Resting place to my thoughts and ramblings, inspiration, writing, hip-hop, mind-release, rants and other instances of complete randomness. Basically, the oil to the hamster that runs on the wheel in my brain.
Over the past four years he’s won two high school state championships, reached the NCAA title game and was named NBA rookie of the year.
Derrick Rose is, by all accounts, a good person.
He’s never gotten into any serious trouble and is known as a quiet, hardworking and unassuming guy. His teammates swear by him and the fans who know him best, in his hometown of Chicago, have flocked to him for the way he’s carried himself on and off the court.
Derrick Rose is the American dream.
Rising from humble South Side roots, at age 20 he’s already a self-made millionaire with the Bulls. Barring injury he should make more than $100 million by the time he’s 35. He’s building a reputation for charity back in his neighborhood.
Derrick Rose isn’t much of a student.
This is what the NCAA alleges. It claims he had someone stand in for him on his SAT because he couldn’t manage to make the relatively meager score he needed to play college ball at Memphis (his qualifying test was a “740 or 750,” according to a source with knowledge of the situation). Then, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported, one of his high school grades was changed from a “D” to a “C” in order to help his college eligibility chances.
For the record, Rose denied all of this to the NCAA although he hasn’t spoken publicly since the allegations broke last week.
The fact we know his score, the fact that Rose is dealing with embarrassing questions, the fact that the NBA has another young star wrapped in scandal and two universities are fretting about Saturday’s NCAA infractions hearing, is the latest testament to the NBA’s wrong and ridiculous 19-year-old age limit.
This isn’t to absolve the people involved, but the question shouldn’t just be did Derrick Rose cheat on his SAT?
It should be why the heck did he have to take it in the first place?
If Rose sang or danced or wrote computer code, even if he hit forehands or curveballs and not free throws, his acumen at standardized questions concerning probability, diction and critical reading wouldn’t matter.
They do in basketball because NBA commissioner David Stern wanted to control long-term labor costs and use college ball to market his young stars. In 2005, his league began requiring American players (but not Europeans) to be at least one year out of high school to be drafted.
That essentially sends them to college ball, where outdated and hypocritical amateurism and academic rules exist not because they have any moral basis, but so the NCAA can avoid billions in local and federal taxes.
As a result, young players have to play pretend before they can play ball. They have to pretend that amateurism rules can stop the wheels of capitalism. They have to pretend that an arbitrary thing like a minimum SAT score – which is never how the test was designed to be used – is a fair hurdle they need to clear to pursue their professional aspirations.
They have to pretend because the NCAA long ago figured out how to use its rule book as a tax haven.
And so into this round hole gets slammed the square peg of young players – Rose, O.J. Mayo and pretty much every other one-and-done star who lit up the college season before bolting to the NBA.
And, too often, they wind up with the NCAA slamming them for potentially not following rules that have no real world validity.
How is this helping Stern market his players?
Is it good to have Rose arrogantly ripped by the NCAA for failing “to deport himself in accordance with the high standards of honesty and sportsmanship normally associated with … intercollegiate athletics”?
Is it a positive to have rival fans mock him with “SAT, SAT” chants for years to come? Or have Mayo embroiled in his own NCAA investigation into payments from an agent while he did his mandated season at Southern California?
All this is doing is playing up the same outdated stereotypes of young, black players that Stern usually fights so hard against. He’s sold these guys out to shorten careers and, more importantly, career earnings.
Deep down he knows they should have the right to turn pro out of high school the way Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and so many other stars did.
A semester or two in college isn’t the worst thing, but it also has nothing to do with playing basketball, being a good citizen or the ever-stated “protecting their futures in case of injury.”
There is no statistical evidence that players are better on or off the court after a stint on campus. There is, however, a century of win-at-all-cost proof by coaches and boosters that the NCAA’s “high standards of honesty and sportsmanship” are a complete joke.
For the sake of argument let’s assume Rose did have a high school friend stand in and take his SAT. He was desperate to qualify because the clear path to his dream and the fortune that comes with it was on the line. Any other route (Europe, junior college) is unproven.
So facing a system rigged against him, he instead rigged the system.
He kicked down the door, clearing an academic hurdle that bears no relation to his character as a person or his ability as a performer.
In Hollywood they make movies about people who do that.
In basketball, they vilify them and humiliate them, although not before they cash in on them.
We hold this standard almost exclusively for teenage basketball players, mostly African Americans, many from disadvantaged backgrounds and broken school systems (Rose’s Simeon Career Academy isn’t exactly Choate Rosemary Hall).
No one cared when Danica Patrick went pro as a race car driver at 16. No one tried to prevent Shawn Johnson from winning an Olympic gold at the same age or Miley Cyrus from making millions singing and acting with her dad even younger than that.
And no one ever required them to recognize analogies before doing so.
All of these coaches make good points. It's so hard and so much pressure on these kids though. I feel bad for the high school coaches however it sometimes feels as if the AAU Club coaches go make the extra effort to get to "know" their players. By get to know I mean, read their faces, their emotions, know what moves them and what drives them to win and get the most out of each one. Because these coaches are squished into a passenger van or SUV with their players on road trips, staying in a cheap hotel and eating at McDonalds with them they get to KNOW their players. That is why at the end of this segment you heard the player say that his club coach is the one he picks to help him out with his future.
Now that my boys are in high school I see the difference between high school coaches and club coaches. I have the additional experience of having their coach also be their father which brings another link into the picture. Coach Dad knows EVERY ONE of the players on his team. He knows how to tell if "Jimmy" is tired, if "John" can give more. He knows that "Bobby" is having a hard time at home lately, that Shawn needs to hear some encouragement to get him going and that the ball should always be in "Paul's" hand at the end of the game because he's going to make that shot or draw the foul. He knows how to call a time out and look his team in the face and say "dig dammit or I'm calling the season and I'm done with with crap". He wants it as much as they want it.
High School coaches often simply just don't have enough invested in their players. They haven't paid for the player who's parents couldn't afford it. They haven't fed 5of the kids in the SUV with them. They haven't picked up 4 of the kids for practice or talked with them 30 minutes after practice while waiting for their parents to get there. They haven't listened to the conversations going on in the back seat. They haven't had an event outside of basketball to watch the kids personalities. Something as small as sitting by the hotel pool while the boys swim and watching how they interact with each other makes a world of difference. Instead, they get the kid often after he's left the house at 7:00am, done a long day at school, had a bag of chips and soda before practice, flunked his math test and doesn't really feel like running lines because his teammate missed his freethrows. The coach has to play "everybody" on the team. He doesn't understand why Seth feels his minutes are being wasted on the "scrub" behind him who is getting minutes because he comes to practice everyday and who just got beat by his man the last three trips up the court. Lastly, the club kid is unconfident in his coach because not only is he usually a highschool teacher who doesn't get on their level but he's given the kids no reason to believe they can relate to him. Highschool coaches tend to do two things. They either feel the AAU player has a big head already so they do not reward them when they do well or kiss their butt so much that the kid doesn't respect him. You'd be amazed just how far "nice pass or good job buddy" go. These remarks can't just be for the bench players. Let's be honest though. Highschool teachers HAVE to be held to a certain standard though. They more often have to deal with the student-athlete. A club coach is in a position to be a little more personal with the player's family. You actually pay your money to this coach to get the best. Can a highschool coach really grab your kid up by the neck and say "get your ass out there and ball". Not really...a club coach can do it and have a replacement for your kid by next week should he decide not to oblige.
On another coach there is the highschool coach who wants to prove so much that the player ain't sh**, that it becomes a personal vendetta to break the kid down to show them and everyone else who will pay attention that "he ain't sh**", instead of doing what an AAU coach tends to do which is say "get out there and get in his chest and lock your man down, I know you can do it". I believe that we all know a "bad" club coach when we see one. It's reflected in his players. As an observer of both sides I've been to a million AAU tournaments and highschool games. This is an on-going battle that will continue for years. As a parent I can only hope that both my sons' AAU coach and highschool coach has the best interest in my son. To make him better, be a role model to him and use his love of the game to help him along the road of being a successful man. This does not mean that basketball will be his life but when he looks back on these years in high school I want him to enjoy these years, make lifelong friends and know that the time has not been wasted but made him grow as good human being. Vince Lombardi said "Winning isn't the everything, it's the only thing" however I hope he meant in the game of life. It's the most important part.
I love it! Courtney Paris says she will bet it all! The All-American senior recently told Sooner fans that if OU doesn't win the national championship this year, she will pay back her scholarship ... all $64,000 of it.
"We're gonna win a national championship. If we don't, which is not even an option, just to put something on the line - and it might take me the rest of my life - I will pay back my scholarship because I didn't do what I said I was going to do."
The guarantee is admirable, if, perhaps, foolhardy. Oklahoma has had a great season and will be a favorite to make the Final Four. If they make it that far though, they'll be big underdogs as Geno Auriemma's undefeated Connecticut squad is said to be one of his best ever. Considering he's won five titles, that's saying something.
In addition, WNBA rookies make around $50,000 per season, with stars bringing in a little over $100,000. (And this presupposes that the WNBA will still be around next year.) If she actually intends to pay back the money, those payments might be hard to come by. (Maybe she'll hit-up her father for the dough. Bubba Paris played eight years in the NFL and won three Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers.)
Paris said that if they don't win she'll feel like she didn't earn her scholarship. That's where she's wrong. She's the greatest player in Oklahoma history and maybe even Big 12 history too. She was named first-team All-American as a freshman. One year later she won national player of the year honors. On Monday, she won her third straight Big 12 player of the year award. And starting next week, she'll lead the Sooners into the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed.
If anything, the $64,000 Oklahoma gave Courtney Paris in tuition was a bargain.
Couple things have me caught up lately...couldn't come at a better time. Right before the start of March Madness! I love this season!
In Order of my greatest this week:
1. Anthony Brock missed his flight from Little Rock, Ark., to Knoxville on Saturday after attending his grandmother’s funeral. Good thing he didn’t miss the game. Brock hit a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to secure Alabama’s 70-67 upset of Tennessee on Sunday. The coaching staff had a flight for him and he missed it so he drove ALL NIGHT to get there.
The Vols had grabbed a 67-65 lead on a fastbreak dunk with 1:43 left. Alabama called hit a jumper from the free-throw line to tie the game at 67 with 1:15 left.The Vols ran the clock down, and the game appeared headed to overtime. Brock dribbled through traffic out of Alabama’s timeout and hit the game-winning shot—his only of the second half—as he tripped near the top of the key. Grandma was watching over her baby!
2. Saint Mary's of Stockton Continues their domination. Although I wish the boys were just a bit better (I have a feeling they will be in the upcoming years), the girls are ROLLIN!! They started off the 2008-2009 year ranked No. 1 in the country. After a few mishaps they fell quite a ways but have battled back to No. 21 according to ESPN, and No. 5 in California. Friday night they crushed the Sacramento Dragons to win Saint Marys 10th Section Championship in girls basketball and now the battle is on to be the best in Northern California. I have a feeling this is our year to take the State Championship. Fight on Rams!
Pictured above are Afure Jemerigbye and Chelsea Gray both ranked as Top 10 Juniors in the country.
3. Delta Fastbreak opens the season 2-0! So our little team opens the season in the Tice Valley League leading the pack. The boys have been hard at work since the high school season ended a few weeks ago. Hard work paid off on Sunday as Fastbreak fell right back into the flow of things. Although they had a few fouls, couple turn overs here and there, they stepped it up. First beating Vallejo High followed by the Diablo Valley Tarheels which was a AAU team with combination of stars from around the bay area. Nice work guys!
I found a great story today on my sports forum. It's playoff season and everyone is waiting for the brackets to come out but in Illinois some character has risen amongst competition. A Delkalb Ill. basketball had traveled over two hours to make it to their basketball game only to arrive and still have to wait an hour to play. Most of the opposing team where at the hospital with their teammate.
During his college ACT exam Johntel Franklin's mother had taken a turn for the worst at the hospital. She was hemmorraging as a result of her 5 year fight with cervical cancer. This time she lost. Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39. He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn't have time to grieve.
His coach was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players. During the second quarter Johntel Franklin arrived at the game. He came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on. The Knights had possession, so his coach called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same. He told his coach that he wanted to play.
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, and the coach was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, the team wasn't so willing to take them. The opposing coach told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play. The refs told them, "no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.
It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.
They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.
"I did it for the guy who lost his mom," McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was the right thing to do."
Franklin would go on to score 10 points, and Milwaukee Madison broke open the game in the second half to win 62-47. Afterward, the teams went out for pizza, two players from each team sharing each pie. Carlitha Franklin's funeral was last Friday, and the school turned out for her and her son. Cheerleaders came in uniform, and everyone from the principal and teachers to Johntel's classmates were there.
"We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."
None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.
Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.
"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."
The thing about me is that I am TRULY a sports junkie. I love basketball, football, track and boxing. Occasionally I try to stay up to date on some ultimate fighting as well. My morning routine begins with me reading the local paper as well as CNN and USA. I can't really function well in the world until I do so. I follow that with a brief look at the local and national forums to check out the high school forums regarding football and basketball. I think my family is still quite tickled that they can be in the middle of a conversation with a group of men and lean over and say, "what is that player of at such and such high who averages 28 points a games" and I answer. It's not really a hobby but more of a need to know for me. I love to be in the know about sports. It makes watching the sport more exciting. I smiled to myself when a friend mentioned Georgia Tech's number one basketball recruit Derrick Favors and I was able to easily engage in conversation about him. When you've read up on a player, their story, where they come from etc. It makes watching them so much more enjoyable. Sportcenter is so much more enjoyable when you can actually identify who is who and what events are coming up. You should try it ladies. The Allstar NBA game is quickly approaching. Do you know who are on the 2009 rosters? Do you care? I realize I'm loosing major points with my Jack and Jill Club and the other girls who are busy discussing this week's dinner recipes but the forums truly call my name. Now I'll reveal my best secret. The guys on the forum have no idea I'm just a girl! I don't think they would give me the time of day if they knew. Instead they actually ask my opinion about football and basketball in my area. That cracks me up!!! I've had a long night at the Superbowl Party. I'll be honest though...I was stuck in the kitchen with the ladies discussing kids, clothes, food and life and all the while I kept looking over their shoulders at the game the guys were watching in the living room.
