LEESBURG -ÊBobby Leonard offered his thoughts on several Indiana Pacers and NBA topics. Here is what he had to say:

Q: What's your take on all the high school players entering the league?

BL: "I wish things were the way they used to be, but the NBA can do nothing about the high schoolers entering the league. It would be a violation of the antitrust laws. If they want to do something about it, the NBA would have to see its lawyers first."

Q: When the zone defense becomes legal next season, what effect will it have in the NBA?

BL: "The zone defense will be good for teams who have guys who can shoot. But we (Pacers) can't shoot the ball."

Q: How close are the Pacers to returning to the top of the Central Division?

BL: "We need two players. We need a guy in the middle, and we need a great guard. Now when I say great, I mean someone like a Stephon Marbury, that kind of guard. If we can't get a true center, we have to get another big player so we can use Jermaine O'Neal in other ways."

Q: Going by position, who are the top five current players in the NBA?

BL: "Well, I don't look at it that way. I don't look at it as different positions, such as point guard. I just want a good guard. But I would have Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Gary Payton."

Q: Who will be at the top of the Eastern Conference next season?

BL: "If Antonio Davis signs with Orlando and with Grant Hill back, adding them with Tracy McGrady, they will be right there. Outside of them, it will be Milwaukee and Philadelphia, the same teams out of the East. Atlanta will have a good ballclub."

*Davis signed with Toronto on Wednesday.

Q: Jeff Foster was a player for the Pacers who could get 12 rebounds one game then hardly see the floor for the next few games. Why?

BL: "Jeff will have to get more of an offensive game. He's a great kid, but he will state his mind more often to (Pacers coach) Isiah Thomas than the other guys."

Q: Karl Malone and Charles Barkley moan about how the quality of play in the NBA is going downhill. Do you agree?

BL: "The NBA will be just as good now as it was then. It's amazing how good high school players are today. And the NBA has the greatest players in the world. So I think the league will be as good as ever. But Michael (Jordan), Larry (Bird) and Magic (Johnson) had great personalities. That's what made them special when they played."

Q: What did you think of Isiah Thomas' first year as Pacers coach?

BL: "It was a big experience for Isiah last year. He's gonna be better. He won 41 games last year, and now he will have to win more than that. That's the name of the game, winning."

Q: Out of the players you coached, do you have a favorite?

BL: "George McGinness. Roger Brown, a forward, should be in the Hall of Fame. When we played the Knicks, he scored 27 in the first half against Rick Berry. But Berry was the one with all the fame."

*McGinness, 6-8 and 240 pounds, averaged 24 points per game in four ABA seasons and 17 ppg in seven NBA seasons. Brown, 6-5, averaged 17.4 points per game during his eight-year ABA career. But he was known as a clutch performer as he averaged 32.7 points and 10 rebounds per game during the 1970 finals against the L.A. Stars. The Pacers won their first ABA title under Leonard that year.

Q: How would have the ABA's Pacers matched up with NBA teams?

A: "We had the Knicks down 17 at the end of the third quarter, and that was supposedly the greatest NBA team ever." [[In-content Ad]]