When Houston's training camp opened last October, Clyde Drexler
was nearly a no-show. "I was seriously considering retiring," he
says. "I'd had a relaxing summer, and I was enjoying my free
time. But I felt we had a good chance to win it all, so I came
back."
Instead, the Rockets, devastated by injuries, have struggled.
Among their plans for next season was to say goodbye to Drexler,
who would have been a free agent. But he beat them to the punch
last week, saying that he would retire at season's end to take
the coaching job at his alma mater, Houston. Drexler will take a
big pay cut from the $5.5 million he is earning this season; his
five-year contract with the Cougars calls for a base salary of
$150,000 with various incentives that could make the annual
package worth as much as $800,000.
Drexler, who will coach at his alma mater next
year, says he won't have any regrets about leaving the NBA.
(John W. McDonough)
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Coach Drexler wasted no time in prepping himself for his new
job. Before the Rockets' game with Boston on March 19, he picked
the brain of Celtics broadcaster Bob Cousy, the Hall of Fame
player who also coached at Boston College. Then Drexler pulled
aside Boston coach Rick Pitino and asked for some pointers.
"Rick told me, 'Get two good assistants, and let your love of
the game help you learn on the job,'" Drexler says.
Drexler's final season with the Rockets has been uneven, but he
vehemently denies that there is friction between him and Charles
Barkley. "That's a fantasy someone dreamed up," Drexler says.
"Charles's locker is right next to mine. When we have a
difference, we air it out and move on. Charles is Charles. He
shouldn't change for anyone, and I would never ask him to.
Neither of us has ever had a problem lacing up our tennis shoes
and trying to win a game together."
Drexler admits that he has caught himself taking mental
snapshots at each NBA stop, and while he expects a tinge of
sadness when his 15-year career ends, he doesn't anticipate
having any regrets. "I knew, after this year," he says, "that my
patience with it was gone."
Issue date: March 30, 1998
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