Jack’s Blog

Of the 19 games Top 25 teams played (against a non-Top 25 team), 13 were decided by a margin of 25 points or greater.  In each of the other six games, while the margin of victory was under 25, the higher ranked team still managed to prevail.

The only true upset (#21 LSU’s win over #18 UNC doesn’t count since, had the pollsters known the Tarheels would have so many key players suspended, there’s no way they’d have been ranked that high) was delivered by Jacksonville State who beat Ole Miss in double overtime, 49-48.  While no one predicted this game, it’s not that shocking, especially to those who consider team chemistry and distractions as major deterrents to success.

The Jeremiah Masoli soap opera that has been playing out for the past month or so certainly could have had a negative effect on the Rebels.  First, the ultra-talented QB who’d been dismissed by Oregon (following a couple errors in judgment, i.e. character, one for possession of an illegal substance, the other for theft) either 1) realized the error of his ways and found a graduate program he desired that Oregon didn’t offer or 2) discovered (or had help discovering) a loophole in the NCAA rulebook.  The rule states that if a student-athlete has completed degree requirements at the school in which he’s participating and has eligibility remaining, he can transfer to another institution and be immediately eligible - if the second institution offers a course of study his current university doesn’t.

First, Masoli deserves credit for having graduated from Oregon.  With graduation rates falling below desired standards, he must be congratulated for his accomplishment - which made his transfer possible in the first place.  However, the plot thickened when, after going through fall camp in Oxford, he was deemed ineligible.  The initial reported reason for the NCAA’s decision was that he was skirting the rules, i.e. not following the spirit of the law.  In this country, a person has the right to appeal and that’s exactly what Masoli, or his advisor(s) did.  In a shocking turn of events, the governing body of intercollegiate athletics, not known for doing so, reversed its decision, allowing him to be immediately eligible.

While the about face seemed to be a boost for Ole Miss, the timing of it had to affect the psyche of the squad - especially after coach Houston Nutt went public to say how ecstatic Jeremiah was, all the while coming across as just as excited himself.  Possibly in an effort to show compassion to Nathan Stanley, the quarterback who’d expected to lead the team, Nutt did start the young man.  Since quarterback is such a position of leadership, Stanley most certainly had his share of followers.  The sophomore played well - by many accounts better than Masoli did, yet the transfer was the one Coach Nutt decided to go with at game’s end.

The loss can’t be completely laid at the feet of Masoli who led the Rebels to two consecutive TD’s in the OT periods.  Neither Masoli nor Stanley can be blamed for giving up 49 points to the Gamecocks.  Yet, there will always be some - it’s the nature of the fan - who will claim that had Masoli never shown up on the Ole Miss campus, they would have been celebrating a victory in Oxford last night.

In many ways, this controversy is a good thing because without it, I’m not sure what anyone would have had to talk about after such a predictable Week One.  As far as Nutt’s decision, he violated coaching adage #1:

“A good coaching decision is one that works.”

One of the great trivia questions of all-time is, “In one year (if I’m not mistaken, 1963), the MVPs of professional football (the NFL & AFL) and major league baseball all wore number 32.”  Who were those four players?

Well, two were running backs and one was a pitcher.  The pitcher was (my boyhood idol, the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax) and the two running backs were Jim Brown & Cookie Gilchrist.  For the record, the fourth was catcher Elston Howard of the Yankees.  While it was common for football’s most valuable players (and Heisman Trophy winners) to be running backs, it was rare for a pitcher to be an MVP.  One reason was that group had its own MVP award (the Cy Young) and few people felt a guy who played only every fourth day could possibly be more valuable than an everyday player.

Yesterday, I watched SportsCenter and saw the face of the lowly (although maybe not for too much longer) Washington Nationals, Stephen Strasburg, taken out of the game after throwing a fifth inning pitch and wincing at the pain in his forearm.  Early reports are that he has a strained tendon in his pitching arm and may be shelved for the remainder of the season.

A while later, I read the recent (8/23/10) Sports Illustrated article, “Crash Course” about NFL running backs.  In it were some shocking statements - by coaches, GMs and running backs themselves - about the role of that exalted position in today’s pro game.  Examples - RB Brian Westbrook: “The coaches, the front office - their job is to win football games.  And they’re willing to use you until you have nothing left.  They will disregard your health and your injuries to win games.”

RB Thomas Jones: “The Jets had one guy who was going to be 32 years old making $6 million.  Then they had another guy who’s 25, making a whole lot less.  Here’s the thing about running back: It’s an instinctive position.  A guy can come in and play right away.”

GM Scott Pioli (regarding the feeling management will cut costs at running back): “I am of that mind-set.”  He then went on to name two running backs from the Patriots’ Super Bowl teams (Antowain Smith & Corey Dillon) whom he described as “not great backs,” but guys who had “great seasons.”

Coach Mike Shanahan: “There are places on the field where you need a great player.  I don’t think running back is one of them.”

Then, we listen to the pundits regarding the kids’ gloves treatment Strasburg is receiving and, to a man, they all agree that today’s “pitch counts” are a wise move.  I recall reading (actually listening to it on audio-book) Jane Levy’s book to my idol and think of what he went through - packing his arm in ice after pitching, having his arm swell up to twice its size and all the pain he endured - to become as unhittable as anyone of his era, yet, doing it all at the cost of shortening a brilliant career.

In the SI story, the stat that jumped out was that “a running back’s career lasts 2.6 years on average.”  What used to be one of the most, if not THE most valuable players on a football team (and still is on the high school and college levels) is now an expendable part with a short shelf life.  Could it be that someday pitchers will face the same fate?

George Bernard Shaw said:

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

With the college athletics landscape in its ever-changing state, who’d have thought that two non-BCS leagues would generate as much controversy as the recent defection of Fresno State and Nevada from the WAC to the MWC?  Allegedly, four days after agreeing to (and, as has been reported, signing in the case of FSU) a new solidarity agreement among WAC members, the Bulldogs and Wolfpack bolted for the greener (but not by much) pastures of the conference which used to be part of it (in fact, most of the Mountain West schools were the original WAC).  It’s been reported that Utah State was offered a spot as well but declined due to - the solidarity agreement.  Confused?

Oh, it gets murkier.  Apparently, WAC commissioner Karl Benson, who presided over the WAC when it was the first mega-conference (16 teams covering four time zones used to be its signature line), was planning a coup.  Benson was left out of the meeting and subsequent secession pulled by eight of the WAC schools (Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah, UNLV and Wyoming) when they decided bigger wasn’t better and formed the nation’s youngest conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS.  For those readers who are unaware of why there has been a “play-in” game, i.e. 65 teams in the NCAA D-I basketball tourney, that secret meeting and the conference that was born from it is the reason.

Naturally, there’s been bad blood between the two conferences ever since.  Comparisons over which is the better football or basketball league has been bantered since the break-up, but during the past few years, it’s been evident the MWC has displayed superiority over its former allies.

What’s most difficult for each conference is trying to be a “player” (when it comes to football) when they’re simply not.  For the WAC, Boise State has a been magnificent representative and Fresno State has won a great many games against the “majors” (most of them on the road, making those accomplishments ever more impressive) but each school has been trumped by the Mountain West, which boasts BYU, Utah and TCU - an added member who came to the MWC from Conference USA,  after having been in the WAC (I added that to further cloud this mess).  All three of those have been to a BCS bowl game (Utah & BYU twice each) while the WAC’s only participant in the BCS bowl picture is/was Boise State - who, earlier this year joined the trend of conference-jumping, from the WAC to the MWC.

Benson knew he had to do something - and that’s where the solidarity pact entered into the fray.  Supposedly, someone (Benson?) had convinced BYU it would be in their best interest to go independent in football, a move that wouldn’t exactly sit well with the conference office.  No problem.  Join the WAC - in all your other sports.  A major pick-up for the WAC, especially in men’s basketball because BYU has become somewhat of a powerhouse hoops club.  Since Utah had recently defected to the Pac-8, 10, 12, the addition of Boise helped but doesn’t mean nearly as much had the Utes remained.  Some speculation had UNLV and San Diego State moving back to the WAC - but only if they were solid as a group of schools.

Then, Fresno and Nevada turned the WAC’s plans upside down in a move called selfish by their current (soon-to-be former) commissioner - who apparently isn’t aware of the “pot calling the kettle black” philosophy.  Nothing about this blog has been particularly clear so why change now?

There is a $5 million buyout clause attached to that solidarity pact (talk about getting whacked), plus a $1 million fee in order to become a new member of the MWC.  Six million bucks to join a league that’s not even one of the BCS conferences!  Fresno State might have to drop wrestling and soccer - oh, forget that.  And consider these possibilities - 1) TCU (in the heart of football-crazed Texas) gets gobbled up by the Nebraska/Colorado-less Big 12 (in the future, it might be a good idea to forgo numbers when naming conferences), 2) UNLV and San Diego State get tired of all this tomfoolery - or decide to to increase it, and go back to the WAC after all (with the shape it’s in, there’s probably buy-in money), 3) one of the six remaining WAC schools left, Hawaii, who’s been threatening to go independent in football for years, actually does so (joining Notre Dame and BYU - hey, maybe they’ll find five more schools and form their own independent league - the GDI’s - one of the most popular fraternities on college campuses).

This would leave the Mountain West with seven schools.  Because of the defection of FSU and Nevada, the $5 mil buy-out clause is no longer in effect, so maybe Utah State would consider . . .  Or as Robert McCloskey so aptly put it:

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Other than his name being spelled differently than it sounds, I have no trouble with anything Brett Favre has done - from a career standpoint.  OK, he waffles on whether he wants to return year after year, but so what?  His job is a lot of fun when he wins and a lot of misery (and pain) when he loses.  Plus, he gets paid rather handsomely.

One of my boyhood heroes, the late, great Roy Campanella, was quoted as saying about baseball, “It’s a man’s game, but you’ve got to have a lot of little boy in you to play it.“  Same for football - or any professional sport.  And who has more little boy in him than Brett Favre?  At the conclusion of each physically grueling season, there can’t be too many (position) football players, especially quarterbacks, who don’t question whether they want to go through the physical beating they just received for 5-6 months again the following year, independent of how much they’re paid.  So many stories are told by guys, QBs and others, who wake up and take longer to simply get out of bed than is normal.

Remember the story of the ultra-talented, two-sport guy who was trying to decide whether to play football or baseball for a living and received the advice (from a baseball player), “What do you want, a career or a limp?”  Football is a violent game - getting more so every year - so to do it for 20 years would naturally take some thought.

The argument that he’s just trying to miss preseason conditioning and camp?  Isn’t there a push to shorten the preseason anyway?  What’s the preseason for, and does it really benefit Favre - and the team who’s expecting him to put up big numbers (especially in the win column) - to go through it?  Didn’t he miss it last year - and go out and have the best year of his career?

Oh, you say, but how about team morale?  What do the rest of the guys on the team think about them having to go through the dog days, but letting “Mr. Pretty Boy” get away with blowing it off?  I guess that question was answered when three of his teammates flew to Hattiesburg, Miss to talk (beg) him into coming back.  I’ve been to Hattiesburg and, no offense to y’all who live there, but those guys weren’t vacationing.

I say, “Good for you, Brett.”  You’ve found the ultimate career.  As I’ve told my sons and mention every year to my students:

“The key to a successful job is to find something you love to do - and get somebody to pay you to do it.”

Each one of the hundreds of players who competed in Las Vegas last weekend has dreams of moving on to continue their career in college.  Whether they get to play where they want - or if they get to put on a college uniform at all - likely depends on what college coaches saw when they were evaluating.  The operative word here is saw.  Being seen is mandatory. 

For the top tier players, they got a taste of the recruiting process well before they were contacted by any institution of higher learning.  The war to obtain the services of the upper echelon high school star can be worse than the recruitment he faces from the colleges - and that’s mainly because the colleges are under NCAA rules, which are infinitely more strict than those summer league coaches, shoe reps, or “runners” for sports agents have to adhere to.  If there are any at all! 

Players are wooed by “organizations” with all the (legal) perks - flown to and from practices (those they’re was required to attend) since the hometowns of many are located too far away to make driving impractical.  Obviously, they’re was flown to events (from their hometowns) if they aren’t with the team when it departs to compete in tournaments all across the nation.  The swag that goes along with participation is all top notch - however many pairs of shoes are needed, gear in the form of uniforms, t-shirts, sweat suits, shooting shirts, any accoutrements (sleeves, braces, compression shorts, etc.) and, on several occasions, even meals.  Naturally, hotel accommodations were booked at no charge.

To my knowledge, there is no NCAA regulation against any of this - although the folks in Indy don’t in any way endorse this practice and would like it all to miraculously disappear.  Their biggest fears are the precedents that are being set and the expectations kids at a very impressionable age think they’re entitled to.

I happened to learn of one such player whose father was quite pleased with the attention his son was getting, but became somewhat disillusioned when the insanity known as the “evaluation period” for NCAA coaches began.  He was quoted as saying that his son enjoyed the experience (hey, red carpet treatment is something all of us would love to try - even once) but, according to this dad, the organizers “were guys who always wanted more.  Each tournament we go to, two new guys show up.”  When people are given lavish gifts, there has to be some ulterior motive behind it.  If you’re lucky, it has to do with winning.  It could deal with control.

What complicates matters - and is behind the, as Pat Riley used to call it - “The Disease of More,” is, down deep, these kids don’t care about winning (except in the instances where a loss eliminates the team from further competition).  What they want - and understandably so - is an opportunity to showcase their individual talents.  They know that college coaches aren’t recruiting their team, but whichever individuals impress them enough to offer a scholarship (let’s leave “beyond a scholarship” for another blog).  In case you’ve never seen this brand of basketball, it’s rife with selfishness - and, due to the nature of it, it’s tough to blame the kids. 

As far as selecting which group to play for, high school kids need to understand the following line (which I read somewhere, many years ago):

“Remember, when you sell your soul to the devil, the devil owns it.”      �

Many of the names occupying the sports pages recently have been old favorites, some still working, some looking for employment and some deciding that maybe now’s the time to hang ‘em up.

Lance Armstrong gave the two-wheeler one last shot and found it might be time to just make commercials - on a stationary bike.  Did he give the Tour de France one last go because he thought he could actually win it?  If anyone would know, it’s Lance - no one’s won that race more.  Or, was he trying to prove to his accusers he could, at his age, win it all, squash all speculation of PEDS, end in yellow, kiss girls (at the end of the race) and ride off into the sunset - in low gear?  Whatever, it didn’t end that way.

One “elderly” chap - a true fans’ favorite (as well as a popular guy among his peers), John Daly, turned heads at the course where golf was invented - at least according to the inhabitants there.  Ol’ JD sported some pants that made him impossible to ignore and his play spoke as loudly as his drawers.  If anyone was looking for a comeback story, St. Andrews was a good place to start.

St. Paul might be home to another comeback story.  Maybe it’s not a comeback tale as much as it is a never leave one.  Brett Favre looks like he’ll be in purple & gold again this season.  The only debate surrounding Favre is whether he needs the additional time to heal or whether he’s just trying to avoid training camp.  Who cares?  His job is one where he is pampered nearly every day of his working life - except for the one day a week he poses as a human pinata.  If you think his decision is nerve-racking, how would you like to be his backup?

Another pigskin prodigy (or is the term pigheaded) is Terrell Owens.  He claims he is ready to play and, love him or hate him, one thing that’s never in question is his body.  If no one picks him up (which would be for a variety of reasons, all non-talent related), he ought to forget reality TV - in which he displays a very spoiled, hate-able side - and head up America’s War on Obesity.  Have those kids follow TO around and they’ll be in shape in no time.  What else they’ll become is another matter.

Another old warrior - and reality TV star - looking for work is Shaquille O’Neal.  He might be encountering some of the same issues TO is.  A talented guy who grabs more attention that his current ability warrants, Shaq has a couple of problems to deal with that Owens doesn’t - due to the demands of his sport.  While TO is still a serviceable wide receiver (although certainly not as prolific as he once was), Shaq has been exposed in recent years as a defensive liability anywhere outside of 15′ from the basket (especially in Cleveland), as someone a running team would have to wait for on offense (Phoenix) and a player a coach would rather not have on the floor at the end of a game if the team had a lead (everywhere).  Plus, the money he’s asking (demanding, begging) for might outprice him in the current market. 

Why is it guys seem to want to hang on so much longer?  The adulation can’t be the sole answer since many outstay their welcome and boos become more dominant that cheers at this stage of their career.  For my money - which ain’t much - the reason is that the key to a successful job is:

“Find something you love to do and get somebody to pay you to do it.”

When people are faced with major decisions in life, one strategy that’s suggested is to take a piece of paper and write down two columns.  One of the columns is the positive side, the other the negative.

Although I spent 30 years in college basketball and got to know Tom Izzo pretty well, I am not privy to whether he used this method or not.  If he did, however, I am sure he made the right call in turning down the offer to coach the Cavs.  My only wonder is why it took him so long to decide.

In the positive column, that one being to take the job, there would be, of course, the money - reportedly $6 million/year for five years (forgive me for intruding for just a moment, but he makes $3 mil now - so how much more would his and his family’s life style improve - even with his salary doubling)?  Therefore, the only other positive I can think of would be: “If when I get fired, they owe me a whole bunch of dough.”  Imagine getting canned after year two and him coming home and saying, “Lupe, I’ve got good news and bad news.  The bad news is I got fired” (because getting fired is usually considered bad news).  “The good news is I have the next three years off and we have $18 million to spend” (which kinda takes the edge off of the bad news, don’t ya think)?   

Seriously, other than a new challenge (as if trying to win a national championship in college basketball isn’t enough of a challenge), what other possible positive could there be?  Winning an NBA title?  Even if LeBron told Izzo that not only was he going to stay in Cleveland, but his boys promised to join him (and I’m not using those words to describe the high school buddies he claims as dependents every April 15th), there still might not be sufficient reason to start planning the parade.

When moving is entered into the equation, no offense to the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame and now, Betty White, but changing your address from East Lansing to Cleveland (or even Shaker Heights) isn’t considered that much of an upgrade.  Especially when you’re a legend in the former.  Sure it’s Magic’s hometown, but he doesn’t walk down those streets much anymore, so as far as “owning” a town, that one is definitely Izzo’s.

As far as “enjoying the job,” why would the NBA’s Eastern Conference grind be more fun than the Big Ten - independent of how many teams they put in it?  Certainly, the addition of Nebraska isn’t so frightening he’d consider packing his bags.  Tom is a self-described grunt and, to date, no one’s ever pinned that label on LeBron James so a marriage of Beauty and the Beast (as far as innate ability goes), might not have a fairy tale ending.  And remember, Tom, which of you is the native son.

When I first heard the Cavs were offering the job to Izzo, my first thought was, “I wonder how those guys will react the first time Tom tells them to put on the shoulder pads for a rebounding drill?”  He’d better have some serious front office backing or what could ensue would make what the French soccer team just did look like a group of guys heading for the john. 

Plus, Tom’s an emotional guy.  Sure, there are a lot of hugs when the Spartans cut down the nets after winning a regional, but prior to those embraces is a good deal of “in your face” (constructive) criticism.  Reflect on the recent NBA playoffs (I’d say the regular season, but I wanted more than two readers to be able to participate in the reflection).  Stan Van Gundy might be a screamer (but his tirades more to the team than directly at a specific player) and while Gregg Popvich did call his guys “dogs,” that was after a loss (and was said to the media).  How many NBA head coaches get right up in the players’ mugs and chew them out?  Naturally, I’m talking about serious rotation guys, not the ones who, if they chirped back, the coach could have released the following day.  And don’t start with Phil yelling at Kobe as he comes off the floor.  That’s more to show the rest of the guys what they all know - that he realizes Kobe is trying to do too much.  You’ll also notice when Phil’s barking at him, he’s never so close that he violates Kobe’s space.  Add to that scenario that Kobe’s come out publicly stating total support for his coach.  In LeBron’s case, John Calipari as coach would be more like Kobe-Phil, and the jury’s out on how that relationship would survive in the NBA.  

Tom Izzo and the Cleveland Cavaliers (or any team in the NBA) is as wrong a match as Tom and Michigan State is the perfect one.  Besides - and I know I’ve used this Jim Valvano quote before - but I also know this would be V’s advice to Tom just as it was to all those successful coaches who flirted with leaving a place they’d built and loved:

“Don’t mess with happy.”

After reading a few articles about LeBron’s abysmal performance, it was incredible how writers and those who comment (or is it tweet?) absolutely spewed pure venom toward a guy who was, up to yesterday, in the discussion of “Who’s the Greatest Player of All-Time?”

I saw what he did - more like didn’t do - and was “witness” to his subsequent press conference, in which he didn’t seem particularly remorseful, yet I plan on reserving the right to evaluate/condemn him until the his next outing.

It will be in Boston, with his team facing elimination.  He couldn’t have made it tougher on himself.  I don’t plan on predicting the outcome but what if LBJ just goes off! - and the Cavs beat the Celts, win the series, . . . you can see where this is headed. 

Don’t know that LeBron will be chuckling, but:

“He who laughs last, . . . “

One of the first blogs I ever did (4/28/07) was on the NFL draft.  After hearing the hype about this year’s crop, I went back into the archives (you need to click on Aug, ‘07 to get to any blog pre-Sept, ‘08 due to technical incompetence) and re-read what I wrote.  If you don’t think everything still applies, let me know.  

OK, It’s Not a Science. What Is It? Home Ec?
Forever, we’ve heard that draft day is so difficult for professional teams. No one’s sure which list is longer - first rounders who became busts or low draft picks (or even free agents) who became All-Stars.

Each year, greater technology is used but it never ceases to amaze us how wrong certain picks can be. This has to be due to the human element. Way back when, guys were selected though what decision makers, e.g. owners, general managers, coaches, player personnel directors heard about the players from friends, other coaches, confidants and, who knows, maybe even fans or sportswriters. Now, we have combines (I thought that’s how wheat was harvested, not players) and tests, both psychological and written.

It would seem that watching a player play would be a better indicator than how fast someone runs a 40 (if a guy has a great 40 time, you’ll want to play him in case the other team has someone real fast who breaks away and you need to catch him, except when that happens, it’s too late to sub), how many times he can bench press 220 lbs. (”Boy, he looks awful on video but how can we pass on some so strong?), how high he can jump (jumping doesn’t seem to be in the top 5 talents needed to play football) or how well he scored on a test (remember, many of these guys haven’t taken a test without the help of a tutor in years).

Coaches always say, “The film doesn’t lie,” yet film be damned when it comes to evaluating talent (”Just let me see him at the combine or in an individual workout) - where the are no fans screaming, there’s no “team” scoreboard on and the competition are stop watches, free weights and sticks coming out of a pole.

Call me old-fashioned (because I probably am), but watching a player in person - on film if being there’s not possible - of course, taking into account who the opponent is and calling on people you can trust (relationships made throughout a long career) has to be more reliable. Some guys are magnificent performers “until the lights go on” - and with the money and future (your job!) being invested, you’d want to be as certain as possible.

Naturally, one-on-one interviews are a must, but, again, some people can fool you. Using all the modern methods of information gathering isn’t a waste, but the greater variety of these tools used, the greater number of egos become involved. You may tell me he’s fast, but I want to time him (or have one of my people do it). A psychologist has mounds of empirical data from a test (s)he’s developed, along with accuracy of prediction of success. Having things you can trust (a pair of eyes which have watch thousands of hours of video) and an experienced mind (who’s he compare to from years past?) and the opinions of people you would select to be in a bunker with you if it came to it ought to make you more comfortable than a new breed of “experts.”

When it comes to technology, I agree with Dale Carnegie:

“As technical skills have gotten better, communication skills have gotten worse.”

Last night, after searching the Internet for information regarding which collegiate players have declared for the NBA draft, I found the number was 54.  When I checked the night before, the number was 50.  Then I noticed a related story that Arkansas soph point guard Courtney Forston had declared, yet his name was not on the list, so that pushed the number to 55.  Additionally, neither Kyle Singler’s and Patrick Patterson’s names were on the list and most people feel Singler will declare if, for no other reason, than to see how he stacks up to the other potential draft picks and listen to where the NBA people think he’ll be drafted.  In Singler’s case, he has the perfect mentor in Mike Krzyzewski.  This isn’t John Calipari’s first rodeo either, so Patterson has someone with knowledge to lean on, too.  

If an NCAA athlete hires an agent, he immediately forfeits any remaining eligibility.  If he doesn’t, he has until May 8 to withdraw his name to retain his eligibility (unless he’s pulled this trick once before - as in the case of Patterson last year - in which case, once the player declares for the second time, he’s considered a pro).  Players have until midnight on April 25 to file.

One website listed whether the player had, had not or probably would hire an agent.  The number of those who had hired an agent was 19 (probably 20 with Patterson), the “had not’s” numbered 25 (actually 26 since Forston has not) and in the probably category, there were 10.  Considering there are only 60 draft picks (two rounds, 30 NBA teams) - and there will certainly be some seniors and foreign players drafted, it seems as though some guys are being subjected to really bad advice.

First of all, players declaring for the draft fall into different categories.  The guys who don’t hire an agent (especially juniors, since they’re only allowed one mulligan) are, like most feel about Singler, testing the waters.  Similar to football, if a guy shows well at the pro-sponsored workouts, NBA decision-makers tend to discard the previous year(s) of his career and raise the guy’s stock.

Guys who do hire an agent usually come in three varieties - 1) a sure-fire first rounder who wants sound counsel regarding his future; 2) a dreamer with less-than-average intelligence (who’s listening to all the sweet nothings - and usually that’s exactly what they’re worth - that some wannabe is whispering in his ear), and 3) a guy who thought (or was told) “this was my (your - our?) year” and stopped going to class.  In this third case, declaring and hiring an agent shows the public (in his mind) that he’s a pro.  When he, as often happens, goes undrafted, blame will be lain at the feet of someone or many people (but not him).  Mostly, this guy was going to be dismissed from school for academic reasons and declaring for the draft is simply a means of saving face.

There is another guy who fits in the third group and that’s the one who does not hire an agent, yet has no intention of returning to school.  This is a slick way of making it look like you’re exploring all options when, in reality, you’re not returning for one major reason: you can’t.  It, then, comes as no surprise when, in spite of poor showings, this student-athlete decides, after all, to go pro. 

While recruiting has become a slimy business, the time when players finish their careers might be worse.  That’s mainly because now, we’re talking serious money.  The lack of conscience of some of the characters influencing these teenagers (or young men in their early 20’s) is akin to a Larry Stowe, the snake oil salesman who was exposed last night on 60 Minutes.  To prey on innocent - or in some cases, not-so innocent - kids has got to bother anyone with any sense of decency.

I found a perfect quote to wrap up this blog, but I can’t find who said it:

“The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are.  Instead, we trust people to be who we want them to be - and when they’re not, we cry.”�