A FRONT ROW VIEW: Maloney's style doesn't fit NBA

Two weeks ago, Matt Maloney was drafted with the 15th pick overall by?the Jersey Turnpikes?! The Hoboken-based United States Basketball League expansion team would not have picked Maloney had it not thought there was a reasonably good chance the Penn guard will not be selected in the upcoming NBA draft. The scouts might simply find Maloney too unathletic, too slow and too "Ivy League" for the National Basketball Association. Why isn't Maloney a lock to make the NBA? Because he did exactly what he was told to do. For years, NBA coaches, scouts, general managers and analysts have complained that today's high school and college basketball players are more interested in monster dunks and trash talking than in jump shots and free throws. But when push comes to shove, who gets drafted? The dunkers and the talkers, that's who. Why doesn't the NBA just admit that it doesn't want "shooters," unless they are do-it-all bombers like Reggie Miller and Dana Barros. The pros want Dee Brown blindfolded and Larry Johnson in drag. They want Chris Webber's bald head and Dennis Rodman's psychedelic hair. They want Dominique Wilkins tomahawking and Charles Barkley spitting. That's what sells. Then they try to convince us there just aren't any fundamentally sound players in college anymore. Wrong. The NBA just doesn't want them. Fundamentally sound players don't sell tickets. Free throw shooting and defense may win championships, but they don't win fans. If the NBA was truly serious about reviving the art of the jump shot, would Matt Maloney be getting ready to embark on a career of CBA road trips to Rapid City or Italian League flights to Algiers? But Maloney is not the only collegian to get the shaft. And he certainly won't be the last. Look for North Carolina junior Dante Calabria to get the "white men can't jump" treatment next year. Calabria shot 52.4 percent from three-point land this year, second best in the nation. The native of Beaver Falls, Pa., (the town that gave the world Joe Namath and Mr. Belvedere) actually sank more treys than he missed! Calabria is also an effective ball handler and has good size. But on a team with Rasheeds and Stackhouses, the NBA may not notice one of the nation's most accurate long-range bombers. UConn's Doron Sheffer will likely catch a plane back to his native Israel after he ends his collegiate career next year. He may not have the leaping ability of Ray Allen or the 7-foot frame of Travis Knight. But Sheffer can shoot the daylights out. And what of Eric Eberz, the all-Big 5 small forward from Villanova. When Eberz is on, he can shoot with anyone. Most NBA players would have trouble beating Eberz in a game of H-O-R-S-E. But he can't dunk like Kerry Kitties or swat shots like Jason Lawson. Can you say Pittsburgh Piranhas? The NBA wants Phi Slamma Jamma and the Twin Towers. But they still want the three-pointers. In order to get the best of both worlds, the powers that be in the NBA decided to move the arc in, so they could still draft Skywalkers and Glides and Monster Mashes and Airs. Now Shaquille O'Neal tosses up the long ball in an All-Star Game, and Dan Majerle becomes a useless luxury instead of a game-breaker. Hell, anyone can hit a three. Why do we need Thunder Dan? So go ahead all you junior high schoolers and playground hoopsters. Practice your 360s. Wear your baggy shorts. Shave your heads. Pull up your socks (just one please). Talk that trash. Because in the end, that's what's going to get you to the NBA. Forget about those free throws. Shaq and Webber are millionaires, and they can't hit 'em. Ignore that jump shot. If you can dunk, a 10-footer is considered a bomb. Too bad for Matt Maloney. He did what he was told. He did what they asked. Too bad he didn't know any better. Too bad he's not Ira Bowman. Eric Goldstein is a Wharton freshman from Sewickley Heights and a sports writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian.