The Knicks/Blazers Trade, the Celtics/Sonics Trade, Amir Johnson’s contract, Brad Miller, Jr., and Joakim Noah’s Mom- just some of the things My Roommate and I discussed in this 2007 NBA Draft Recap:
PART 1: AUDIO
PART 2: AUDIO
Monthly Archive for June, 2007
- I never heard of this before and I certainly never recited it before a Little League Game, but when President Bush hosted a Softball T-Ball game on the South Lawn, it was the first I ever heard of the “Little League Pledge”, a pledge originally written by the President of Little League Baseball in 1954:
I trust in God
I love my country
And will respect its laws
I will play fair
And strive to win
But win or lose
I will always do my best
Forget separation of Church and State, how about separation of Church and Little League… or even State and Little League? The Little League claims it was written to be like the “Pledge of Allegiance”, but “minus the references to the U.S.” Then, why, might I ask, the two lines referencing your country and abiding by its laws? Seems very out of place for little kids playing baseball.
Now, this pledge is not mandated to be said at the beginning of every game or every season by the national Little League organization, but it does say on their web site: “Whether to recite the Little League Pledge, play or sing the National Anthem, or say a prayer, is entirely up to the local league’s board of directors.” “Say a prayer”? Is that a joke? When did religion get all mixed in with Little League? I am actually extremely surprised this has not been brought up by some atheistic parent and destroyed already. But, surely enough, whenever God turns his head and I actually procreate, you will surely see a law suit coming the Little League’s way in 5 years.
- After a lousy season in which there were record low ratings, the NBA got MORE money for their broadcasting rights. Yes, that’s not a typo. They were making $765 million a year and now they will be getting $930 million. That’s an enormous increase, especially for all the negative talk surrounding the television ratings.
I guess, though, that this increase is mainly due to digital rights, which ESPN and Time Warner now have. They will be able to do whatever they want with it- show it online, on cell phones, whatever. I, for one, am excited about this new era where I’ll be able to see miniature LeBron James never win a title on my cell phone.
- And, finally, this sport has been covered before, but I still can’t watch enough Beep Baseball - baseball for blind people. I am not one to shy away from making fun of people with cerebral palsy, so blind people shouldn’t be any different:
To get acquainted with the sport, you can watch this ESPN.com video review of it, which includes such gems like blind people tackling first base (just destroying it) and someone’s mother saying the sport was “…love at first beep” for their son. Hilarious.
In the below videos, listen to the sound. That’s the ball. It’s going on all game long. I’d rather peel my skin off my body and light my muscles on fire than watch an entire game of this. I can barely take the sound for the short 10 second clip.
LINK TO VIDEO
Also, it’s pretty hilarious watching them go after the ball.
Listen closely to the sound on the following clip. I didn’t alter it at all.
LINK TO VIDEO
Doesn’t it sound like the fielder just got nailed in the head by that ball? That BOOM sound when it gets to him. I got to imagine tons of players just get absolutely wrecked by line drives or hard grounders. Again… hilarious.
And finally, my favorite video- this is of the Championship winning out.
LINK TO VIDEO
First, obviously those two fielders just rammed each other in the head- hard. Fantastic. And second, that dumbass running to 1st (yes, 1st, despite being down the 3rd base line) completely missed the bag. If he would have ran right to it he may have not lost the game for his team. I mean, how often does he play this game? It was the Championship, obviously a lot. He knows where to go, the base is also beeping very loudly, but for some reason, he does this loop to get to the bag and his team loses everything. Awful.
But still… hilarious.
Heading into the draft tomorrow, I’d like to link to my old web site (the now defunct Cuse.tv) with my 2002 NBA Draft Recap. I projected the top 15 players in that draft and, just 5 years later, I’m already looking like an idiot. Here were my rankings:
1. Jay Williams - “He can just play”
2. Caron Butler - “amazing to see him fall to number 10″
3. Yao Ming - “biggest question mark”, “but 7′5″ people do not grow on trees”
4. Amare Stoudemire - “raw talent and highest upside”
5. Drew Gooden - “solid rock”, “contribute…as second flute”
6. Chris Wilcox - “athleticism is undeniable”, “never be as skilled as Gooden”
7. Jared Jeffries - “contribute early”
8. Dajuan Wagner - “I see Larry Hughes written all over it”
9. Nene - “Ben Wallace with longer arms”
10. Bostjan Nachbar - “stalwart at small forward for the next 10 years”
11. Nikoloz Tskitishvili - “7 footer who can’t play inside”
12. Frank Williams - “talent to take NY deep into the playoffs”
13. Qyntel Woods - “could have been better if he got into a better situation”
14. Kareem Rush - “named Kareem and plays for the Lakers”
15. Jiri Welsch - “tall point guard”
I really was positive about Jay Williams, I thought he was a sure thing. He was such a game changer at the college level- but maybe he only did it because he had Boozer with him. As far as Jiri Welsch, Qyntel Woods, Frank Williams, Dajuan Wagner, Kareem Rush, and Nikoloz Tskitishvili go, well… yeah, that’s my bad. Good to know that 5 years later, almost half of my projections aren’t even in the League. What can I say, I was young.
For Jiri Welsch’s case, though, I only put him in the top 15 because I worked that 2002 NBA Draft for the NBA and brought Jiri Welsch into an interview room and accidentally told everyone there he was Bostjan Nachbar. But come on- they were drafted right next to each other, both foreign, both white- it was an honest mistake. But Jiri might have never gotten over that. Maybe that’s why he’s playing in Spain now. Sorry, Man.
Anyway, here would be my current list of the top players from the 2002 NBA Draft:
1. Yao Ming
2. Amare Stoudemire
3. Carlos Boozer
4. Caron Butler
5. Tayshaun Prince
6. Drew Gooden
7. Nene
8. Chris Wilcox
9. Nenad Krstic
10. Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
11. Matt Barnes
12. Jared Jeffries
13. Bostjan Nachbar
14. Darius Songaila
15. John Salmons
Maybe I wasn’t so wrong- it was tough finding 15 people that are still even in the NBA from that Draft. Other players include Flip Murray, Rasual Butler, Fred Jones, Juan Dixon, Melvin Ely, Dan Gadzuric, Dan Dickau, and Jamal Sampson. Wow. It really was an awful draft.
But look out for this year’s draft recap show, euphonic audio for your listening pleasures (Thursday Night after the Draft). I promise not to look like an idiot this time (actually, I can’t promise that).
With the draft quickly approaching, NBA trade rumors have flooded the market.
So we here at Sports at Random thought we’d get in on the action and think up some ridiculous trades (although ones that are still somewhat realistic).
Here are a few trades that would get Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles to play with Kobe (all work under the current CBA):
TRADE 1:
Lakers get: Kevin Garnett, Marko Jaric, Jamaal Tinsley
Pacers get: Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, Lakers #19 pick (2007), Lakers 2008 2nd Round pick
T’Wolves get: Andrew Bynum, Jermaine O’Neal, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton (sign-and-trade - 3 years, $19 million), Lakers #40 (2007), Lakers 2009 1st Round pick, Lakers 2009 2nd Round pick
Analysis: Minnesota gets rid of an awful contract in Jaric (4 years, $27.35 million), as does Indiana in Tinsley (4 years, $27.75 million). The team least likely to do this would be the T’Wolves, in my opinion, as they don’t get the Lakers’ 1st Round pick for another 2 years.
TRADE 2:
Lakers get: Kevin Garnett
T’Wolves get: Andrew Bynum, Zach Randolph, Kwame Brown, Lakers #17 pick (2007)
Trailblazers get: Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Lakers 2008 2nd Round pick, Lakers 2009 2nd Round Pick
Analysis: Portland would possibly not do this deal, although a lineup of Oden, Aldridge, Odom, Roy, and my Mother could do some damage in a year (pending my Mother’s health). It depends on if they just want to get rid of Randolph to not stunt the growth of Oden and Aldridge and/or they trade Jarrett Jack to Atlanta for a 1st Rounder- but it’s unlikely they’ll do any trade that nets the Lakers KG.
TRADE 3:
Lakers get: Larry Hughes, Kevin Garnett
T’Wolves get: Lamar Odom, David Wesley, Shannon Brown, Andrew Bynum, Vladimir Radmanovic, Lakers #19 pick (2007), Lakers 2009 1st Round, Lakers 2008 2nd Round
Cavaliers get: Kwame Brown, Marko Jaric, Jordan Farmar, Lakers #40 pick (2007)
Analysis: This deal would really intrigue Danny Ferry and the Cavs, I think. There is a way to get rid of Larry Hughes? They’d easily take back Jaric’s longer deal because it costs them so much less- and this puts them back in this deep draft. The Lakers would be deep into the Luxury Tax for years to come, but they’d get KG, so who cares?
TRADE 4:
Lakers get: Kevin Garnett, Troy Hudson, Marko Jaric
T’Wolves get: Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton (sign-and-trade - 3 years, $19 million), Lakers #19 pick (2007), Lakers #40 pick (2007)
Analysis: Kevin McHale gets rid of 2 god-awful contracts while getting younger and possibly enough quality back to compete in a couple of years (or package to move up in this draft).
I’m a simple man; I just have 3 dreams:
1. Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl when I’m alive.
2. Get a dog.
3. Don Mattingly win a World Series as Manager of the Yankees.
I thought number 3 was the closest one- until last week when rumors spread that broadcaster, not bench coach, not third base coach, not even hitting coach, Joe Girardi pulled himself out of consideration for the Orioles job- and rumors spread that Joe was going to hold out for the Yankees job, a job that was allegedly promised to Donny Baseball, the current bench coach of the Yankees.
This, obviously, was extremely upsetting to me, but it brought the point to the forefront that people may actually be awaiting the firing of Joe Torre… soon. And, you know, there really is a good reason why:
The New York Yankees have scored the 2nd most runs in the entire League. No surprise there.
This has lead them to, basically, nothing, though. The 17th best record. So it’s got to be pitching, right? Well, overall, they have allowed the 5th least runs in all of Major League Baseball. In fact, they have scored 62 more runs than other teams have scored on them. That’s 5th best in the League behind San Diego (+77), Anaheim (+79), Boston (+86), and Detroit (+103).
So if it isn’t pitching and it isn’t hitting… fielding? They’re in the top 10 in fielding percentage, that’s not it, either. What’s left?
Managing.
The Yankees are 3-12 in one run games this season. With Rivera as your closer and A-Rod hitting almost .500 and an RBI per at-bat in the 9th inning, there are no more excuses for Joe Torre in these close games. Yes, his starters have been awful (reliever Luis Vizcaino has the 2nd most wins on the staff), but the team still doesn’t allow that many runs. They are still in a lot of those games. Just because he’s had better teams during his tenure, does not mean that they shouldn’t be 5 or 6 games better than they currently are.
He always seemed like the perfect manager for the veteran-laden team, but now maybe things have changed. In the NBA and NFL, people always talk about how a coach loses the ears of his players after a bit, which is why there are so many changes. So why is Major League Baseball different? It’s not. There’s overpaid, giant-egoed, immature, classless, and petty players in that sport, too.
And even if Joe hasn’t lost his players’ ears, he’s lost something- the burning desire to win, the hard-working mindset, the stomp-on-their-throat dynamic- something.
But if the Yankees do not make the Playoffs and the whole regime- Brian Cashman, Joe Torre, and Don Mattingly- gets fired, you will see a man somberly walking around the streets of Hollywood aimlessly; just another boy whose dreams have been crushed.
A couple of weeks ago, Jan Grzebski, a 65-year-old Polish man, awoke from his 19-year coma after being hit by a train during work in 1988 Communist Poland.
His loving wife, Gertruda, cared for him all those years, long after Doctors had told her there was no chance of recovery and, even if, he would have severe brain damage. She turned him almost every hour, so he wouldn’t get any bed sores, and cared for him the entire time.
Now he is completely conscious with no brain damage and amazed at the new Democracy that is Poland. He is in awe of the variety of goods that are in every store and that everyone is walking around with a wireless phone. He heard the stories of Poland’s end to the Communist regime and he even met his 11 grandchildren that had been born since he went into a coma- but the main thing that Jan wanted to get caught up on was his true love. No, not Gertruda, but American Sports. American Sports were his escape from his tough job on the railroad, his escape from Communism- he loved the free market system that our sports displayed.
So, after he dealt with his family, breathed some fresh free air, and took the longest pee anyone had ever taken, he called up My Roommate for a phone interview to get caught up on the last 19 years of action:
- The best place to hang out on the Internet, you ask? Well, it’s got to be the New York State DMV web site, where you can see if the personalized plate you want is still available.
In a previous post, I checked the availability of many different NY State license plates, such as ZCKATTCK, UNCJESSE, and MACCHIO. This time, I took a sports angle (all of these are available, so act quick!):
ODENIS37
GUILTYOJ
H8 MMA
IH8 METS
KRUK36DD
STRAYROD
ARODISGA
SHAQSFAT
FLOPMANU
YAY4YAO
NOPILSTO
SOFTDIRK
ELIISBAD
SACKCARR
MACROIDS
NDPAIDME
WNBA ROX
ROSEBETS
R4PEKOBE
SOSACORK
6AY4ROMO
LUV BUSH
HIVMAGIC
LTWINSLO
TRUEHOOP
IHEARTKG
WITHLTHR
5EXCANON
Interestingly enough, DEADSPIN was taken. So if you see this man driving around the city with that plate, feel free to tell him he’s a loser.
- “Adolf Hitler”, “Satan”, and “4real”: all names that have been declined by New Zealand’s Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. 4real is the baby of Pat and Sheena Wheaton and they are standing by the name, despite the rejection. Here’s a video of them, proving they’re idiots.
And here’s video that needs no explanation:
Seven
Add to My Profile | More Videos
- Scoop Jackson has a solution to stop all athletes from getting in trouble at strip clubs: “Make every team in every city that has professional sports have a private, players-only strip club on the premises of every arena where every team plays.”
I like the thought, Scoop, but what happens when Darko comes into Oakland and gets a lap dance from Stephen Jackson’s favorite stripper (that he called dibs on)? You think he’s going to just sit in the back of the club and take it? I doubt that.
Things need to change in Los Angeles this season.
With the Clippers.
This is unlikely to happen, but after next year, both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette could opt out of their contracts. Chris Kaman, Cuttino Mobley, Tim Thomas (only other players under contract in two years) and change couldn’t beat UCLA. There are no signs Elton would ever do that- he likes LA, he’s into the movie business now- that probably won’t happen, but have another year like last and we shall see. Corey Maggette, on the other hand, has openly fought with Coach Dunleavy and only got the playing time he deserved towards the end of the season.
This team was 1 win away (1 bad substitution away) from the Conference Finals last year. Now after a year in which they gave a couple of big contracts out, the Clippers need to set a new direction. They held on to oft-injured blue-chip Shaun Livingston and now he will be recovering from major (major is an understatement) knee surgery, possibly, all next year. Court leader Sam Cassell barely played after the All-Star break and he’s in the last year of his contract (career) anyway.
First thing that must be done is to have someone work with Chris Kaman in the off-season. Kaman got a huge contract in the off-season last year after he had been steadily getting better each year of his career. Then, suddenly, he dropped off slightly last year (FG% was a big drop off). He also often played lazily and would never pass out of the post. He needs to learn when to take shots and when to be patient.
Elton Brand was criticized for having a big drop off in his production this year, but after watching the games and looking at his career stats, last year seemed like the anomaly, not this year. He’s going to give you 20 and 10. Every night, every year. Yes, sometimes he may give you 35 and 17, but that cannot be counted upon. His defense, especially his help/off the ball defense, seemed to really improve this year, so that is one plus. But expecting him to be an MVP Candidate every year, like he was in ‘05-06, is just not going to happen.
The one advantage of Shaun Livingston getting injured (if there is one) is that they can ride out his contract without giving him an extension and then get him on the cheap, while hoping he still pans out to be a great PG. He had all the skills except for a good shot and durability. He could still become a great player, but he’ll need to put on some more muscle.
One guy Livingston could talk to about putting on muscle is Corey Maggette. Dude’s got pythons. They’re huge. Even my girlfriend took notice (which caused me to spiral into a deep depression because it is IMPOSSIBLE to get as ripped as Maggette). Along with Elton, Maggette is your inside/outside combo that can cause damage, even in the West. Maggette can get to the rim anytime he wants, has an improving shot, and loves the ball in crunch time. He is one of the better offensive swingmen in the League (not that there’s a shortage of them). The problem with Corey is that he can’t play defense. For a guy his size, strength, and athleticism, he should be able to guard almost anybody, but guys like Kevin Martin drove by him continuously this year. He needs to improve there to get more playing time from Dunleavy, who seems to have it out for him for some reason (probably the lack of defensive effort and bad shot selection reasons, though).
Going into the draft, the roster looks like this:
PG - Sam Cassell (hurt always)
PG - Shaun Livingston (hurt)
SG - Quinton Ross (pick up team option)
SG - Cuttino Mobley
SF - Corey Maggette
PF - Tim Thomas
PF - Elton Brand
PF - Paul Davis
C - Chris Kaman
C - Aaron Williams
Obviously in need of a Point Guard. But other than that, looking at this roster, it doesn’t seem like anyone (other than a PG) will crack the rotation that they could get. Kaman, Thomas, and Brand are solid up front (with hopefully an emerging Paul Davis) and Cuttino, Ross, and Maggette get the large majority of the minutes at the swing positions. So unless you are trading one of them, I don’t see a mid-level guy (Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Jason Kapono, Earl Boykins, Amir Johnson, Andray Blatche, Morris Peterson, Mikki Moore) taking much of their minutes (obviously a PG would play more).
So it’s make a splash or stand pat and hope Maggette, Brand, and the new draft pick can get them into the Playoffs. Nobody is going to want Kaman and his contract, Mobley has too big of a deal, Livingston has lost almost all his value, and Sam Cassell is going to make it hard on you to trade him to someone who is just looking to dump salary. Maggette and the 14th overall draft pick seem to be your only trade pieces (assuming Brand is untradeable) and I think Maggette is undervalued on the market, therefore, you wouldn’t get much worth back (Chad Ford says Boris Diaw and 3 late 1st Rounders).
I say don’t make a big splash and try to keep on building. Elton Brand is the solid type of player that can be a cornerstone for a Championship team (despite how far away it seems the Clippers are from a ring). With the 14th pick, take the best player available, if that’s a PG in Acie Law IV, then fine, take him- but if Thaddeus Young or Al Thornton or Julian Wright or Yi Jianlian (unlikely) are available, take them. You can deal with your glut at the 3 at a later date. Realistically, only Thaddeus Young will possibly be available- so take him.
In the 2nd Round at 45, the idea would be to draft a PG if they didn’t get one in Round 1. Taurean Green would be the ideal pick, but he might not last this long. You could reach for Aaron Brooks here, but I’d rather go with the best player available, which would be someone like Jared Dudley, Nick Fazekas, or Alando Tucker. Fazekas would be the ideal guy here, but he likely won’t be available this late into the 2nd Round and you really don’t need another swingman, so I’d go for a shot in the dark. It’s the 2nd Round, you can take these risks. Go for Chinese PG Sun Yue. He’s bigger than Shaun Livingston and he apparently already likes the LA Nightlife.
The Clippers won’t likely have much to offer in free agency since they’ll be close to the Luxury Tax and Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who once sued a Hooker who was trying to blackmail him for money, is certainly not going to want to pay the tax. Your only hope is to find some veterans who will be able to put in quality minutes. Jason Hart did good at this last year, and would probably come back for a 3-year minimum deal. Other than that, there’s not much out there (that still keeps the Clips under the Tax). Despite being possibly the worst starter in the League (Jason Collins), maybe you ask Smush Parker to change locker rooms.
You go into the season with this roster:
PG - Jason Hart
SG - Cuttino Mobley
SF - Corey Maggette
PF - Elton Brand
C - Chris Kaman
Tim Thomas, Thaddeus Young, and Quinton Ross will be the first guys of the bench and get the majority of the minutes. Cassell and Smush will split the back up PG minutes until Shaun Livingston gets back or Sun Yue is ready to play. Then you hope Paul Davis progresses and only use Aaron Williams if there are injuries to your front line.
Now this team won’t get you a top 4 seed in the Playoffs, but it will keep you competitive until the All-Star break, which is when you’ll have to determine where you want to go. Is your draft pick your future? Can Elton Brand carry you all the way? Is Shaun Livingston coming back, and if so, will he develop into the leader you need him to be? You will know the answer to these questions better and then you can go ahead with your plans, leaving everyone (including Brand) available on the market.
This isn’t a make or break season for the Clippers- but it is one where they will have to choose which direction to take the team. And I say delay that decision as long as possible- until next February’s trading deadline.
SPORTS AT RANDOM OFF-SEASON PREVIEWS:
NEW YORK KNICKS
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
DETROIT PISTONS
UTAH JAZZ
CHICAGO BULLS
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
DENVER NUGGETS
- The 1st ever female President of an NBA Franchise, Susan O’Malley of the Washington Wizards, will step down when her contract expires at the end of the month. Now, owner Abe Pollin wanted to salute her as she exited, but he clearly didn’t re-read his statement before he sent it out. I understand what he was trying to say and that he didn’t want to call her “my right hand man”, but he just could have come up with something different:
“Susan has been my right hand through the past 20 years…”
- Li Jie is a true entrepreneur. He’s the CEO of Beijing Lunar Village Aeronautics Science and Technology Co. in China. A year and a half ago, Li started selling acres of land on the moon. For the low low price of $37, you could own a full acre of land on our earth’s only natural satellite. He was quickly shut down, but not before over 30 people fell for the scheme.
Now Li Jie is at it again. After the 2006 World Cup, Li’s company began selling “World Cup Air”, which was green plastic bags full of air for $6.60, supposedly from stadiums in Germany that held World Cup matches. He was refused the right to sell it by the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce, where he listed “special air from a special place” on the application.
You really have to admire Li Jie. He’s worse than Dan Akroyd’s “Irwin Mainway”. Yes, he could go to the corner store and sell cell phones or even just to the corner and sell drugs, but that’s not the life for Li. He wants to take things that are free to all of us, package them up, and sell them back to us. He would be a great American.
- Don’t let his age fool you, that Marv Levy is one tricky devil. In March, the Bills traded LB Takeo Spikes to the Eagles for DT Darwin Walker. The Bills thought Spikes was making too much money and too injury prone, so they sent him off for the disgruntled Walker, who wanted a new contract, despite having 2 years left on his current one. Most thought it was a good move for both teams; Eagles get a much needed LB and the Bills get an even more needed DT to play alongside Larry Tripplett.
But this move may not have been to fill a need. It may have been just to dump Spikes on somebody. Darwin Walker’s agent is reporting that in contract negotiations with the Bills, Levy has offered a 1-year contract worth $1.3 million, which is what he’s making this year anyway. He’s looking for a huge raise and some guaranteed money, not less years for the same price. The thing most people didn’t see in the trade was that if Walker didn’t report to the Bills by August 5th, he’d be sent back to the Eagles for a 6th Round pick.
So you can see what Marv Levy is apparently doing. He has no interest in signing Walker. He is, basically, offending him with low contract offers and is just going to wait it out until August 5th when he can get his draft pick. Although the Bills need a DT, I’m still going to say that this is another genius move by Levy. No one on this team shall be above 25-years-old, hell of a way to run an organization.
Before the next joke about how Tim Floyd is going to be recruiting babies is made, I’d just like to ask everyone out there: who is getting hurt in this situation?
Why the outrage over an 8th Grader making an oral commitment to a University? First off, this has happened before (including at USC last year), so I don’t know why this is getting more attention now. But even so, I contend that this only helps out each party, and if unfair to anyone, it’s the school that has a better chance of getting hurt.
Ryan Boatwright was offered a scholarship by Tim Floyd to attend USC on a basketball scholarship- before he ever played any High School ball. Now, a lot could happen in 4 years- Floyd could leave USC, Ryan could not grow at all, Ryan could get injured, Ryan could get arrested- but whatever happens (barring not being eligible with the NCAA), Ryan Boatwright has a free ride to USC (also, as far as I understand, it is just a scholarship offer for his Freshman year, so it can be not offered after that). Although each one is very important, Scholarships are thrown around all the time- this is not much of a risk for USC. If something does happen to this kid from now until 2011, they lose only about $35,000 (or 4 times that if it is a 4-year offer).
As far as Ryan Boatwright goes, that’s (at least) a $35,000 insurance plan. A freak injury or accident could occur in the next 4 years, and if it does, Ryan’s got a free education waiting for him. Many people think that this will encourage Ryan to slack off in High School and not take his classes serious. Well, I think that is on his parents and that has nothing to do with what he is or is not guaranteed in life. And anyways, you think O.J. Mayo or LeBron James, who were both stars by the time they hit High School, had to care about any of their classes if they didn’t want to? In LeBron’s case especially, since, at the time, he could skip right to the NBA after his High School years. There are thousands of kids who don’t make a commitment before High School, but still feel entitled and don’t try as hard as they should in the classroom- and in each one of those cases, it is their own fault. It’s not like this kid isn’t good at basketball, he’s AMAZING at basketball. You think he’s going to have a worse attitude because he’s guaranteed to go to USC rather than 100 schools fighting over him for the next 4 years? In fact, I think it’s the exact opposite. I think if schools are all trying to sell themselves to you and try to convince you to go there, then you will be treated even more like you are entitled.
Now while being connected to USC, he seems to have to live up to a higher standard and he can’t just mess around- he’s actually going to be watched more thoroughly this way. And, as far as Ryan Boatwright’s “commitment” goes, he can rescind it at any time. He is no way legally (or really ethically by college basketball standards) committed to USC. USC is the one that can be hurt more by this situation. He could not sign with the team in 3 years and USC would only have a year (less even because recruiting is done so much in advance) to sign a replacement Point Guard for the 2011 class.
This happened to UCLA. SF Taylor King committed to Ben Howland before he played a minute of High School ball and he rescinded that commitment a few years later (he went on to pick Duke). The kid still gets to go to Duke. And UCLA is going to be fine.
When a normal person applies to college, they often will accept the offer from the local state school and then hold out for the more prestigious University- just to cover themselves and no one seems to have a problem with that.
This is a win-win scenario and I don’t think it is going to keep getting younger. No school is going to be offering 5th graders Scholarships now and it is not the start of a trend in scouting 2nd graders. The colleges will hear about someone who is an amazing player in, say, the 6th grade and just know his name. Then, when they see him in the renowned basketball camps a year or two later, they will see him for themselves. Then, maybe, the greats will be offered scholarships, but it’s too risky for the schools to be offering up too many before they are somewhat grown.
So if you still have a problem with 8th graders committing to colleges, then talk with the NCAA, it’s their rules.