Utah's representation in Washington, D.C., jumped by three this week. And it's on the court where the influence of the state's newest representatives will be felt.
No, Utah hasn't been given an increase in Congress, nor has a Beehive State threesome been named to the U.S. Supreme Court. Instead, two prep players and one high school coach - Emery County's Shawn Bradley, Bingham's Kenneth Roberts, and Judge Memorial Coach Jim Yerkovich - will participate in Tuesday's McDonald's Capital Classic All-Star Game.The annual Capital Classic pits a dozen top players from the Washington, D.C., area against similar-caliber hoopsters from across the United States. Tuesday's game will be played at the Capital Centre at 6 p.m. MST and will be rebroadcast Saturday 1 p.m. MST on ESPN.
A pair of big-name participants at a number of prestigious invitational summer camps sponsored from coast to coast by the likes of Nike and Reebok, Bradley and Roberts are now enjoying some post-prep fruits after stellar careers in Utah.
The 7-foot-5 Bradley, who logged game averages of 24.5 points, 16 rebounds and 8 blocked shots this year while leading Emery County to a second straight state championship and a second consecutive undefeated season against Utah competition, will make his first of two all-star appearances allowed by the NCAA. After Tuesday's Capital Classic game, Bradley will play in a second McDonald'ssponsored all-star exhibition, the McDonald's All-American All-Star game, to be played Easter Sunday in Indianapolis.
Roberts, a 6-foot-8, 205-pounder who led Bingham to a second straight 4A state title while averaging 26 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and four blocks a game, is also scheduled for a pair of McDonald's games. Later next month, he'll join Richfield standout Ryan Cuff in the McDonald's Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
The Roberts-Bradley tandem will return in May for a second game in as many years against the Soviet Junior National Team in the Huntsman Center. Such a game against international competition is not counted by the NCAA in their limit of two post-prep all-star appearances.
Bradley, Roberts and Yerkovich have been in Washington, D.C., since Friday, with their five-day itinerary including practices and sightseeing in the nation's capital. Included in Monday's schedule is a visit to the White House and a planned morning meeting with President Bush, and a combined lunch-tour on Capitol Hill with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
By appearing in the 16th annual Capital Classic, Roberts and Bradley are joining some pretty heady company. Consider some of the names from the past, starting with the keepers of the Classic's individual records: Darrell Griffith and J.R. Reid share top-scoring honors with 29-point performances, King Rice boasts the top assist total with nine, and Ralph Sampson pulled down a Capital-best 21 boards.
Capital MVP honorees include other players who have made names for themselves in the college and pro ranks - Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, Danny Manning, Johnny Dawkins, Len Bias, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and Kenny Anderson. Other participants in previous Capital Classics have included Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, James Worthy, Thurl Bailey, Sam Bowie, Sherman Douglas, Derek Harper and one pre-magic Earvin Johnson.
Yerkovich noted that it's rare for a state such as Utah to have even one player selected for such a postseason appearance, and that having a pair such as Bradley and Roberts play in a national exhibition is a special treat.
The ever-defensive-minded Yerkovich is preaching his defensive philosophies to the U.S. All-Stars. "I know they're not going to be happy with me," he said. "but I'm going to approach the game defensively. You've got to take care of the other end of the court."
The Judge Memorial coach is involved in his second McDonald's All-Star game, having coached the West All-Stars in the 1981 McDonald's All-American All-Star game. "I couldn't believe the players I had," said Yerkovich, speaking of a pair of 7-footers in Stuart Gray and Greg Dreiling, as well as players such as Ennis Whatley and Mark Acres.
Heading the East All-Stars that year were Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin, and Yerkovich was forewarned by his counterpart - East Coach Morgan Wooten, the veteran mentor at the District of Columbia's DeMatha High - that the East All-Stars possessed a "somebody special." Yerkovich assummed that Wooten was speaking of Ewing - he later found out that he was instead referring to a young guard, from a small North Carolina town, by the name of Michael Jordan.
Yerkovich remembers Jordan essentially winning the game by himself for the East team - connecting on a long two-pointer to cut the West lead to one point in the waning moments, blocking an attempted dunk by Dreiling, tipping the loose-ball rebound out to midcourt, running down the ball and racing to the other end for a reverse, over-the-shoulder jam that put the East team up 96-95. It stayed that way when the West's Acres - one of the squad's top free-throw shooters - missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity.
Jordan's late-game heroics weren't lost on Yerkovich, who recalls turning to assistant Sonny Tangaro and say: "We will never lose a game like that again because there will never be another player do anything like that again."