-If you read my piece on European-American (I guess) PG Brandon Jennings, then you know how I feel about players circumventing their scholastic responsibilities in order to cheat the system and play overseas. If not you can read it here, but---SPOILER ALERT---I love it. And I hate to say I told you so (no I don't) but I believe I pegged it when I said Jennings wouldn't be the last person to study basketball abroad. I just thought we had a little bit more time to circle the drain before we went down it; and I was way off on that one. The man in blue you see above is Jeremy Tyler, the number one high school player in the class of 2010. He's 6'11", 260 lbs (none of which are brains) and committed to play ball at Louisville in 2010; but thats where it gets interesting. Now if you remember, Jennings is playing one year overseas, and will likely enter the NBA draft this summer. If one year in Europe is good, you'll never guess what's better (maybe you will). Tyler has decided to forgo his senior of high school (of High School!) and plans to play two years in Europe before entering the draft in 2011 (Saul). Tyler has said that high school was becoming boring, and that he wanted a change of pace. He's the best player in the country, and the big man on campus at a high school in beautiful, sunny, San Diego! You've got the talent, the locale, and you just got your first mention on the Zoot (a watershed moment in any athlete's career); What else do you want from us? And I think that kind of captures the problem. Tyler has already reached the pinnacle of what he can become at the amateur level. He has squeezed the American Dream for every last drop, and now he's gonna try to get some juice out of Europe (I think its called Sangria over there). Things literally can not get any better for Tyler until he gets to the NBA, so his next two years are kind of a waste of time if you think about it. Once you've already reached the top, why would you chose to operate up and down that same track? (nobody tell elevators I said that). Tyler is trying to take the road less traveled to the NBA, and it will for sure make all the difference; we're just not entirely sure thats a good thing yet.
-The NFL Draft is this weekend, and that makes this weekend my favorite weekend of the year (narrowly edging out Labor Day Weekend---last chance to wear my beloved white pants). The NFL Draft spans both days and lasts for 47 of the 48 weekend hours (or at lest it seems that way). If you have never watched the draft, don't. Its the most addictive stuff known to man, and you really don't want to get caught up in it. How effective is it you ask? Todd McShay and more specifically the human hair-do Mel Kiper jr. have made careers out of covering the draft, and it only lasts for 2 of 365 days we get every year (Even something as amazing as cadbury eggs haven't been able to break through that wall of specific weekend association). If you do get roped into watching the draft, or if you've been waiting for your fix since last year around this time, here are some things to watch out for while your stuck to the couch during this year's draft:
-The Detroit Lions have the top overall pick and they are expected to select Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. Let me just make it clear that I don't trust anyone that choses to go by Matthew instead of Matt (save for Broderick of course, but that goes without saying). Stafford has an unusual opportunity to succeed in Detroit, relatively speaking. He has to win only game to improve on Detroit's record last year, as the Lions were the only team ever to finish with an 0-16 record. Usually I would say that one win for an NFL team is a lock, but I refuse to be surprised by the Lions' misery anymore, so I'm not going to bet against it.
-Every year, the early story of the draft is the guy who has to sit in the Green Room waaaaaay longer than anyone else. The Green Room is the Draft's equivalent of purgatory; the players sit at big tables with their families and support teams and wait to be picked. The beauty of it is that each pick takes about 10:00, so if you last into the 20's, you have to sit there for hours. Once there is a single player left in the green room, the entire focus of the broadcast shifts to that player (sympathy I suppose). Each time a player gets picked ahead of the last mohican (thats what I'm calling it by the way) ESPN does an extreme close up on him. Their face is a delightful mixture of hope and despair. It's the excitement of an expecting mother and the fear of an expecting father all rolled into one. In years past we've seen Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn overstay their welcomes at the crafts services table in the Green room, this year look for Kansas St. QB Josh Freeman to get seconds (and thirds, and fourths, and fifths...)
-I already talked about Mel Kiper, but I'm going to bring him up again because the man is an inspiration. In 20+ years of draft coverage there has been only one player drafted that Mel didn't have intimate (take that however you want) knowledge of. Shockingly, he doesn't use a computer to keep all that information, he has hundreds upon hundreds of binders, which is delightfully old-school (his office has a very tetris-y feel to it). Kiper will be working all day Saturday, but will likely be tagged out by McShay on Sunday (is there a more disappointing tradeoff on this planet?), so catch him when you can. He has boundless energy and infinite knowledge, and I can watch him for 8 hours straight without wanting to punch him in the face; which is more than I can say for Chris Berman, Keyshawn Johnson, and Chris Carter, the rest of the ESPN crew.
For the love of god please enjoy the nice weather that we should be getting this weekend. But if you you're stuck to the couch like I plan on being, enjoy the greatest weekend of the year.
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