"When June 27 rolls around, NBA commissioner David Stern will call the names of the first five selections in the draft, and four of those may belong to guys who haven't yet had time to put their diplomas into frames," says Frank Burlison, FOXSports.com's college basketball analyst.
What is going on here? From the shocking No. 5 selection of Kevin Garnett in 1995 the NBA Draft has spun out of control in terms of the number of high school basketball players foregoing college.
What happened to the days when Jason Kidd leaving California after his sophomore season was startling? My fellow fans, this has become a farce.
For all of us who played sports in high school, how many of you can claim that upon your graduation you were ready to bear the responsibility for your actions under the scrutinizing eyes of dozens of reporters, hundreds of shareholders and thousands of fans? All of you who raised your hands are wither lying to me, yourselves or are named Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant.
As this year's draft approaches, one looks and sees a situation much like the one Burlison describes, one in which Eddie Griffin may be the only top five lottery pick to play a collegiate game. And he only played one season at Seton Hall! A season in which he didn't even make it to the NCAA tournament!
Alright. Now I've vented a little bit. But seriously folks, we have come to a crossroads in the sport of basketball and we need to take a good, hard, long look at the sport we love.
In year's past scouts worry more about talent and adaptability to an NBA position, a possible worry for this year's best college graduate, Shane Battier of Duke, not maturity. On top of that problem, coaches now have to worry about drafting some of these talents on the grounds that their basketball minds have not been exposed to the types of complex offenses that are used in the NBA and they may not grow into the system before their first contract, a league mandated three years, is over.
In no way am I trying to diminish the basketball talent that these young men possess. They are already at a level that puts me to shame and have a potential that puts longtime NBA journeymen like Charles Smith and Randy Brown into early retirement. I'm more worried about the fact that teams invest so much in these youngsters only to see them turn into busts like Jonathan Bender because they don't have the basketball intellect or the desire to work at the next level. These are the sorts of things that several seasons in college weeded out amongst the stars and the could-have-beens.
Let us look at some of the young men who could be filling out the uniforms of our nearest and dearest teams (Chris Wallace, don't you dare pick one of these guys).
The best of the bunch is likely Kwame Brown of Brunswick, GA. Brown was at one time penciled in to attend the University of Florida and play under the sleaziest coach of them all, Billy Donovan. Instead, he's testing out the million-dollar waters of the NBA.
Brown weighs in at 250 lbs. and stands an impressive 6'11." With that size he will send tremors through the power forwards of the league. Far from being just a big man, Brown has soft hands and decent touch when facing up to the hoop. He's got the moves, the footwork and the body, but Georgia has never been noted for its basketball programs and ability to adapt to the four spot is questionable after years of being a center.
Next up is Tyson Chandler from the rough streets of Compton, CA. He stands at 7'1" and 195 lbs. 195? The man must be skinnier than a corpse. If inserted into the starting lineup, he could be posting up against Shaquille O'Neal. Are you nuts? Chandler isn't heavy enough to be an entre on Shaq's Thanksgiving Day dinner table.
Chandler should go to college, put on 35-40 pounds and learn to play under the boards and bang with people, instead of merely outrunning them and getting rebounds based on height and leaping ability alone.
Eddy Curry and Sagana Dip round out the big four. Both have centers' bodies, 6'11" 290 and 7'0" 310 respectively, but are severely lacking in certain areas. Curry is not very athletic and at times looks to be plain old fat instead of wide-bodied. Dip has limited experience with basketball and his hoop skills leave a lot to be desired. Still, both players have the sheer size to be huge, and that alone will get them taken in the lottery.
There are others who have declared like Ousmane Cisse and Tony Key, that will not likely get picked in the first round, let alone the top 10.
Looking over these players, the two constants are tremendous upsides and doubt. Both of these quantities could be zoomed in on with a few years of college ball. The doubts could be eliminated, or else the player most assuredly would be. The upside could become more tangible or else the player would be worrying more about GPA than PPG (points per game).
It is now, with this crop of high-schoolers and not later, that the NBA must consider rules keeping recent high school graduates out of the Draft. Even a single year of college would help these boys develop as men and as athletes. It is now that we must turn to the aspiring Garnett's and Brown's of the world and say: Stay In School!
