COLUMN: Maloney not likely to make NBA

From Scott Mulhauser's "On The ball," Fall '95 Wake up, Penn fans! Matt Maloney has signed a contract that allows him to participate in the Warriors training camp. He is attempting to make the team with arguably the best backcourt in the league -- all-stars Tim Hardaway and Latrell Sprewell start for the Warriors. There is also Keith Jennings, who filled in quite capably for Hardaway last season, and the Warriors traded five players to acquire B.J. Armstrong, an all-star starter whose fingers are clad with three championship rings. Each of us has wonderful memories of Maloney saving the Quakers with a late clutch shot or heads-up play. Undeniably our three straight undefeated Ivy seasons would be sprinkled with losses without the play of Matt Maloney. He is a quality athlete who was a great addition to the Quakers' squad, as he would have been to nearly any program in the nation. The man never lost an Ivy League game! While his Penn career was fantastic, it is time to depart from the lofty goals we had while watching him torch Brown for 36 points and look toward more realistic expectations as he heads to a crowded NBA training camp. The reality is the first four spots in the Warriors backcourt are locked up, and therefore so is any significant playing time. Any additional backcourt member should only get marginal minutes in games that are blowouts, and that assumes Maloney makes the Golden State roster. The only position available is the fifth guard spot, and competition is extremely tight. To compete for the spot, the Warriors brought in Billy McCaffrey, who not only had a fantastic career at Vanderbilt, but was a reason Maloney transferred to Penn. McCaffrey is not even the front runner for the final guard spot. This offseason the Warriors signed Jon Barry, a former first-round pick who has been in the NBA for several years (if the Milwaukee Bucks count as an NBA franchise). Thus Matt Maloney faces an uphill climb -- a three man competition for one spot. In a year where such college superstars as Scotty Thurman, Donald Williams, Ray Jackson and Randy Rutherford were not even drafted, Penn faithful must realize that being a college basketball star in the Ivy League does not transfer into an automatic roster spot on an NBA squad. Making the NBA is in no way an assumption for a great college basketball player. If these major college stars, who each led their teams to the Final Four or beyond could not even get drafted, we must be extremely wary of Maloney's NBA prospects. As a Penn fan, my hopes are for Maloney to make the Warriors, surrounded by a cast of NBA superstars who continually provide him with open three-pointers. Unfortunately, the current NBA reality slaps me back into focus. With so many underclassmen coming out early, several quality guards from major programs not even drafted, and the talent ahead of him on the totem pole, Maloney's NBA prospects look limited. We should appreciate all that he has done for the Penn basketball program, and not let his marginal chances of making the Warriors taint his collegiate accomplishments.