Bulls think they have a pippin of a pick in Pippen
Chicago Sun-Times - Tuesday, June 23, 1987
Author: Ray Sons
Jerry Krause's eyes opened wide and he gushed as a big-game hunter who had discovered "Big Foot" or the "Abominable Snowman," one of those critters glimpsed at a distance or known only by awesome footprints in Tibet, Nepal or Inner Mongolia, places you can't reach without riding a yak.
" Scottie Pippen is 6-7 1/2, 212 pounds, a 74-inch wingspan - which is unreal. We think he'll get bigger and stronger. He has grown eight inches in the last four years. For those who follow genetics, Scottie 's mother is 6 feet and weighs nearly 200 pounds."
To hear Krause talk, you'd think the Bulls had just trapped a pterodactyl, one of those angular winged reptiles that flew over the earth in the Jurassic Period, just before Wilt Chamberlain was found in the wilds of Philadelphia.
"He's got the long arms and the big hands and the big feet," Jerry enthused. "He's just starting to find out how good he can be. He's never seen an NBA game. He's from a town of 200 people."
If Krause weren't vice president/basketball operations for the Bulls, he'd likely be one of those scientists who know the best tar pit to find a jawbone of a Piltdown man with a 44-inch vertical leap. Maybe that's because Krause himself is built so low to the ground he can track a varmint without bending over.
When Krause first mentioned to his coach, Doug Collins, he was thinking of this Pippen of Central Arkansas as a possible No. 1 draft choice, Collins reacted with pardonable skepticism. Jerry "likes obscure people," Doug realized. But he reminded Jerry: "Remember, I gotta win."
Collins knew this was the same Krause who had dug up a Charles Oakley at Virginia Union, a Mike Brown at George Washington and a Mike Smrek at Canisius. That's real nice. But wouldn't it be safer to draft a guy Billy Packer has heard of?
It turns out Krause sent his assistant, Billy McKinney, to Conway, Ark., last January, where McKinney actually saw this Pippen playing in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference. McKinney marvelled at this specimen and his report fed Krause's imagination, which is always receptive to the exotic.
Pippen 's obscurity was well founded in both geography and physiology. He was the youngest of 12 children of Preston and Ethel Pippen of Hamburg, which actually has more than 3,000 inhabitants and is located in the southeastern corner of Arkansas. He was a 6-1, 135-pound point guard at Hamburg High School and no college recruited him. His high school coach talked Don Dyer, coach at Central Arkansas, into taking him as a student manager, since Dyer didn't have a scholarship to offer, and probably wouldn't have spent one on a kid so puny.
By the time Scottie showed up in Conway, he had grown to 6-3. A recruit from Louisiana dropped out of school, and Scottie got his scholarship and got to play. "By the end of his freshman year, he might have been the best player we had," says Arch Jones, Dyer's assistant. As a sophomore, this runt had grown to 6-5 and 160. He was 6-6 and 175 as a junior and led the league in scoring. He was 205 and 6-7 as a senior and all-America for the second time among the small schools in the NAIA.
"It's unbelievable," says Jones. "He's a complete player. He's kept his point-guard skills while growing like he has. In my opinion, he's not even close to reaching his potential."
I phoned his mom, Ethel, in Hamburg and verified she was 6 feet, as Krause had testified. Her husband, Preston, was 6-1 and all their kids were tall, Scottie the tallest. What about Scottie 's feet? Size 14, his mom said, supporting Krause's belief he could be a superstar if the rest of him grew to conform to his shoe size.
Preston Pippen worked in a paper mill until a stroke paralyzed his right side several years ago. Now he can't walk and his speech is affected. He and his wife couldn't afford to send the other kids to college. The fortune Scottie figures to make as a Bull will be a blessing.
Aside from Pippen 's physical dimensions, the best news is that he seems to fit the image Krause and Collins have sought for the Bulls. He has sterling character and work habits.
"Real personable and dependable," says Rex Lovell, athletic director at Central Arkansas. "He's quiet and well-mannered," says coach Jones, "a `yes sir, no sir' type. Very humble." His mom says he's always been a good boy, though she's had to spank him for sins so insignificant she can't remember them. Presumably, she spanked him before he got his full growth. "A fine young man," says his agent, Don Kessinger.
Yes, the agent is the same fellow who used to play shortstop for the Cubs and briefly managed the White Sox. Kessinger, who also played quite some basketball for the University of Mississippi, judges Pippen 's skills this way: "I think he is one of those rare guys, a 6-8 guard or small forward who has all the moves inside, and yet can go outside and shoot well. Those guys are hard to find."
Collins will use him at small forward. Krause sees him as competition for last year's No. 1 draftee, Brad Sellers, and Gene Banks.
Close on the heels of this discovery, Krause announced the reaquisition of Artis Gilmore, 7-2 and 255, from San Antonio. Gilmore will be 38 years old before the next season begins. Some of us suspected Gilmore was washed up when he left the Bulls five season ago, because you could time his progress down the floor with an hourglass. Of all things, Collins thinks Gilmore will help the Bulls convert to an up-tempo, running style. Maybe. But the other guys will have to do the running.
Some disinterested observers say the Bulls may have had the best draft in the league this time. "We did a helluva piece of work," said Krause.
Until we see the Bulls in training camp next fall, most of us have to take the new talent on faith. The only real authorities who can size up Krause's efforts on draft day are the few shoe salesmen who know the biggest feet in the smallest places.
