Keith Van Horn Best Rookie Since Jordan?

October 16, 1997


Pitino said he has a 7-footer he wants to add to the Celtics roster. He did not reveal the player's name and said he is not sure if the recently waived big man will join the team later this week. He did say he will be looking to make several minor decisions in the next couple of days . . .Nets forward Jayson Williams said Keith Van Horn, whom the Celtics coveted, is the best rookie to come into the NBA since Michael Jordan. "I'm serious," Williams said. "This kid is the reason I'd want to stay around here." Pitino said that with two more years of basketball experience, Mercer and Chauncey Billups will easily be at the level of Van Horn and Tim Duncan . . . Nets veteran Michael Cage, who played with Cedric Maxwell with the Clippers, said Maxwell and other verterans used to tease him about his strict diet. "They were like, 'Are you from the 'hood or are you some experiment?' " Cage said. The forward, who was briefly a Celtic last summer, is known for his affinity for wheat grass and vegetable juices. He hasn't missed a game in eight years . . . During one break, the public address announcer mistakenly referred to Mercer as a "Cat" rather than a Celtic.