The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 13, 2001, Page 11, Image 11
Johnston CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
system. They came up when the brass
. thought they were ready.
Think about how many teenagers you
see skating with the big boys in the NHL.
Not many.
So if an 18 year old isn’t ready to
face big-league pitching or compete in
the NHL, why should the NBA be
accepting these kids as superstars? Let’s
face it — other than the “big two” high
school players over the past couple of
years (Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant),
what high-schooler has made an
immediate impact? Certainly not
Columbia’s own Jermaine O’Neal, who
barely made an impact in the league until
this past season. Not the Indiana Pacers’
Jonathan Bender, who was sent home
after two days of practice because he
couldn’t handle the conditioning.
So here’s where the NBDL comes in.
These not-ready-for-prime-time players
will have to log some time to get then
bodies and minds in the proper place,
therefore making them earn a spot on an
NBA roster. Plus, they won’t be in posh
locations. (Really, where would you
rather spend your working days, in Los
Angeles or Greenville?) Maybe this
might give some of the players some
motivation to better themselves in order
to move up in the world.
Plus, don’t forget that there are going
to have to be coaches to lead these teams.
Maybe some fresh ideas in strategy might
come into play. Quite possibly, some
fundamentals might creep back into the
picture.
The argument can be made that with
the new league, even more youngsters
will come to the pros early. With the
prospect that they might not immediately
be in the limelight, however, maybe
they’ll think a bit more about making the
jump.
1 say let the high-schoolers come m.
The NBDL will separate the players with
the talent and desire to make it to the
NBA from those who are just along for a
hefty paycheck and a few seconds of
fame. It might take a little while for the
filtering process to really take hold and
the rosters to really become rich with
talent, but I believe with a bottom-rung of
the ladder, instead of the straight-to-the
top NBA, players may actually have to
prove themselves worthy of playing with
the big boys.
With better talent comes better
basketball. And hey, maybe in a few
years, the NBA will make me a believer
again. If that day ever comes, I guess I’ll
just have to work around those pesky
playoffs.
The majority j
of USC
students [
have less
than 4
drinks when
they party!
(1 drink = the alcohol content of
12 ozs. beer OR 4 ozs. wine
OR 1 oz. distilled spirits)
Based on campus-wide survey data collected by
the USC Alcohol & Drug Education Program
from a random sample of USC students.
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