Wiedmer: Even Mocs' Magic fans see L.A. win

As one might expect of a former college basketball player, departing University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Khalil Hartwell spent Thursday night glued to his television, unwilling to miss a single second of Game 4 of the NBA finals.

Somewhat unexpectedly, given that Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant spent part of his childhood in Philadelphia, Philly native Hartwell was pulling for the Orlando Magic.

So when the Lakers rallied to win in overtime for a 3-1 series lead heading into tonight's Game 5 in the best-of-seven series, Hartwell admitted, "I was hot. But then I was still hot from Game 2. (The Lakers') Pau Gasol grabbed the rim (at the end of regulation) and should have been called for goaltending. If they make that call (the Lakers won that one in OT, as well), everything changes."

Unless something dramatically changes over the rest of the series, Bryant is about to win his fourth championship ring and his first without considerable help from former teammate Shaquille O'Neal.

Tough as Orlando has made it on the Lalaland Gang, L.A. has Kobe and Orlando doesn't. Case closed.

"Kobe knows he's the best player in the NBA right now," current Moc Dante Harvey said Friday. "LeBron (James) will be the better player in the future, but right now it's Kobe."

And more times than not, the best player wins. That's why Michael Jordan own six rings, Magic Johnson five and Larry Bird and Shaq three apiece.

So while it's wonderful for Hartwell to admire the Magic's "chemistry" and that "everybody does the little things, there's no outright star," the fact remains that most teams need an Alpha male come crunch time.

"It's over," Hartwell classmate and Lakers fan Kevin Goffney said as he wrapped up his counseling session at UTC's team camp. "(Magic center) Dwight Howard should have made his free throws (at the end of regulation in Game 4). I love the underdog, but Kobe's the best player in the world and the Lakers are the best team."

With the summer still young and the Mocs scattered, it was impossible to get an exact count of which players back the Lakers and which back the Magic.

But an unscientific poll conducted Friday during UTC's team camp for high school programs showed Harvey and Hartwell backing Orlando with Goffney and Ty Patterson pulling for the Lakers.

Mocs coach John Shulman wisely sounded like someone who didn't want to offend potential recruits, regardless of which team they were backing.

"I'm for the Magic," Shulman said. "But it doesn't matter who I'm for because the Lakers are going to win."

Patterson sounded a similar chord, explaining, "I'm really a Cavs fan and LeBron is going to win it all next year. But as soon as Fisher hit that shot, I just smiled. Kobe's the best player in the NBA right now, and he's finally going to win his fourth ring."

That doesn't mean Patterson thinks Kobe is the best puppet in Nike's Kobe-LeBron puppet spots.

"LeBron's the best puppet," he said. "He's funnier. Kobe is too serious."

Not surprisingly, Harvey sees the puppet wars differently.

"Kobe's a better puppet," Harvey said. "He's calm, cool and collected."

So if Harvey prefers Kobe over LeBron in a puppet playoff, why is he rooting for the Magic over the Lakers?

"I'm actually a Portland fan at heart," he said. "They're my team. They're young, real young. Kind of like us. But you've got to hate somebody in the playoffs, and right now Kobe's the one you've got to hate."

But hating the Lakers and beating the Lakers is two different things.

When Fisher's 3-pointer swished 4.6 seconds from the end of regulation to force overtime and propel L.A. to its pivotal win, Hartwell slumped in his chair and muttered words no doubt repeated the nation over.

"I just said, 'Oh, my gosh,'" Hartwell said with a shake of the head. "It's meant to be for the Lakers."