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News » Layden drafts son of a friend


Layden drafts son of a friend


Layden drafts son of a friend
Keith Webster, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Harvard, was the final late-round draft pick in Utah Jazz history.

The Jazz used their seventh round selection in the 1987 draft on Webster.

The next year, the NBA went to a three-round draft. In 1989, the draft was reduced to two rounds.

Webster averaged 16.3 points as a senior, when he was named second-team All-Ivy League. He co-captained the Crimson with forward Arne Duncan, who was recently named the Secretary of Education by president Barack Obama.

The Jazz used the 153rd pick in the '87 draft on Webster because Frank Layden was friends with his father, who was the Basketball coach at Bridgeport (Conn.) University.

When Webster arrived for training camp, he played better than anyone expected.

Webster certainly surprised rising star Michael Jordan.

During at exhibition game at Chicago Stadium on Oct. 16, 1988, Jordan was going in for a layup when Webster appeared to cleanly block his shot from behind.

A foul was called -- a seventh-round pick from Harvard couldn't possibly block Jordan's shot -- and Webster turned away with a puzzled look on his face.

At first, he was upset.

Then, he shook his head and smiled, realizing he had just done something he would remember the rest of his life.

The next night, the Jazz and Bulls played another preseason game in Pittsburgh. Layden made Webster the team captain. As such, he went to midcourt for the pre-game meeting with the officials and Jordan, the Bulls' captain.

Layden later recalled that Webster outplayed third-round pick Billy Donovan in the preseason. Donovan is now the coach at Florida.

But with John Stockton and Ricky Green on the roster, Utah decided to carry only two pure point guards. Webster and Donovan were cut.

When Webster was given the bad news, his reaction was so unique that Layden remembered it years later: "He says, 'Coach, don't feel bad. I graduated from Harvard and I'm going to UCLA law school. I'll remember you when I own a team."

After his tryout with the Jazz and law school, Webster went to work for Morgan Stanley.

luhm@sltrib.com Editor's note

This is the last in a series of short stories on some former late-round draft picks of the Utah Jazz .


Author: Fox Sports
Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com
Added: June 26, 2009

 

 
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