Lopez, in his…
By Anthony Bosco
Bob Myers, a spokesman for SFX Sports, the firm that handles former St. John’s University star Felipe Lopez, painted as positive a picture as he could for the former Red Storm standout, who was waived last week by the Washington Wizards.
Lopez, in his third year in the NBA, was released, reportedly, to make room on the team’s roster following the biggest trade of this NBA season, in which the Wizards dealt star Juwan Howard to the Dallas Mavericks in an eight-player deal that overloaded the Washington roster.
According to Myers, the move by the Wizards was “more of a kind effort on their part” so that Lopez could catch on with another team by season’s end. Lopez, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, cleared waivers Tuesday morning and Myers was confident the shooting guard would be picked up by another team, most likely the Minnesota Timberwolves, Myers said.
“It looks like Minnesota,” Myers said Tuesday morning. “They have to send the contract over and if everything is OK, he’ll sign it.”
All in all it hasn’t been the kind of career Lopez probably expected when he was a senior coming out of Rice High School seven years ago. Perhaps the most highly-touted senior in the nation, Lopez was a McDonald’s All-American and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated after he committed to St. John’s in an article predicting the re-emergence of the Big East conference.
Unfortunately, all the hype was destined to lead to disappointment in college. Truth is, Lopez never reached the lofty goals so many predicted, though, in hindsight, it is hard to judge his collegiate career too harshly. The stats don’t lie.
Lopez never averaged less than 15.9 points per game and after four seasons on the team finished third on the school’s all-time scoring list, behind Chris Mullin and Malik Sealy. He is first on the school’s all time three-point field goals list and fifth all-time in field goals.
Lopez was part of a recruiting class that also included Zendon Hamilton and Tarik Turner. The trio were expected to lead St. John’s back to the NCAA Tournament and respectability after a few seasons of mediocrity.
And that did eventually happen, under coach Fran Fraschilla in Lopez’s senior season. The Johnnies made the NCAA Tournament after the 1997-98 season, but were eliminated in the first round by Detroit Mercy, 66-64, with Lopez misfiring on a three-pointer in the final seconds.
During his career at St. John’s the Red Storm went 60-54, but had only one winning season, his senior year, in which the team went 22-10. St. John’s made the NIT in his freshman year, but also lost in the first round to South Florida.
His entire time at St. John’s I never heard Lopez complain about his lot. He was expected to be the program’s savior, a title thrust upon him by the media and a burden he had to carry. When the team didn’t play well, it was Lopez who took the brunt of the criticism.
My most vivid memory of Lopez is of him diving the ball during one game at Alumni Hall and landing in my lap. I think he even apologized before rejoining the play.
After his senior year Lopez was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs and subsequently traded to the black hole of NBA teams, the Vancouver Grizzlies, the same day.
Far from the media capital of the world, Lopez was a role player and occasional starter for Vancouver, averaging 25.9 minutes, 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists over 47 games during his rookie season. His production dipped the following season when he appeared in 65 games, averaging just more than 12 minutes per game and 4.5 points.
He was traded before the start of this season to the Wizards, where he would be playing under Michael Jordan and for former Big East coach Leonard Hamilton. The rebuilding Wizards seemed like a perfect fit, a place where Lopez could finally start to come into his own as a pro.
And it seemed that way early on. Lopez was competing for playing time, but he was making an impact and eventually became a consistent starter for the Wizards. In a game against Detroit in early December, Lopez dropped 23. Against Miami a month later he scored 26, following that with his first double-double of the season two games later, scoring 16 with 10 rebounds against Dallas.
But when Mitch Richmond came off the injured list in late January and with Richard Hamilton playing well, Lopez’s minutes disappeared. He appeared in only four of his last 11 games with the team, never playing more than five minutes.
The writing was on the wall. And the ax fell last week.
A player of Lopez’s considerable skills surely will not be out of work long. With a deal with Minnesota all but locked up, Lopez’s next basketball home was all but guaranteed. My guess is that as you read this Lopez will have already inked a deal to play out the season with the T-Wolves or another team.
He may not be a star anymore, just a bit player. Still, Lopez may yet fulfill all the promise so many were clamoring about some seven years ago. And some lucky NBA team will have the Wizards to thank for it.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
