THE LASTEST LINE: SOUTHEAST'S ELEY MADE RIGHT CHOICE

By all accounts, Southeast Missouri State University basketball standout Bud Eley performed well at the recent NBA pre-draft camp and he very well might have been taken in the second round of the upcoming NBA draft.

But that definitely wasn't enough of an enticement to forgo his final season of eligibility. And Eley wisely recognized that.

So now big Bud will finish up his degree in criminal justice this summer, take some graduate classes in the fall and look forward to what he hopes will be a banner 1998-99 season for both himself and SEMO's Indians.

If Bud is able to stay injury-free and continue to develop, the 6-foot-10, 260-pounder just might have a future in the NBA. And that would be quite a story for a guy who grew up hard in Detroit and has only been playing organized basketball for about five years.

Eley wisely realized that he basically had nothing to lose by using his final season of eligibility with the Indians.

Best-case hoops scenario: He improves his game enough that he ultimately earns a spot in the NBA.

Middle-case hoops scenario: He doesn't make the NBA but signs a lucrative contract overseas.

Worst-case hoops scenario: He doesn't make it in any kind of professional league but, with his college degree in hand, lands a good job and has a successful after-sports life.

That third option, as you might imagine, is definitely not really a worst-case scenario at all.

But the point is this: No matter how you slice it, Bud made the right choice. If he had declared for the draft, then his final season of college eligibility would be lost. And then all his eggs would be put into this year's basket with nothing to fall back on.

Now, Bud has his options totally open. And we'll be able to see how it all turns out.

* Here's wishing Randy Ray all the best as he leaves the sportscasting field and gets into the sales field at KFVS-TV.

Randy has truly been one of the really nice guys on the local sports scene and he assures me that he'll still be getting out to most of the games that he used to cover. Only now, he'll get to hang around for the end instead of rushing back to the studio.

The Weekly Media Grid Picks just won't be the same without `X-Ray' making selections.

* By winning Friday night, Utah has certainly made the NBA Finals interesting. And that didn't appear likely after the Jazz lost three in a row to the Bulls.

Going back home for the final two games (if it goes that far), Utah now has a fighting chance.

But I'm sticking by my original prediction of the Bulls in six.

* Openings are still available for the first annual McDowell Capahas golf tournament, a benefit event for the Capahas baseball team that will be held Friday at Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson.

The tournament is a four-person scramble. Numerous prizes will be given away, including $20,000 for a hole in one on the eighth hole.

Anybody looking to play in the tournament should call 334-7327 or 335-6644.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian