AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 24
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
So much for college, and draft talk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kudos to the Florida players for staying in school another year after winning their 2006 NCAA Tournament title. I’m predicting now we’ll never see anything like it again. Never.
Have you seen the way these kids are climbing over each other to drop their hats into this June’s draft? It’s like a gold rush for guys that have done eight months on campus.
Granted, there are guys like Ty Lawson, Chase Budinger, Darren Collison and Ty Hansbrough that have abstained from the process. But the number of guys - Brandan Wright, Thad Young from Georgia Tech and a host of others - that will declare before this weekend’s deadline shouldn’t surprise you.
I don’t blame anyone for going or staying. You do what you have to do. But the guys who make the leap need to do so with a heavy dose of reality in one hand. As sweet as the money can be and as fantastic as the lifestyle looks from afar, it takes work to stay in the NBA if you’re not a can’t miss player.
Just ask Sebastian Telfair. The former schoolboy All-American is on dangerous ground right now and could be in jeopardy of losing his spot in the league for good if a third gun-related incident finishes him off.
I use to Telfair as an example only because he’s been in the news recently. But what you hope is that the guys making the leap are making it with well informed people providing them the proper information about not only where they might be drafted, but also some sound advice about how to conduct themselves as professionals once they get here (to the NBA).
Enough preaching. Let’s get to one lottery and draft related item that I’ve been chewing on.
I saw a great question on yesterday’s blog regarding where the Indiana pick is slotted now and what player(s) might be available at No. 11. If Joakim Noah and Mike Conley Jr. are still on the board, where do you go? Big or small? Center or point guard? The Hawks are in desperate need of help at both spots.
Having watched the Hawks with a critical eye the past two and a half seasons, my brain tells me they have to grab a big guy if there’s one available (were Roy Hibbert to fall there, he’d make even more sense than Noah because he’s going to strictly be a 5-man).
But my gut tells me the Hawks cannot pass up Conley Jr. if he’s there. They simply cannot afford to pass on yet another promising point guard prospect in a draft.
What say you?
