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San Francisco 49er wide receiver Terrell Owens
attempts to defend Magic Johnson Sunday.
By Will Whitehorn
Daily Bruin Reporter
LONG BEACH ““ Ten summers have passed since two of
sports’ most recognizable faces, Magic Johnson and Michael
Jordan, last shared a court together with anything at stake.
A decade later both legends, since retired, can’t seem to
say goodbye to basketball. While Jordan continues to toy with
the prospect of leaving the Washington Wizards front office for
another NBA stint, Johnson continues to nurture younger players via
the Southern California Summer Pro League, currently competing at
Cal-State Long Beach.
Saturday afternoon, Johnson giddily took the floor at the
Pyramid with his Magic Johnson All Stars (rap mainstay Snoop Dogg
among them) and unleashed his storied arsenal one more time:Â a
no-look feed on a 3-on-1 break which netted two points,
a behind the back, over-the-head pass that culminated in a
dunk. Even Magic’s famed running-hook made a cameo. For
the briefest of moments, “Showtime” was back.
In 36 minutes against the Young Guns, a mix of NBA and NFL
stars, Magic managed a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds,
and 10 assists, numbers all too familiar to the 4,400 plus fans on
hand to witness the spectacle.
Yet there were also moments when a very mortal Magic forced the
ill-advised pass. Even the most nostalgic of spectators
noticed times where the 41-year-old Magic found himself winded.
Several members of the Young Guns squad, San Francisco 49ers
wide receiver Terrell Owens and former Bruin standout Ed
O’Bannon, though, felt like Magic could hold his own in
today’s NBA.
“Magic knows the game of basketball,” said Owens,
who in his first stint in the SPL drew the unenviable task of
defending the future Hall of Famer. “Magic (could
definitely come back). He could probably play anybody’s
game at this point.”
“Today, he was unbelievable,” O’Bannon
said. “He ended up with a triple-double ““ those
just don’t come to anybody. He’s a good player, always
has been, always will be.”
Magic himself was far less receptive to the proposition of
staging an NBA comeback.
“One more, huh?,”he asked
smiling, “It’s not about what I want to do. I
would love to do it, it’s just my schedule is so
crazy. You forget, I’m running a $200-$300 million
company. I’ve got to do what I’ve go to
do.”
Magic’s opinion on Jordan’s comeback was even
firmer.
“I really don’t want him to come back,” he
said. “Crossover, jumpshot, hand still up in the air,
that’s how we all remember him against Utah. I
don’t want anything to mess with that (legacy). Where
can you go from the greatest? I don’t know where you can
go but down.”
Magic’s one-shot deal appearance in the SPL spares
basketball fans everywhere from asking the same questions about
him.