Sports

To NBA, or not to NBA

Cook, Brown headline worst draft decisions

By Mike Brusko

Posted on April 09, 2009, at 12:00 a.m.

University of North Carolina senior Tyler Hansbrough completed the final chapter of his storied career on Monday night, winning an NCAA National Championship. It was one of the most lopsided victories in recent championship memory, but Hansbrough gave college basketball fans something that has become unique in this day and age: a commitment to his school for all four years of his eligibility.

Until two years ago, there were no restrictions on high schoolers entering the NBA draft after they graduated. As the rule stands now, a player must be at least one year removed from high school before he can declare for the draft. Either way, we are in an era where jumping to the NBA has become as common as a Ryan Howard strikeout. For that reason, it is refreshing to see a guy make the right decision about staying in school.

I wouldn’t consider myself a Hansbrough fan, nor would I call myself a hater, but whichever category you fall under I think we can all agree that he has done himself a favor by developing as much as possible before making the leap. I personally don’t think he has the athleticism or size to be much of a factor at the next level, but he has certainly added a number of moves and shots to his offensive arsenal since his freshman year of college. Oh, and one more minor detail that probably doesn’t hurt his case: Had he left school early, he wouldn’t be walking around with a ring the size of a small asteroid on his finger.

Please don’t get the wrong idea though. I’m all for a guy taking a multimillion dollar contract when it’s basically served to him on a dinner plate. The chances of those guys ever needing a college degree is about as likely as the Detroit Lions actually winning a game next year. Anyway, college isn’t going anywhere. On the other hand, the game of basketball is too unpredictable to take your health for granted. There are a ton of guys that made the right decision like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard. The list goes on and on. But Hansbrough’s case makes me think of the equally long list of guys that did not make the right decision. In order to save too much monotony, I’ll simply share what I believe to be the three worst decisions of all time:

3. Korleone Young – Okay, let me guess what you’re thinking: “Umm…Who?” Yeah, that was my reaction too. Young was drafted 40th overall in 1998. All you need to know is that Young’s own high school basketball coach called his declaration for the draft “a total surprise.” It’s not so hard to believe that he only played in three NBA games before being shipped overseas.

2. Kwame Brown – Brown’s name is much more recognizable to basketball fans because he has had a little more success than Young. The reason he cracks the list ahead of Young is because he was taken with the first overall pick in 2001. Brown has played for four different teams since then and averaged a whopping seven points per game. College degree, anyone?

1. Omar Cook – Unlike the other two, Cook actually went to college. He attended St. John’s University for one year and ranked first in the Big East and second in the nation in assists in 2000. Success at that level should automatically translate to the next level, right? Wrong. Cook played in a total of 22 NBA games for two different teams. He has since been a virtual nomad in the basketball world and will likely never step on an NBA floor again.

There’s no telling how much success Hansbrough will have at the next level, but at least he won’t have any regrets when he looks back.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.