Letters

Wednesday, February 18, 1998

Letters

LETTERS

Good riddance

Jelani McCoy’s resignation late Saturday night is the best thing
that has happened to the UCLA basketball program in the four years
I have attended school in Westwood. He represents everything "bad"
about the game today. First off, since the start of the 1997-1998
college basketball season, he has consistently been surrounded by a
cloud of controversy. Our school has a long-running tradition of
having one of the best college basketball programs in the nation. I
cannot believe the UCLA athletic department almost allowed that
reputation to be tarnished by some kid from San Diego, who has been
treated like God since day one.

Secondly, let’s address Jelani’s alleged decision to enter the
NBA next year, instead of finishing off his education at one of the
finest institutions in the nation. He’s just another perfect
example of a guy who plays for the money, with no consideration for
the fact that he is a role model to people all over the country. I
actually hope he has a conversation with Latrell Sprewell or Steve
Howe, so they can let him know how far trouble will get you, even
when you have enough money to last you the rest of your life.

Finally, Jelani McCoy is a quitter! I hope none of America’s
youth looks up to someone like this because it is just the perfect
example of what someone in his situation shouldn’t have done. I
know whenever I am down or not doing my best in a certain area of
my life, I always say, "Ahhh, … I’ll just give up! That’ll solve
all of my problems!" If that were the case, 75 percent of UCLA’s
freshman class would drop out after their first quarter here.

Jelani, I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your life
… God knows you’ll need it. I also hope you hit the weight room
or just start going to In-N-Out Burger more often because you are
going to have to put on a lot of pounds before the start of the
next NBA season. The only thing you have in common with a center
like Shaq is that you are both lousy free-throw shooters. Other
than that, I see no reason why an established NBA team would want
to draft an underweight player, who never averaged more than 11
points a game in his three years of college. I hope you are looking
forward to being a reserve player for the Clippers, if you’re lucky
enough to land that job!

Michael Urcan

Fourth-year

Math/Economics