OLD SCHOOL
Haywood: Freshmen should stay in college
Newly elected Hall of Famer and ex-Knick Spencer Haywood was the pioneer — the first to declare “hardship’’ and leave college early for the pros in 1969.
Haywood first went to the ABA, but when he jumped to the NBA’s Seattle franchise the league tried to disallow his contract. Haywood then filed an antitrust suit against the NBA and, after a series of appeals, Haywood and the league settled out of court, opening the doors for high school graduates and players who didn’t spend four years in college to join the NBA.
Yet even Haywood, elected into the Hall on Monday four years after the Knicks submitted his nomination, is concerned about college freshmen leaving for the NBA. The projected topfour picks in the draft are expected to be players who graduated high school last June — Karl Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Emmanual Mudiay, who passed on SMU and went to China for his “freshman’’ year.
When asked whether Okafor or Towns should be the No. 1 pick, Haywood said neither. He said both should return to Duke and Kentucky, respectively.
“I knowit sounds strange coming fromme, but inmy heart, and I said it [ Monday] night to [ fellow HOF inductees] Jo Jo White, Dikembe Mutomo and even John Calipari, my ruling is being used wrong,’’ Haywood told The Post by phone after being honored Monday night during the national championship game in Indianapolis. “These guys need two years before they come in. They’re not ready. Their bodies are not ready. They’re soft. There’s not enough experience for the oneanddone guys. Forty college games is not going to get them ready for the NBA.
“Even after my ruling, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas and the original person — me — stayed two, three years,’’ added Haywood, who played two years of college after winning an Olympic gold medal.
Haywood’s basic point was Knicks fans should not expect a savior out of the lottery next season. However, Haywood, who played for the Knicks from 1975 to 1979, does think his former roommate Phil Jackson can’t go wrong with either Okafor or Towns down the road, even if Okafor was subpar in Monday’s title game.
“If Phil wanted more offense for the program, he’ll take Okafor,’’ Haywood said. “He’ll be the post presence in the triangle, which Phil ran with Shaq [ O’Neal]. He’ll fit that bill. If he wants defense, he’ll go with Towns. I think Towns could be the best of the two in the long run.’’
Jackson tweeted Tuesday night: “Congrats in order, Spencer Haywood... heard you are going in as a NY Knick. I remember the great Olympic Games you had in 69’.’’
There’s no mention of Haywood’s place in legal history in the Hall-of-Fame press release and he said he feels his legal battles had hurt his Hall chances. Seattle’s move to Oklahoma City also damaged his chances, since the Thunder barely recognize Supersonics history. That’s why the Knicks, who do more than most for their alumni, submitted his nomination even though his best years were in Seattle as a fourtime All-Star forward.
“I’ve been under punishment until [ Monday],’’ Haywood said. “My history was suppressed. My history was suppressed to college coaches. I was the worst Judas there ever lived.
“That’s how pioneers work. Ask Curt Flood [ who fought baseball’s reserve clause all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court], Muhammad Ali [ who refused induction into the U. S. military and went to the Supreme Court to have his conviction overturned] and Spencer Haywood. We all went to court in the 1970s.’’
The Knicks purchased Haywood from the Sonics after parts of their 1970 and ‘ 73 championship teams began to retire. But he still played with some greats.
“I played my hardest and I learned a lot from Phil, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dick Barnett, Red Holzman,’’ Haywood said. “There was good jazz music up and down the Village. It didn’t get better than that.’’