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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67121 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 02/17/05 7:18 pm ::: Jumping from HS |
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Now that we've reached the All-Star break, let's see how the nine High School kids that declared for the NBA draft are doing...
Jackie Butler. Undrafted. Starting for the Great Lakes Storm in the CBA after being cut in camp by the T-Wolves.
Dwight Howard. Drafted #1 by Orlando. Has started every game, averaging 31.9 minutes, 10.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. A servicable starter for a mid-pack east team.
Al Jefferson. Drafted #14 by Boston. Played in 43 games, avergaing 15.5 minutes, 6.9 points per game. Third guy off the bench (after Davis & Allen) for a .500-ish east team.
Shaun Livingston. Drafted #4 by the Clippers. Played 11 games before injuring his right knee. Was reactivated about a week ago. Avergaing 21.8 minutes, 5.5 points per game. 9th player in Dunleavy's wacky rotation for a bad team.
JR Smith. Drafted #18 by New Orleans. Has played in 47 of 53 games, starting 27 of them. Averaging 20.9 minutes and 7.6 points per game. Has won a starting position for the worst team in the league despite shooting 38% from the field.
Josh Smith. Drafted #17 by Atlanta. Has played in 43 of 51 games, starting 28 of them. Averaging 23.6 minutes, 7.9 points per game. Has won a starting position for the team with the worst record in the league. He's the only one of the bunch I've seen in person, and like everyone on the Hawks he's pretty terrible.
Robert Swift. Drafted #12 by Seattle. Has played in 9 games, averaging 3.4 minutes and 0.4 points per game. That's the end of the bench, albeit on a good team.
Sebastian Telfair. Drafted #13 by Portland. Has played in 39 games, averaging 10.6 minutes and 4.2 points per game. Injury to James Thomas (who?) moved him up to a fight with Travis Outlaw for the 9th spot on a bad team.
Dorell Wright. Drafted #19 by Miami. Played 2 scoreless minutes in 1 game. Shaq's towel boy.
So, the average of these HS phenoms at the break? 27 games, 14.4 mpg, 4.7 ppg. Maybe 3 or 4 are decent, none are stars. None of them are serious ROY contenders. All of them would have benefitted from college ball.
This is nothing new, of course. Kwame Brown and DeShawn Stevenson and plenty of others have demonstrated the mediocrity of the straight outta HS ballers before. The only real question is why teams draft them so high...
_________________ I'm sick and tired of the stories that you always tell
Shakespeare couldn't tell a story that well
See, you're the largest liar that was ever created
You and Pinocchio are probably related
Full of criss-crossed fits, you lie all the time
Your tongue should be embarrassed, you're a threat to mankind
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Keegan
Joined: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 6861 Location: The Cathedral of Snark
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Posted: 02/17/05 9:22 pm ::: |
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... because they're seeking the next Kevin Garnett/Kobe Bryant. |
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CamrnCrz1974
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18371 Location: Phoenix
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Posted: 02/18/05 2:37 am ::: |
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And Kobe and Garnett were not instant stars in their first seasons. Not everyone is LeBron.
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Admiral_Needa
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 10482 Location: Tiburon, CA
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CamrnCrz1974
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18371 Location: Phoenix
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Admiral_Needa
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 10482 Location: Tiburon, CA
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BCBG25
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 20112 Location: Sampa
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Posted: 02/18/05 8:07 am ::: |
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There are what, 5 or 6 players out of high school on the All-Stars rosters?
I agree, few (if any) are as good as LeBron right away, but it pays off after a while. Plus, it's all about the benjamins. Kids won't pass up on millions to go to college. They just won't. Either the league does something, or they will go as far as recruiting 9-year olds, like they do here in Brazil.
BTW, 8 teams, including the Knicks, passed up on Stoudemire. Not only the Warriors. But as Mark Heisler of the L.A. Times said, ''There's no truth to the rumor Stern is prepared to go to 30 divisions so the Knicks can finish first.''
_________________ Kings of the World!
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67121 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 02/18/05 8:50 am ::: |
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There are what, 5 or 6 players out of high school on the All-Stars rosters?
I agree, few (if any) are as good as LeBron right away, but it pays off after a while. |
I counted 7, but under the current CBA it's hard to keep them long enough to pay off. You think Portland is happy that Jermaine O'Neal finally panned out? Many (most) of these kids will be out of the league before they can turn into anything. Kwame Brown will be unemployed by the time his HS classmates are finishing college.
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Plus, it's all about the benjamins. Kids won't pass up on millions to go to college. They just won't. Either the league does something, or they will go as far as recruiting 9-year olds, like they do here in Brazil. |
Jackie Butler is really racking up, I'm sure. Nearly all of these kids would make more money in the long run if they went the college route and came out more fully developed.
_________________ I'm sick and tired of the stories that you always tell
Shakespeare couldn't tell a story that well
See, you're the largest liar that was ever created
You and Pinocchio are probably related
Full of criss-crossed fits, you lie all the time
Your tongue should be embarrassed, you're a threat to mankind
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