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The next Flintstone? Top guard says he's no lock for East Lansing
Posted: Monday July 10, 2000 06:54 PM
By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com TEANECK, N.J. -- Walking along the sidelines shortly after his game, Kelvin Torbert looked up and spotted little Marqus McGlothan in the bleachers. Mischief crept into his head. Torbert climbed two steps, crept forward and then reached out with both hands to tickle the 10-year-old, who had no place to flee. Later, Torbert sat placidly as McGlothan, the son of adidas ABCD Camp commissioner Marty McGlothan, rubbed his head. The youngster first stroked Torbert’s tightly cropped hair backward, then he brought it forward. Then he even began scratching away. Can anyone just reach over and give Torbert a scalp massage? “Nooooo!” he says, chuckling at the memory. As much of a puppy dog as Torbert is off the court, he is just as deadly on it. The 6-4, 205-pounder is perhaps the most complete guard in the country. CNNSI.com recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger rates the Flint, Mich., native the No. 4 prospect in the senior class, and Torbert has done nothing here to change anyone’s mind. “I’ve had expectations since my freshman year, so by now I’m real used to it,” he says. How’s this for explosive? Torbert opened a game Monday with three straight three-pointers, before missing a pair of leaners in the lane. Then he fumbled an alley-oop but scored anyway; hit a fadeaway from the left side, drilled another three, and smoothly converted an alley-oop. Eighteen points later, other campers were chiding Torbert’s teammates for not getting him the ball, and defender Todd Moret from Peachtree, Ga., was thoroughly flustered. “Other guys, they try harder when they play against me than a normal guy, because they know if they outplay me they can probably move up in the rankings a lot,” Torbert says. “You always have something to prove out on the court. But I don’t put any pressure on myself. If I play a bad game, I play a bad game. Everybody has a bad game.” Well, Torbert doesn’t have many, because he can do just about anything on the offensive end of the court. As lethal as his jumper is, he says his strength is his ability to get to the basket. His tank-like build –- which he developed when he started playing football as a sophomore -- allows him to post up (and to help on the boards), but he can also finesse a score if needed, throwing up a variety of scoops, one-handed floaters and turnarounds. “It comes from playing a lot of playground ball, going against older guys,” he says. “You have to learn moves to get your shot up, because they’re probably bigger and stronger.” And we haven’t even gotten to his leaping ability yet. Torbert is often praised for being able to hang on his jumper like Michael Jordan did, but he doesn’t usually flash his hops in other ways. Save the occasional dunk, Torbert’s game is not above the rim -– but he can certainly elevate when necessary. Torbert also is a good enough ball-handler to play point guard, and indeed runs the offense some for Northwestern High, but it is his contributions as a scorer that have college coaches excited. Foremost among them is Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. The program has had a lock on Flint talent the last several years, and with the departures of two of the team’s Flintstones, Mateen Cleaves and Northwestern alum Morris Peterson, the Spartans would dearly love to bring Torbert into the fold. Michigan State has been presumed to be the team to beat for over a year now, but Torbert says he has no leader among his top three of MSU, Cincinnati and Connecticut. Duke, North Carolina and Michigan sit in a second tier. Torbert likes Michigan State’s family atmosphere, Cincinnati’s style of play and UConn’s penchant for sending wing players to the NBA. He wants to go to a school where he can make an immediate impact, which means an uptempo team built around its guards. “It depends on the coaching staffs, the systems,” he says. “You try to find a system that best fits you.” Will he feel neighborhood pressure to stay close to home and become the next Flintstone? “Not really. There’s always people telling you where to go, where they feel you should be,” he says. “It doesn’t really weigh on me.” Wherever he ends up, Torbert is sure to be a hit with fans who appreciate his basketball skills -- and with fans who just appreciate him.
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