After only one season at Georgia Tech, Chris Bosh decided to pursue his dream and enter the NBA. On Tuesday, Bosh chronicled the transition between college and the pros, and noted how "bittersweet" it was watching his friends and former teammates go on a Final Four run the year following his departure.
Bosh, from Dallas, played for the Yellow Jackets during the 2002-03 season. That year, he led the team in minutes played per game (31.0), points (15.6), field-goal percentage (56 percent) rebounds (9.0) and total blocks (67). However, the Yellow Jackets struggled that season, finishing 16-15 and losing in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
“I had friends around campus and great teammates. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t expect to be regarded and scouted as such a high pick, so it was a crazy twist to reality. I’d always wanted to make the NBA. It was my dream. Then all of a sudden, people were telling me I’d be the fourth pick if I entered the draft,” Bosh wrote.
The 6-foot-11 forward/center was picked fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2003 NBA Draft. Bosh’s first year beyond the border was a tough one.
The Raptors finished 33-49 with Bosh ranking fourth of the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game. Bosh said the transition from playing 35 games to 82 games in one season was difficult. Plus, he was getting knocked around by NBA veterans.
“Don’t get me wrong—it’s amazing playing basketball. But being 19 years old, playing and interacting with grown men with families wasn’t fun all the time, especially during a grueling 82-game season. That mixed with Toronto’s freezing winter climate made me miss my buddies back at Tech even more,” Bosh wrote. “I was running into the rookie wall constantly and I was tired. I wasn’t used to the demand of being a full-time athlete at that level of basketball. I remember not being able to sleep because I was thinking about that three-hour practice that was going to be insanely hard.”
The hardest part about his rookie year was watching the 2003-04 Yellow Jackets play for the national championship. Led by B.J. Elder and Bosh’s former roommate Jarrett Jack, the third-seeded Yellow Jackets won their first five games of the tournament by an average of 4.6 points, including an overtime win over Kansas in the St. Louis Regional final.
“I remember watching them beat Kansas in the regional finals to clinch the Final Four bid. Seeing my former teammates — my friends — hug and smile while they cut down the nets was surreal. I couldn’t believe they had accomplished what they did after our rough season the year before. I used to talk to my old roommate, Jarrett Jack, about what was happening on campus and the experience of March Madness. He made me feel like I was there. I was happy for my friends — and I was sad because I wanted to be there, too,” Bosh wrote.
Georgia Tech lost to Connecticut in the title game 82-73, ending the magical run.
“At the end of the day, I looked at my options. I wanted to be in the NBA. I wanted to pursue my dream. It was my choice. But sometimes just for fun, I think about how it would’ve been if I’d stayed in college,” Bosh wrote.
Although he missed out on the Final Four, Bosh’s NBA career turned out to be pretty good. Bosh was named an all-star 11 times with the Raptors and Miami Heat, won an NBA title twice and is most likely heading for the Hall of Fame.
He was waived by the Heat this past offseason because of career-ending blood-clot issues, however Bosh says he still wants to return to playing in the NBA.
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