dan Sparks. Kaba leaves Monday for Indiana and UNLV coach Bill Bayno believes it will work out in the end. "He'll get a chance to play (at Vincennes) and he'll get re-recruited," Bayno said. "It was a tough situation for Ali here trying to get him playing time."

* GOLF TOURNAMENT: Spots are open for the 16th annual "Bayno-Horton Golf Classic" to be held June 1 at Stallion Mountain. Cost is $250 per person for the 18-hole scramble format and includes green fees, cart, tee prizes and banquet following the tournament. The deadline to enter is May 27 and the field is limited to 144 players. For more information, call 895-UNLV.

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