TIME FOR ODOM TO GROW UP

Los Angeles Clippers forward Lamar Odom is an irresponsible young man.

It is time for him to grow up - RIGHT NOW! - and become a responsible adult.

Odom, 22, was suspended Monday for the second time in eight months for
violating the terms of the NBA's anti-drug policy. Odom can return from his
five-game suspension Nov. 16, but he should not return at all until he has
his act together.

There should no more babying of Odom and no more excuses from him.

The league and its teams aren't allowed to say publicly whether Odom took
drugs again this time or didn't follow through on his after-care program,
which includes mandatory counseling.

After meeting with Odom Tuesday, Coach Alvin Gentry said, "I don't think
it's anything that would merit rehab. It's just something he has to take
care of. . . . He has to take on the responsibility of being an adult. I
truly believe he will."

Whether it was a drug relapse or not, it's a sign that Odom is not living
up to his role as a leader of a basketball team that finally has a chance
to emerge from years of oblivion to be something special.

The young Clippers have caught the fans' fancy, as evidenced by the sellout
crowd of 19,455 for their home opener Saturday. Odom, in his third year in
the league, is a cornerstone of the team and will be eligible at the end of
the season for a contract extension that could guarantee him about $80 million.

But Clippers owner Donald Sterling has never made that kind of a financial
commitment to a player. Will he start now with a player whose actions call
into question his reliability?

Odom has let his teammates down twice in eight months.

Remember his vow upon returning to the team in March?

"This will definitely not happen again," he promised. "The fans have been
great to me since I've been here, and I hope it continues. I hope everybody
doesn't pass judgment on my mistake. I've made a couple, and I may make a
couple again, but hopefully they won't be as big as this one."

That was after serving a five-game suspension, reportedly because he tested
positive for marijuana.

According to section 11 of the collective bargaining agreement between the
players' association and the NBA, players testing positive for marijuana
can be suspended for five games an indefinite number of times. Penalties
for using cocaine and heroin are harsher.

So what are we to believe with Odom? Does he really want to turn his life
around?

He arrived in the NBA with questions about his character. He attended three
high schools during his senior year, then sat out a year as he wavered
among several colleges, finally deciding to play at Rhode Island under
former UCLA coach Jim Harrick.

After playing one season, he filed for the NBA draft, then attempted to
rescind that decision.

The Clippers felt they got a bargain in nabbing Odom with the fourth pick
of the 1999 draft. He led the team in scoring last season, when they
improved from 15 victories to 31. He was named a team captain.

Odom was going to be the leader of this talented, young, growing team. But
he has proven that he isn't a leader. He needs to be led, led out of his
current environment.

Odom has too much talent to let it go to waste, and he is a good person. No
one wants to see him ruin his athletic career or his life.

We've seen what drugs have done to Darryl Strawberry and Roy Tarpley and to
former Maryland star Len Bias, who died of an overdose before even playing
a game in the NBA.

But there is also the great story we see every Sunday when Minnesota
Vikings receiver Cris Carter takes the field. Carter admitted using drugs
when he played for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now he's drug-free and a
positive example for others.

There's still time to turn your life around, Lamar. But you have to want
it, the same way you want the basketball when the game hangs in the balance.

This is your shot to turn your basketball and personal life around. Save
yourself.