12/21/24
June 29, 2002
NBA's international shopping spree bodes ill for black players: says the Times' Bill Rhoden. It had occured to me that this, if a real trend, would (literally) change the complexion of the game. Rhoden seems to see an element of racism in it, though I'm not entirely clear whether he thinks its intentional or unintentional.
posted by oddovid to basketball at 08:43 AM - 6 comments
Ask the Spurs how much they like Tony Parker, a mature young man who played in a pro league overseas, and knew how to play with grown men. Now lets talk to the Wizards about Kwame Brown, a kid out of high school who looked lost, and he was playing with the greatest player of all time. If I'm a gm I'm taking the Parker types before I'd consider drafting a high school kid, it's not racisism it's common sense. The kids coming out of high school should have a minor league basketball option, college isn't for everyone, and getting some on the job training never hurt anyone, I started in a entry level position, and so should the high school kids. David Stern needs to create a minor league so these kids can get playing time, and learn what it takes to play in the NBA. I know the NCAA would suffer, but at least we wouldn't be yelling about athletes in college not going to class, and getting paid by boosters.
posted by jbou at 09:45 AM on June 29, 2002
I also wonder if the international players, grateful for the opportunity to play in the most prominent and lucrative league in the world, are actually bringing lower contract demands to the table. This is, after all, just business. Anyone with evidence for or against?
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:35 PM on June 29, 2002
"I'd like to see him spend a few years in the Bedford-Stuyvesants of the world, negotiating the perils of the inner city — gangs, drugs, police — while playing basketball full time and trying to be a diligent student." Players should be given a free pass if they had a tough life? Ridiculous-- there were plenty of players from rough backgrounds who played "fundamentally sound" basketball back in the day. There are still players who do. If a team/GM/coach is looking for a kid who hits outside shots, sees the floor and knows how to pass, he shouldn't draft someone who doesn't do these things. Draft the best players available. Even if they had an easy life growing up in Croatia or Slovakia or whereever. Baseball fans talk about how much better the game has become since it has the best players in the world in it, but this guy wants to restrict the NBA to US Citizens. Jason Williams (the one who didn't go to Duke) is a terrific example of what's wrong with the NBA. He single-handedly lost a game to the Celtics when the Grizzlies were leading by 7 with a minute and a half left by hoisting two of the worst threes I saw all year and getting the ball stolen. All because he (to my eye) doesn't know how to play point guard in the NBA.
posted by yerfatma at 04:56 PM on June 29, 2002
Hopefully once they consistently see fundamentally-sound Europeans on SportsCenter, young basketball players will see the importance of practicing fundamental skills over flashy dunks and swing the balance back to them.
posted by gyc at 07:19 PM on June 29, 2002
I really like the Sports Reporters, but Rhoden was on this morning and basically claiming that the US was doing well in soccer now because (so he felt) it was becoming less 'suburban' and more 'urban.' What racist crap, not at all backed up by fact. If this crap were coming from Jimmy The Greek ESPN would have hoist him by his ugly ties a long time ago.
posted by tieguy at 11:45 PM on June 30, 2002
Personally, I see his point but I think it's a bit early to make a judgement. It should not be surprising that a crop of mostly 22-or-23-year-olds with professional experience abroad are more fundamentally sound than the young high-schoolers who have been entering the league lately. The question is whether this is merely the beginning, or actually the high point, of the trend.