Newsday from New York, New York • 86

STAFF B22 00077 4 JORDAN CLASSIC Young stars reject NBA a age rule NBA's Stern wants minimum age of 20, but teens of today think they can make right choice BY MICHAEL WEINREB put it in a position where it Nearly every one of them would like to think that this rule is meant for somebody else. Nearly every one of them would like to think that what NBA commissioner David Stern is after in attempting to raise the age limit for prospects entering the NBA draft to 20 years old is aimed at the prospect who isn't like them, the one who comes out of high school and isn't prepared and doesn't have the work ethic and, let's face it, doesn't have the abilities that they do. "A lot of the guys in the past weren't being realistic with themselves," said Louis Williams, one of the 20 high-schoolers who played in last night's Jordan Classic all-star game at Madison Square Garden. "I think it's a neat rule. It'll probably put a lot of guys in perspective." The oddity of this, of course, is that Williams is also aware that he could become one of those guys.

At the moment, he could be seen as the exact type of prospect the rule is meant to shield. He's committed to the University of Georgia out of South Gwinnett High School, but depending on what he hears from league scouts he's flirting with the notion of making the jump straight to the league before the NBA potentially imposes an age limit as part of its new collective-bargaining agreement with the players' union this summer. "It's a good thing, because it'll give some guys time to develop their Williams said. "I'm just hoping I'm not one of those guys. I'm trying to WRITER NOTEBOOK Lessons learned court won't affect me." At least three players in yesterday's game are seriously considering making the jump; another, 6-11 Andray Blatche from Syracuse, has declared he's coming out in June, ready or not, before any restrictions are imposed.

Virtually everyone who played last night would love to follow him, if only because making the jump has become the ultimate measure of a prospect's value these days. But right now, with the age limit looming, it's become an imperative. "If this thing passes, and I end up going to college and having a smashing freshman year, what then?" said Martell Webster, a senior from Seattle who's committed to the University of Washington, after a Jordan game practice Thursday afternoon. As of Thursday, Webster still had no idea what he'd end up doing. But he saw Knicks president Isiah Thomas and Nets general manager Ed Stefanski and all the other NBA scouts lined up in a neat little row on the benches adjacent to the court in Basketball City at Manhattan's Chelsea Piers.

He knew how this worked; you show them something, your stock rises, and you're on your way to the draft. You don't show them enough, and the rule passes, and you're likely to spend the next two or three years in college. "And once you do two or three years of college," said Blatche, who was defiant when discussing the rule change, "you might as well stay for the fourth. It's going to change a lot of decisions. It's very upsetting.

BY MARCUS HENRY STAFF WRITER England is a long way from New York City, but Eric Boateng, who played for the White Team in the national game last night, feels right at home in America. A number of fans from St. Andrew's School in Delaware, which Boateng attends, made the trip to cheer on their classmate last night. Boateng, a native of London who started playing basketball five years ago, has committed to Duke. He developed into a quality I can't even understand why they would do this." The only upside, Blatche said, is that more kids will stay and pick up a college degree which appears to be the NBA's intent instead of using college as a way station.

But this doesn't sit well with many of the same prospects the age limit would be meant to protect. They relate more to what the Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal said in a recent interview, when he implied that the age limit may contain an element of racism. kind of have the same position he does," Webster said.) They want to make up their own minds. Failure, given the psyche of a single-minded highschool senior, one who has succeeded on every level of basketball up to this point, is not an option. And college is nothing more than a safety net.

"College is an escape route," Webster said. "It's easy; there's no hassle or anything. Once you've committed, that's your player at St. Andrews, but Boateng said he came to the United States to advance his education. "I was actually a soccer player growing up," said the 6-10 center.

"I was introduced to basketball about five years ago. I came to America to get an education." Although playing in America offered a bigger challenge, Boateng said he has made the adjustments. "The game is very physical," he said. "There are so many more players here. But that motivated me to get better." Boateng finished 23 Louis Williams of Georgia, above, and Andray Blatche of Syracuse don't believe they need to be protected by proposed NBA draft age limit.

free zone. Either way, you're going to go to college if you want." 34 34 PHOTOS BY ERROL ANDERSON with two points and four rebounds last night. Hope for annual event Although the attendance (6,436) didn't exactly meet expectations, the plan is to make the Jordan Classic an annual event in New York City, according to one event official. The event was established in 1974 as the Capital Classic in Washington D.C. It was renamed the Jordan Capital Classic in 2002, but after Michael Jordan was fired by the Wizards after the 2004 season, he stopped sponsoring the event But this is not what they want.

The system has changed, the NBA scouts are sizing them up, and the last thing Williams thinks he needs is to be protected from failure. "I'm not worried about not making it the because I have the work ethic that'll put me over the hump," Williams said. "I probably won't make an impact right away as much as I would like. But I'd rather take seven or eight minutes in a night learning how to play in the NBA than playing 30 minutes in college, and then still having to learn how to play in the NBA." and started his own. Stars come out The game brought out a number of celebrities.

In addition to Jordan, there was Nets forward Vince Carter, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, Hip Hop artists Fat Joe, DMC and Jadakiss as well as filmmaker and Madison Square Garden regular Spike Lee. Whenever there was a loud cheer, it was difficult to determine if it was for a basket or for a celebrity entering the building..