Filling in for Ron

SONDRIO – Paul Howard is here for a friend. He arrived from Los Angeles last Sunday to help out the Philippine national basketball team coaching staff as a multi-purpose consultant.

A few hours before Ron Jacobs suffered a stroke last December, Howard got a long distance call from his pal. Howard had just gone home after spending eight days in a Beverly Hills hospital where he underwent surgery to replace both of his knees. The phone rang as he walked in the door of his house.

"Ron asked how I was," recalled Howard. "And he told me to get ready because we were going to work together for the national team." Howard said he was shocked when he learned that about four hours later, Jacobs lay unconscious in intensive care.

"It’s like a bad dream," he said. "I still can’t believe it. I see or talk to his mother (Ellen, 84) nearly every other day. I talk to his brother and his daughter. We’re hoping that one day, he’ll just get up from bed and it’ll be like nothing happened."

Jacobs was hospitalized for three months and is now resting at home. Because of his condition, Jacobs was replaced by protégé Joseph Uichico as national coach.

Howard would like nothing better than to contribute to making Jacobs’ dream come true–for the Philippines to capture the gold in basketball at the Asian Games in Busan on Sept. 28-Oct. 14. That’s why he accepted Uichico’s invitation to pitch in.

"I love the Philippines just like Ron," said Howard. "I’ve taken about 10 trips to Manila in the last 15 years, visiting Ron," said Howard. "I’ve taken about 10 trips to Manila in the last 15 years, visiting Ron, watching games. I love the way Filipinos love basketball–the fans are great–and I’ve seen how the quality of play has improved through the years. My role in the national team is to share my thoughts on its progress and to scout opponents, particularly China and Lebanon during the World Championships in Indiana this August. I’m like the outsider looking in. Sometimes, if you’re too close to the action, you lose a little focus. I’ll pick up on the little things, too, because I think in basketball, the little things win games."

Howard, 63, gave Jacobs his first big coaching break. Howard was the El Camino junior college coach when he transferred to Arizona State as Ned Wulk’s assistant in 1975. He recommended Jacobs to replace him. Jacobs then took El Camino to the national championship and that led to a job at Loyola Marymount, an NCAA Division I school, and eventually a home in the Philippines.

Howard played for Bill Bertka, now a Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, in junior college and was a star guard at Arizona State for two years, averaging 20 points a game. He was on the Arizona State staff for a decade and coached the likes of future National Basketball Association (NBA) players Byron Scott, Fat Lever, Alton Lister and Sam Williams. Scott now calls the shots for the New Jersey Nets who are battling the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals this season.

When Uichico introduced Howard to the team here, Jacobs’ pal described the Italian campaign as a stepping stone to the ultimate goal of hitting paydirt in Busan. He said there was a lot to learn from the experience of playing together against tough European teams. "I’m hoping we’ll be stepping, not stoning," Howard said.