'NIQUE HASN'T LOOKED LIKE A WORLD-CLASS PLAYER SO FAR

August 7, 1994

WILKINS HASN'T LOOKED LIKE A WORLD-CLASS PLAYER SO FAR

First there was a heavy-handed 20-foot clunker. Then an excursion into the lane led to a 12-foot airball.

Soon thereafter, a back-in attempt materializing into an obvious offensive foul led to an act of total frustration in which the aggravated American simply grabbed Spaniard Jordi Villacampa and threw him to the ground, which did not escape the official's notice.

Thus did Dominique Wilkins burst into the world of international basketball.

Three years, for how much money? Is this what Celtic brass and fans have to look forward to?

Impossible. Dominique Wilkins can't be this bad.

And he's not. The aforementioned took place in Thursday's opening night game. A bit of matador defense aside, Dominique played better Friday, when he scored 15 points in 15 minutes of action as the USA squad scorched China, 132-77.

"Yeah, I certainly had a lot more fun tonight," smiled Wilkins after the China rout was in the books. "We all had more fun. We did what we are supposed to do tonight."

That's true, but within the whole, Mr. Wilkins has become a mildly controversial side issue. Many an American eyebrow veered sharply northward as the opening game progressed and coach Don Nelson continued to call upon substitutes not named Dominique. Wilkins didn't enter the game until the clock had but 6:47 showing in the game and Dream Team II was (finally) cruising along with a 96-72 lead. The message appeared to be that it was now safe to insert Dominique, that he wouldn't be able to harm the situation too much.

The fact is that he did. His dismal efforts helped set the tone for a desultory USA performance in the final six minutes. When he entered, the game could have gone either way. The Americans could have downshifted and won by 35, thus satisfying everyone. Instead, they played sloppy, uninspired basketball, and Spain was able to get it down to a respectable 15 (115-100) before the whole ugly mess was over.

Dominique Wilkins has never before been an afterthought player. An acclaimed high school and collegiate star, he has since enjoyed a distinguished NBA career that includes a scoring championship, a first-team All-NBA selection (1986) and nine appearances in the All-Star Game.

At 34, he is the elder statesman of Dream Team II. But unlike Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the patriarchs of Dream Team I, Dominique is clearly an adjunct member of this outfit.

Moreover, he just doesn't get it.

"I haven't spoken to Nellie about it," he said following the China game. "I just went with the flow. I'm ready to go, no matter what. It was good to get in there early, to get it going." (Nellie summoned him 10 minutes into the first half of the second game.)

All right, 'Nique, were you embarrassed about making such a garbage-time appearance against Spain?

"I don't know what you'd call it," he said. "Everyone deserved to be here, and everyone has a right to play. That's the way I look at it."

But that, apparently, is not the way Don Nelson looks at it. He spelled it out quite clearly after the Spain game.

"There were 10 players who basically played better than the others (in practice)," Nellie explained. "I'm planning on staying with that rotation. I like that rotation very much. It's not that the others won't be a part of it, because they will be. But they will stay in a reserve role."

(The "other" in question is guard Steve Smith of the Miami Heat.)

There has been no direct communication between coach and player on this matter. Nelson is acting out his boss role and Dominique is expected to be man enough to take the appropriate orders. Nelson appears to assume that Dominique should be able to deduce the reasoning behind Nellie's decision. 'Tain't so. Wilkins is a bit bewildered by his back-burner status.

So what's going on here?

It's nothing complicated. Nelson feels that Shawn Kemp, Derrick Coleman and Larry Johnson are all significantly ahead of 'Nique at the present time.

"What you saw against Spain is what we've seen in practice every day," confides one Dream Team insider. "He's making no real attempt to get back on defense, either."

Wilkins did report some back soreness earlier in the week, but that is not the issue. He just isn't playing well.

No one is saying that Dominique is finished, simply that he's a notch below the other big men here this first week of August. They say he arrived in Chicago way out of shape, very likely because he was without a team and not yet properly motivated. He may also have arrived with the wrong attitude, figuring that as the team's oldest player, he would be accorded some sort of Magic-Larry deference. If so, that was a bad guess. The young players on this team don't have much respect for anybody.

The inference is that anyone being totally honest and realistic with himself would admit that he has messed up by not coming here adequately prepared. But Dominique continues to insist he doesn't understand why Nelson has subjugated him.

"I'm a competitor," he pleads. "Everyone has a right to be here and play as many minutes as the next guy."

Be assured that Nelson's decision is not in any way based on personality. "I like 'Nique very much," Nellie insists. "I think he's a nice guy."

As for his new NBA club, Wilkins says, "It feels great to be a Celtic; I can't wait for the season to start. It's a very good fit for me. They need a guy to come in and show some leadership and do some scoring. I think we're going to be a very surprising team."

Just don't expect him to pay any dues to the Clippers Alumni Association.

"The who?" he inquires. "As far as I'm concerned, the Celtics are my second team. I'm trying to forget the Clippers. Going there wasn't my choice. It was a frustrating three or four months."

Now it looks like he's in for a frustrating week. Perhaps the end of '94 will be better for 'Nique than the beginning and the middle.