Rodman arrives early, starts in debut

DALLAS (AP) -- Dennis Rodman didn't take long to make his presence felt in Dallas, on and off the court. Playing before a boisterous sellout crowd that featured Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith sitting

Thursday, February 10th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DALLAS (AP) -- Dennis Rodman didn't take long to make his presence felt in Dallas, on and off the court. Playing before a boisterous sellout crowd that featured Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith sitting court side, Rodman grabbed nine rebounds and took a hard foul that briefly knocked out Seattle's Ruben Patterson in just his first half as a Maverick.

He finished for his new town team with 13 rebounds and one length-of-the-court assist in 32 minutes. He committed five fouls -- and drew just as many -- yet he wasn't enough to stop the Super Sonics from winning 117-106 Wednesday night. "It's all about the team," Rodman said. "It's not about Dennis Rodman."

Rodman, who wore No. 70, didn't look like a 38-year-old guy who has been out of the NBA for 10 months. He was aggressive from the opening tip -- which he caught -- as he snatched the game's first miss and got fouled by Vin Baker. Then Patterson made the mistake of trying to drive to the hoop through Rodman. Both went down, but only Rodman got up. Patterson, who was called for a charge, remained flat on his face for several minutes.

Rodman sat out the first few minutes of the second quarter, but he grabbed the first available rebound when he returned. There was a near blowup soon after, though, as he was called for two quick fouls -- both of which he disagreed with.

Rodman, obviously peeved, ran up court cupping the ball as if he were going to heave it, but instead marched to the far sideline and placed it down softly. Rodman played 16 minutes in each half. He went to the bench for good with 5:23 left to play and Seattle up by 12. As he left the court, he flipped his jersey to a woman in the stands who may still be screaming with delight. "I thought he came focused to play," Seattle coach Paul Westphal said. "If he comes serious about basketball, he'll help them."

Rodmania was in full swing Wednesday night. The crowd of 18,203 was the second-largest ever to see a Mavericks game in Reunion Arena, 52 fewer than Michael Jordan drew for his last Dallas appearance two years ago. "I was surprised," said Rodman, who also played in that game as a member of the Chicago Bulls. "I felt like Michael Jordan for a minute. This is how people live in Texas. They're very generous."

Some had homemade signs, such as "Oh my God, it's Rodzilla" and "Welcome back Worm. We missed you. Go Mavs." Six shirtless teen-agers wore goofy hats and wigs and had R-O-D-M-A-N spelled on their chests. Others painted their hair blue and green and a few had very fake-looking earrings and nose rings.

The team issued more than 100 extra media credentials, forcing some of the overflow to be stashed in the hockey press box. Such attention is unheard of for a team that's last playoff win came before Rodman had his first tattoo. Rodman, though, appeared unfazed by it all. He shook hands with singer Montell Jordan during pregame warmups, then rocked nervously from side to side as Jordan sang the national anthem.

When Rodman was the first starter announced, he danced in place under a spotlight without even cracking a smile. Rodman got the evening off to a good note by showing up five minutes earlier than he had to, getting into the locker room at 6:10 p.m. even though his teammates had been at Reunion Arena for well over an hour. That's when he learned he was starting. "He's going to start eventually anyway, so we might as well throw him right in there," coach-general manager Don Nelson said.

Outside the arena, the frenzy was already in high gear. Herb and Wanda Patlis drove about 90 minutes from Waco to see Rodman in action. In an unintentional yet fitting tribute to Rodman, they were hoping to cash in on his presence by selling a framed, autographed poster of Rodman as a Chicago Bull for a couple hundred bucks. "I like his showmanship," Wanda Patlis said. "I just think he's always done a good job of promoting himself. That's why I'm here. I just hope he behaves himself."

The Mavericks are risking only about $460,000 on having Rodman the rest of this season, and they seemed poised to recoup their investment in one night. In addition to the sellout, blue and green road jerseys of Rodman's No. 70 were rushed to the concession stands and going for $43. T-shirts weren't yet available because there were no action shots of Rodman as a Maverick.