Now He’s Public Outlaw No. 1

SALT LAKE CITY —  Heads turned when Bo Outlaw strode into the Inglewood YMCA for his first practice with the Clippers three years ago.

Outlaw, who was signed the day after the 1994 NBA All-Star game after having played in Spain and the CBA, realized he had something to prove.

“I wasn’t intimidated,” Outlaw said. “I didn’t have nothing to lose. I didn’t get drafted and I wasn’t even invited to camp. I got here by hard work and if I don’t make it, it’s my own fault.

“I think people were saying, ‘Who is this guy?’ I think they thought, ‘He won’t be here long. He’s a 6-8, 210-guy and he’ll be back in the CBA.’

“You can look at my frame, but you can’t look at my heart.”

Outlaw, who plays his heart out every game, has survived 3 1/2 seasons in the NBA because of his hard work.

“Outlaw doesn’t back down,” said Utah Jazz all-star forward Karl Malone, who drew a technical foul for elbowing Outlaw in the face in Utah’s 20-point victory over the Clippers in the first game of their best-of-five first-round Western Conference playoff series Thursday night at the Delta Center.

Outlaw and the Clippers, who have last their last three games by 28, 25 and 20 points, will play the Jazz in Game 2 tonight.

Outlaw figures to get a chilly reception.

He was booed after falling on top of Jazz guard John Stockton on the sideline as they battled for a loose ball Thursday. Stockton took a swing at Outlaw after they were separated by referee Ron Garretson, then Outlaw was elbowed by Malone minutes later.

“I’m an Outlaw everywhere I go, that’s my name,” Outlaw said. “But to me I’m just a player trying to help my team.

“Malone elbowed my whole face and he doesn’t have a small elbow. Why would I tangle with a guard? I don’t know what [Malone] is trying to do. If he’s trying to intimidate the team, it didn’t work.

“I might be the nicest guy you know, but I play hard. If he fought me for playing hard, so be it. I don’t like being the center of things. I’m not the center here. If you want something done, ask me and I’ll go do it.

“I’m only famous two places. I’m famous in Texas [where he was born] and I’m famous here.”

Malone, who claimed he hadn’t seen the incident between Outlaw and Stockton, maintained he didn’t intentionally elbow Outlaw in retaliation.

“This series is going to be physical and they know that,” Malone said. “But after the game is over, I can shake anybody’s hand and say, ‘Good game.’ I don’t have any hard feelings. . . .

“Whatever the outcome, I don’t think it’s going to be two teams having any bad blood.

“In a series like this, it’s you and your teammates against everyone else. There’s going to be things said on the court that are forgotten after the horn blows.”

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said that Malone, a 12-year veteran, is held to a different standard by officials.

“When you’ve been in the league as long and play as aggressively as he does, it’s not like he just comes out and does it for a playoff game,” Fitch said.

Fitch thought Stockton was at fault after watching videotapes of the incident.

“Stockton was hanging onto [Outlaw],” Fitch said. “Stockton initiated the contact over there. Bo was trying to get up and Stockton was hanging onto him, trying to get balance.”

Outlaw, who wasn’t drafted after graduating from Houston in 1993, says he never eases up.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where I’m secure,” he said. “I’ll always play harder for the next day because I want to be around.

“It’s a respect thing. I’m not going to let anybody run over me. I’m not trying to hurt you, but I’m playing my game. When I start playing hard and you’re playing hard, it’s going to look like someone getting hurt or pushed. But it’s not about that, it’s about two guys playing hard. It’s manhood.

“What does it prove if I fight somebody? I’m not going to lose $7,000 for a fight. If I start fighting, what good is it going to do me?”

But if Outlaw were a hockey player, he’d live in the penalty box.

“Bo’s our energizer and our defensive specialist,” said forward Loy Vaught, the Clippers’ leading scorer. “He’s always going to give 110%”

Outlaw, who averaged 7.6 points and 5.5 rebounds this season, concentrates on defense.

“The way I play, I can’t be the greatest,” Outlaw said. “The greatest has to score 30 points a game. But I can be one of the great defenders. If I’m a great defender, I’ll take that.”

But don’t look for Outlaw on the NBA’s all-defensive team.

“It’s hard for a Clipper to make anything because we don’t get the respect,” Outlaw said. “Whenever they mention great players, nobody from the Clippers gets in the picture. It’s hard for us to get awards when we don’t get respect.”

Outlaw battles for respect. He wears protective goggles, has stitches over both eyes and his ear, and dozens of tiny scars from his mini-wars.

“You’ve seen me get hit in the eyes,” he said. “If I didn’t have the goggles, where would I be? I’d have blood clots in the eyes and I wouldn’t be able to see.”

Outlaw spends a lot of time in the weight room.

“He’s the strongest guy on the team,” said Clipper conditioning coach Johnny Doyle. “He has the lowest body fat [2.2%] on the team. The average body fat is about 6%.”

Outlaw wasn’t always a strongman. In fact, he was so skinny at John Jay High in San Antonio that he was hesitant to try out for the basketball team.

“I lined up with the swimming team because I’d swam in middle school, but the coach told me I was in the wrong line so I had to go try out for basketball,” he said. “If I hadn’t gotten into basketball, maybe I would have been an Olympic swimmer.

“But I was the last guy picked for the B team and I had to keep score for the varsity and then I’d play. My coach told me the reason he picked me was, he saw something in me that nobody else saw.”

Outlaw comes by his persistence from his mother, Nadlene, who worked two jobs while raising three children.

“I worked in a bar and Bo doesn’t know it, but I moved houses too,” she said. “One summer, Bo asked me if he had to help me by working and I told him no, he didn’t have to help me. He went to the gym every day and played basketball. He set his mind to becoming a basketball player. I’m so happy that he doesn’t get big-headed about what he’s doing.”

Outlaw repaid his mother by buying her a new house and two luxury cars.

“My mother took care of me for 20-odd years, so now it’s time for me to take care of her,” he said. “She can just sit back and relax. It’s no problem at all.”

And who says mothers shouldn’t let their babies grow up to be Outlaws?

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

CLIPPERS vs. UTAH JAZZ

* Game 1: Utah 106, Clippers 86

* Game 2: Tonight at Utah, 5:30

* Game 3: Mon., Sports Arena, 7:30

* Game 4: Wed., Sports Arena, TBA*

* Game 5: May 4 at Utah, TBA*

* if necessary

* NOTES: C9

FRIDAY’S OTHER GAMES

* Phoenix at Seattle

* Washington at Chicago

* Detroit at Atlanta