11/05/24
March 09, 2002
Akron high school basketball star LeBron James is the next "next Michael Jordan" with an SI cover, his own section in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, dozens of makeshift collectibles on EBay and every single NBA team requesting credentials to his games.
posted by rcade to basketball at 01:56 PM - 9 comments
Isn't this obsession with high school players in the NBA a little past sick nowadays? This guy being the first pick of the draft over someone like Shane Battier seems a little daffy to me.
posted by owillis at 06:40 PM on March 09, 2002
I think most top high school players play AAU ball in the summer.
posted by gyc at 12:00 AM on March 10, 2002
James may well be the next Jordan but he should go to college for at least a year. The year in college will give him some understanding of the pressure that he will be under in the pros. He should also have some knowledge of how to handle the gobs of money he will be getting.
posted by JohnQphilly at 05:44 AM on March 10, 2002
I think the NBA interest in prep players makes more sense than the old system, though it's sad to see colleges losing out on some great players. Baseball has been signing players out of high school -- or even younger -- for years. I don't think it's any worse now that the NBA is doing it, especially if the league has CBA teams or other places where the young player can develop for a few years. It's crazy for a player who's already a lottery pick to go to college. Take the millions they want to throw at you and if college is important, go back and get a degree later. It's not like college is some cure-all for the temptations and problems that may befall a star player of James' caliber. Many of the top coaches don't even care if you graduate, much less nurturing a player's judgment and financial sensibilities.
posted by rcade at 08:30 AM on March 10, 2002
Baseball has been signing players out of high school -- or even younger -- for years. I don't think it's any worse now that the NBA is doing it, especially if the league has CBA teams or other places where the young player can develop for a few years. The problem is that the NBA has nowhere to put these kids so they can develop. If a team wants to keep a drafted players rights he has to be on their roster. The NBDL isn't even a farm league since the NBDL players can't be signed to a NBA team. If there is one thing that recent sports history, with its Doug Fluties and Kurt Warners, has taught the sports world is that is better to play in any league than to rot on a bench. An NBA Europe developmental farm league would be a huge help and probably a financial winner as well IMHO.
posted by srboisvert at 09:40 AM on March 10, 2002
The NBA has a place for them to develop, it's called practice (don't forget the summer league also). Identifiable superstar talent like James or Bryant or Garnett are better off in the NBA learning from their elders than they are waiting in airports for a connecting flight to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. I don't think it's quite like baseball or football. If LeBron James needed to work on his jumpshot, or add 30 pounds of muscle, his support system would be advising him to go to college.
posted by pastepotpete at 10:53 AM on March 10, 2002
The problem is that the NBA has nowhere to put these kids so they can develop. If a team wants to keep a drafted players rights he has to be on their roster. The NBDL isn't even a farm league since the NBDL players can't be signed to a NBA team. I have to disagree with that. The NFL and NBA love not paying for minor leagues. Baseball and hockey draft players out of high school because the college programs aren't big enough (though this might be changing for baseball). NCAA football and basketball are big enough to foster a Darwinian system where true talent wins out. The NFL would take kids out of high school too if one player could have as much of an impact as they can in the NBA. It, like much in sports, comes down to economics: NFL and NBA teams aren't willing to pay room and board for kids to develop when colleges will do it for them. But if a kid comes along who only needs a year (or no time at all) out of high school to make an impact, why let him pass you by in the draft now?
posted by yerfatma at 12:46 PM on March 10, 2002
yerfatma: the thing with your argument is that those kids don't make an impact. None of the HS kids have had significant minutes or impact the first year*, and most have not had any the second year either. They aren't getting drafted for impact- they are getting drafted because they might have impact in 3-4 years. And in the meantime, they sit on the bench and waste space, when that roster spot could be used by someone who could contribute and possibly make a game that has completely abandoned fundamentals a little more watchable.
*Garnett had 10.4 points a game, far and away the best of the straight-from-hs kids. Kobe averaged about 7 and I think the rest were in the 4-6 range.
posted by tieguy at 12:10 AM on March 12, 2002
The thing that amazed me most about this kid's story is the competition among out-of-state tournaments to get his team to come. I think he travels more than the basketball team at the college I attended. Does anyone know if prep stars like James play in tournaments and other events before the fall? I seem to recall a few summer events, but I don't follow high school sports closely so I may be mistaken.