Conner's coaches among elite

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 30, 2008 | by Jeff Faraudo

LESTER CONNER'S secret ambition is to someday become a professional poker player.

Why not? So far in life, he seems to have drawn the right cards every step of the way.

A member of the 1977 class at Fremont High in Oakland, Conner has followed an ever-ascending curve since his days as the seventh man on a high school team that posted a 25-1 record and was ranked No.1 in the state.

From that backup role, he became a 25 points-per-game scorer the next season as point guard at Los Medanos JC in Pittsburg, then followed coach Rich Botelho to Chabot College in Hayward, where the two led the Gladiators into the state championship game.

Conner sifted through more than 50 scholarship offers, finally settling on Oregon State, and survived coach Ralph Miller's gruff approach to become the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1982. Adding together his senior season at Fremont with his four years in college, Conner played for teams that posted a record of 133-17.

Then came a 12-year NBA career with seven teams, including the Golden State Warriors.

Conner and Fremont have secured the No.18 spot in the Bay Area News Group's "Head of the Classes" series that rates local high schools that have produced the best athletic talent.

After his playing days, Conner was sure he wanted to become a player agent. Instead, for the past 10 years he has been an NBA assistant coach, and currently he's in his first season with the Indiana Pacers.

In retrospect, it's hardly surprising. From the start, Conner has been associated with a series of superb coaches, beginning at Fremont with the legendary Leo Allamanno.

"Obviously, you learn more from the first guy, and he started it all out for me, teaching me to work hard," said Conner, 48. "If I had taken another route, I don't think I'd be where I am today."

Conner met Botelho on the playground during the

summer after his senior year at Fremont, but wasn't immediately inclined to follow the coach to junior college.

"I wasn't interested in school," he said. "I wanted to play ball and chase girls."

Botelho kept after it, and Conner gave in. A year after Los Medanos went 3-28, Conner sparked a turnaround to 24-7.

He and Botelho remain friends to this day. "He taught me about bringing the intensity and being prepared," Conner said. Botelho also advised Conner against transferring from Oregon State to USF midway through his junior season.

"I knew (Ralph Miller) was a tough guy, but he was a little different," Conner said of his coach at OSU. "He made me a better person. Staying there ended up being one of my better decisions."

Beneficial associations continued through his two decades with the NBA. Conner played for Larry Brown, Del Harris, Bill Fitch and Willis Reed, and has coached with Rick Pitino, Dick Harter and Jim O'Brien.

He has gone on the record saying he'd like to explore the coaching vacancy at Oregon State, his alma mater. Otherwise, is an NBA head-coaching position in the cards for Conner?

"It's one of those things you don't try to chase. If it happens, it happens," he said. "You just try to be prepared and be the best wing man you can be."