COLUMN: Goodrich gets his pink slip

From Marc Edelman's, "Old School 'Mawk' Talk" He averaged 13.4 points per game, shooting an Ivy League best 59.4 percent from the field. He was second in the Ivies in blocked shots and fifth in assists. He was also ranked in the Ancient Eight's top 10 in both rebounding and three-pointers made. Sounds like the numbers of the next Matt Bullard. But despite the striking similarity to the Houston Rocket, the four-year Tigers starting center is just another Ivy Leaguer now eligible for unemployment benefits. Goodrich was cut yesterday evening by New Jersey Nets coach and general manager John Calipari, who trimmed his roster to the NBA's new 15-player limit. "It seems to me that [Goodrich] can help a lot of people," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "He can shoot from the perimeter, pass the ball and score inside." But the Nets were not the right fit, even though New Jersey senator Bill Bradley is Princeton's all-time leading scorer and Continental Airlines Arena, home of the New Jersey Nets, is less than an hour away from Old Nassau. Calipari already has 6'10" power forwards Jayson Williams, Keith Van Horn and Chris Gatling rotating between the four and five spots, in addition to 7'1" center Jim McIlvaine and 6'11" center Rony Seikaly. That makes it a difficult lineup for Goodrich to crack. As a former Princeton center, Goodrich faces two additional obstacles in making any roster. One is demonstrating to NBA coaches that he can convert his game from Princeton's pick-and-roll, crawl-paced offense to the run-and-gun, pro-style game. Then, there's the position problem. At 6'9", Goodrich is too short to play center in the NBA, and he doesn't have the speed to guard most NBA swingmen -- imagine him trying to cover Glen Rice, Grant Hill or Kobe Bryant. That leaves him with just one position. "I think he's mainly a power forward," Dunphy said. "I hope he has a long career, but it has to be the right fit." Unless an NBA team is looking to fill the four spot, the former backdoor-cutting star is likely to continue finding that proverbial backdoor shut in his face, cut from NBA rosters. His other options include trying out for the Continental Basketball Association -- like former Penn guard Matt Maloney did while waiting for his chance with the Rockets -- or signing with a team overseas. Goodrich already tried once to land in Spain, but his plan failed. On August 4, with no end to the NBA lockout in sight, Goodrich signed along with former Washington Wizards forward Larry Stewart to play for Girona Gavis, a Spanish League team. But he never got the chance to prove himself, as management released him on October 2. Goodrich was replaced on the Gavis by Tim Kempton, another American with little name recognition, who has bounced around between nine NBA teams. That move surprised Penn center Geoff Owens, who believes his fellow Ivy center will excel at least overseas, if not in the NBA. "He's a lot stronger than I am right now," Owens said. "That's what he has over me and that's why he'll be playing there. They say he has Ivy League moves, but I've seen him score on big-time guys with those moves." It also surprised many that Goodrich didn't get more than three minutes of exhibition play to prove himself -- likely a function of the NBA lockout leading to a shortened and chaotic preseason. According to Dunphy, what distinguishes those Ivy Leaguers who make it in the NBA, like Maloney, from those who do not -- like Penn's Jerome Allen and Ira Bowman and Princeton's Sydney Johnson -- is "the ability to shoot the open jump shot from the perimeter." While many of Goodrich's skills are suspect, he can certainly shoot the rock, as demonstrated by his 59.4 percent field goal percentage. Given that players with similar skills have made NBA careers out of that midrange jumper, expect the Princeton center to see another chance at the NBA soon. He's not the second-coming of Matt Maloney or Chris Dudley. But a smart power-forward with an inside hook-shot and perimeter jumper makes a nice addition to the end of almost any NBA bench.