Big Man or Guard?

This decision has been around ever since young men selected teams on the black tops of school yards in every American city. Who do I pick: The Giant Big man that scares everybody, or the quick guard who is faster and more skilled than everybody. If you think this decision is hard on the play grounds imagine if you are an NBA Executive with a lottery pick and the hopes of your franchise in the hands of your future first round pick.

Dating back to 1985 the first year the NBA used the NBA Draft lottery system, General Managers have gone back and forth in deciding what kind of player they want to be their cornerstone player. It seems like for the most part GM's believe bigger is better and when the top pick can either be a Center/power forward or point/shooting guard, the percentages lean to the BIG MAN being selected the majority of the time. Look at the 1984 draft the Portland TrailBlazers selected Sam Bowie with the number#2 pick instead of Michael Jordan. Now in Portland's defense in 1983 they drafted Clyde Drexler, so they decided to go BIG in 1984. We all know who turned out to be the better player!

Google the NBA drafts from 1984-2008 I guarantee the majority of the Number 1 picks were either centers or Power Forwards. In most recent history look at the 2005 draft, perfect example: Andrew Bogut & Marvin Williams were both selected before Deron Williams & Chris Paul. Four years later review these 4 players impact. Chris Paul is a two time All-Star, Olympic Gold Medalist, and finished second in MVP voting. Deron Williams, is an Olympic Gold medalist, has been labeled and been paid to be the franchise player for the Utah Jazz with a 6yr 68 million contract, and may make his first All-Star appearance. (The West is though to make as a guard). Now lets review Marvin Williams, has steadly improved every year he has been in the league, nice player, great attitude, hard worker, but has not truly lived up to expectations. Andrew Bogut, is a nice piece in Milwaukee, but can not be viewed as their franchise player, that is Michael Redd. He is not the second opinion, that is Richard Jefferson. So you have a former Number 1 pick as a third option on a team struggling to stay .500 in the Eastern Division, not so good.

If I were a General Manager, you should draft your cornerstone player based on immediate impact ability. What player can come in and perform at a high level, and make the job easier for his supporting cast. In most cases BIG MEN, take a few years to get it going, unless your name is SHAQUILLE O'NEAL. He was ready physically from day one to compete and even at times during his rookie season dominant his competition. Most of the time big guys will be like Greg Oden. Consistently in foul trouble, taking time to learn the NBA pace, and also learning to balance their enormous bodies. Greg Oden, also shows you signs of great output, however it is not consistent enough to hand him the keys to the franchise.

General Managers, consistently show they believe bigger is better, and history has shown more times than not this is incorrect thinking. It seems the 2008 draft is a sign of the changing times. The Chicago Bulls already loaded at the guard positions selected Derrick Rose as the Number 1 pick. (Please note Derrick Rose is a Chicago native, and High School legend so I am sure that had a big part to play) , but regardless they selected Derek ahead of Michael Beasley who completely dominated the college scene last season. However if you look at the early production Derrick Rose is having a much more productive season. The NBA game is a results NOW industry, as clearly shown this season Coaches and GMs no longer have the time they use to to build playoff caliber teams. So if you are a GM and you must select between a skillful guard that is NBA ready NOW, or a BIG MAN that COULD be a dominating player in a few years, if you like your job, pick the GUARD.

Early Recruitment

When I was in high school from 1989-1993 getting a recruitment letter in your sophomore year was a BIG deal. If you ever received a letter as a freshman the entire school knew you where going BIG Time in Division One. As a high school player I was recruited by Division III schools (No shame, I played ball and graduated in 4 years, THANK YOU). I remember the first day I got my first letter from tiny, St. Joseph College in Brooklyn. I was on cloud nine, I was so excited a school was recruiting me to come to their school. Now, remember I was a seventeen year old basketball player excited about a piece of paper saying, "We want you Mr. Stanly".

Now can you imagine a 7th grader or 8th grader not only receiving recruitment letters but scholarship offers from not competing high schools but major college programs. I know these young men are losing their minds and have a since of importance a child their age should not have. However in the world of BIG TIME college basketball this is where we are. Coaches so focused on staying one step ahead of the competition they are actually bi passing traditional (shady) recruitments methods, and are going for gold early. Now I understand these coaches are under tremendous pressure to win (NOW) but let me ask you people out there. Would you buy a car before seeing if it had a engine? Would you purchase a home, before it is completely built? The answer I hope would be NO, before you make an important investment you need to have a full understanding of what you are investing in. That is what recruiting is, an investment you make that you hope will pay off future dividends.

Many coaches I believe are investing in players way too early, and they may be shocked their investment does not mature into the investment they wished for. I will never blame a child and his/her family for accepting a scholarship offer before the player even enters high school. With the cost of college and the economy I wishd some coach would offer my 11 year old a scholarship today. I know I would be saving at least 90k in college tuition, then I can buy my 2009 Aston Martin. However the negative part of early recruitment it completely puts too much pressure on the player. That player is now expected to live up to this scholarship offer each time they step on the court. So an example if I am a eighth grader and Syracuse has already offered, I would probably be expected to average 50 ppg vs competition in my age group. If I don't every single game, (Middle school , AAU, and summer camp games) completely dominant every game, the whispers will start that I am a BUMP and over hyped. Remember we are talking about a 13 yr old child maturing into his/her body and going through different experiences. You may just have had your first argument with you boyfriend/girlfriend or failed a test. Now you are expected to but this aside like an adult and play ball. Sad stories are developing regarding too much pressure on our youth.

We have to allow our children to be children and have expectations that match their age. I am guilty to of over judging high school players sometimes. I personally started looking at them for what they currently represent. A talented player, that still has tons of growth and potential to realize. All you die hard fans out there, allow children to be children. respect the game, play hard, but win or lose take them to get pizza after the game. Remember just because you did not make it your child has their own path to travel.

What Makes an NBA Franchise Player

Today as we celebrate the new era of leadership for our country. I began to think about what qualities make someone a great leader! Honor, respect, trust, and intelligence comes to mind when you consider gifts and skills that make a great leader. Now translate these skills and physical ability when determining what goes into making an NBA Franchise player. A franchise player first and foremost must be an unbelievable talent. However talent along does not make a player a Franchise player. Consider this example. Tracy Mcgrady, has ever physical gift a player could dream about. Height 6'8 , shooting ability, handling, great court version, I can write on and on about Tracy McGrady's physical talents. However Tracy, has never been able to lift his team to greatness. Tracy, is considered a good guy in the NBA by all accounts, but lacks that special gift to be able to lift a franchise to the heights that match his individual talents.

Stephon Marbury, is another player that when you look at the definition of (POINT GUARD) you can argue no one player at his position has all the physical tools available. Height 6'2, unmatched athletic ability for his position, picture perfect jump shot, endless range (can shot from 40 feet easily), and ball handling that can get you from 0-10 in less than 5 seconds. However with all these adjectives, other than winning a PSAL League Championship, getting Georgia Tech to the sweet 16 his freshman year (This was big Georgia Tech failed to make the NCAA Tournament the previous two years before his arrival to campus), and getting the Tmberwolves in the playoffs his first two years. His individual talents never lifted his teams to success. In a worse case than McGrady, many feel Marbury actually makes his teams worse.

Now look at Tim Duncan, most fans know his high skill level. However many seem to take his talents for granted. Ask most fans who their favorite player is and I am sure many will not say Tim Duncan. However since his arrival to San Antonio he has not only won Championships (4) he has made them a franchise that most professional sport teams inspire to be like. Tim Duncan, doesn't jump the highest, score the most points, block the most shots, or grap the most rebounds. However all he does translates into winning. This is a talent that can not be taught, or learned. Other players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Chris Paul, Shaq, Dwayne Wade, Chauney Billips, and Steve Nash have this talent. Also many talented players like Joe Johnson, Baron Davis, Rashad Lewis, Vince Carter, Michael Redd, Carmelo Anthony, and Amare Stoudemire have not yet been able to take their great individual talents and get their teams over the hump. To be a winner a player must be able to not only have great individual talent, but some how be able to have that talent overtake a franchise in every aspect and turn it into something special. This can happen later in a player's career, it took Michael Jordan (7) years to win, put when he finally realized the formula for success he made the Bulls into a dynasty.

We got next episode 2 now available

Hey guys episode 2 of "We Got Next" is now up on our youtube.com/wegotnextshow

check it out and leave your comments. I am working hard to get the show on this page as well, and will hopefully work out the kinks this week. Till then look forward to episode 3 coming this week!

Derrick Favors to Georgia Tech

Last episode we discussed in our college segment that a few coaches needed to step up their recruiting game and start keeping some of the local high school talent in state at their universities.
Well yesterday Georgia Tech Men's basketball coach Paul Hewitt did just that when the #2 High School Basketball player in the nation, Derrick Favors gave his verbal commitment to Georgia Tech University last night. Unfortunately this announcement did not help Georgia Tech beat Duke last night, however it does give Georgia Tech a very strong recruiting class for the 2009-2010 season.

Hopefully Coach Hewitt can get some of these players to stay a few years and grow the program then Georgia Tech can stay consistently at the top of the ACC. Congratulations Coach Hewitt, even he watches the show and took our advise to heart.

Welcome to We Got Next

Paata Stanley & Frank Harris are very excited to introduce to you our new blog for the best new online sports show happening: WE Got Next. Each week we will discuss the sport we love the most Basketball. We take a look at the High School, College, and NBA levels and discuss topics related to each. We are very excited and I hope you join us in our journey to provide you all great topics and hopefully great debates. Please visit: www.youtube.com/wegotnextshow to watch our show and we look forward to presenting you great entertainment! Take care and please join our journey.

We Got Next episode 2

Here is the latest episode of "We Got next"

In this episode we talk about Brandon Jennings, Derrick Favors, and Sonny Vaccaro among others. Please feel free to join the debate and send us your input!

A new episode will be featured on this blog every week, and also on our youtube page wegotnextshow.

If you would like to send us feedback e mail us at wegotnext@ymail.com!