Marion earns plaudits from NBA experts

From the moment Bill Bayno recruited him, he knew there was the very real possibility that Shawn Marion would only spend one year playing basketball at UNLV.

There always was a higher calling and today, the Rebels' loss will be the NBA's gain. Marion will make it official that he is leaving school and declaring himself eligible for the 1999 draft to be held June 30 in Washington.

There will be many questions asked of Marion at his 5 p.m. press conference at the Si Redd Room on campus. But the simple fact is the junior small forward from North Chicago, Ill., believes he's ready to play at the next level, and so do the scouts, player personnel directors and general managers around the league.

In Marion's mind, that will render everything else moot.

"We had talked about it when we first started recruiting Shawn that he might only stay a year," Bayno said Thursday. "Because the fact is he was ready to go pro when he was in JC (at Vincennes University in Indiana). But Shawn thought he could wait a year.

"I took him for one year knowing he was a great kid, that he was unselfish and he was a hard worker."

Bayno said he's happy for Marion.

"It's a celebration for Shawn and his family," he said. "He deserves the opportunity."

And when you listen to what people around the NBA have to say, it sure looks like he's going to get that opportunity.

Marion is the first Rebel in eight years to leave school early in an attempt to go pro. And unlike Anderson Hunt, who bailed after his junior year in 1991 only to go undrafted and never make it, Marion is considered to be no worse than a mid-first round pick by those who will be doing the picking.

"I'd be surprised if he fell below the middle of the first round," Utah Jazz assistant coach Dave Fredman said. "He's very athletic, one of the most athletic kids in how he runs the floor.

"The only question mark is his perimeter shooting. But he looks like the kind of kid who works on his game and will succeed."

Jerry Reynolds, the Sacramento Kings' director of player personnel, said of the 6-foot-7 Marion: "He's definitely got lottery potential. He's got impressive instincts and he's one of those rare players who doesn't need the ball to be effective."

It's comments like those that made Marion change his mind and leave UNLV. Leaving the college game for the NBA suits Marion's natural abilities. Because he won't be subjected to zones and double- and triple-team tactics, he figures to be able to show what he can really do.

"What I liked about him was you saw a little something new every time you saw him play," said Chris Merek, the Golden State Warriors' college scout. "He's talented. He runs the floor well and he has exceptional natural instincts."

With the NBA's contract rules having changed with the new collective bargaining agreement, whoever selects Marion June 30 will have him for four years minimum. He will have time to develop and get stronger physically while improving the consistency of his perimeter jumper, the two areas everyone seems to have concerns with.

"In his case, it probably helps him to come out because this draft is so weak," Reynolds said. "He's the kind of player who can do well coming out."

While Marion prepares to get on with his basketball life, his UNLV teammates will have to adjust to life without their leading scorer, rebounder, shot blocker, free throw shooter and steals leader.

"I'm going to miss him," center Issiah Epps said. "He had a great attitude and a will to win.

"Maybe if the situation was different here, he would've stayed. But he has a chance to take care of himself and his family, so I'm happy for him."

Guard Mark Dickel was glad for the chance to play alongside Marion for a year.

"I loved playing with him," Dickel said. "He was so unselfish. All he cared about was the team doing well. I really respect him for that.

"Whatever Shawn decides to do, I wish him well. He's such a great guy."

Marion, who will become the seventh underclassman to declare for the draft (Duke's Elton Brand and William Avery, Maryland's Steve Francis, St. John's' Ron Artest, Missouri's Albert White and Georgia's Jumaine Jones are the others), probably will pass on the final NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago come June, other than to get weighed and measured. But he will likely audition for and meet with several teams that will consider taking him when it's their turn to pick June 30.

"Those will be big for him," Golden State's Merek said. "He could really help himself with the individual workouts. It'll be a chance for him to wow somebody."

Bayno said wherever Marion winds up, he'll do well. And he leaves UNLV with some impressive basketball credentials, unlike former teammates Greedy Daniels and Desmond Herod, who were unhappy with their situations and left the program a few weeks ago.

"His experience here was positive," Bayno said. "He'll be a great ambassador for UNLV."

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