Sitting among the sold-out crowd in the Long Beach Pyramid at an
NBA Summer Pro League game on Saturday night, I watched as several
players desperately tried to impress their coaches, the crowd and
most importantly the scouts.
With everyone cheering for the Los Angeles Lakers, I almost felt
bad for the Dallas Mavericks.
After all, it was only a summer league game.
But on second glance, it was more than that to every player
there, with the exception of first-round draft pick Andrew Bynum
and returning veterans, such as fan-favorite Sasha Vujacic, who are
guaranteed contracts for the upcoming season.
Undrafted early-entrants, who decided to ignore their coaches
and resort to the advice of money-sucking agents, were attempting
to make a last-second impression on the scouts who were
present.
Rather than returning for one or two more years to receive a
complete college education and a degree, they decided to declare
early for the NBA draft and make millions of dollars each year
after being drafted.
That’s where the problem arises.
With only 60 total picks in two rounds of the draft and over 100
eligible draftees, the chances are slim to none of being drafted as
an early entry when being projected to be selected in the second
round.
This is where the question arises.
Why would someone leave a high-caliber college institution,
where they can excel in basketball on a national scale, to be
undrafted or selected late in the second round and not be
guaranteed a contract?
The answer: taking the advice of family and friends who have no
skill in judgement when it comes to player talent and what is
required to be successful in the NBA.
Sure, some players have made the transition and have become the
center of attention. I witnessed the phenomenon first-hand as I
stood back and watched the press ambush Bynum after he came out of
the locker room searching for his mother and family.
But people tend to forget about those who weren’t as
fortunate and are now playing basketball as a means of searching
for a future, since they can no longer turn to college to redeem
themselves.
Friends and family probably never warned Deji Akindele, a
sophomore from Chicago State, about what would happen if he
didn’t get picked. And I’m pretty sure his agent
didn’t bother mentioning it either.
Now the 7-footer is playing basketball in the Pyramid hoping to
impress scouts who probably have never heard of him, let alone know
how to correctly pronounce his name.
The athletes who were well-recognized nationally just a few
months ago are left dealing with the reality of being stuck between
a rock and a hard place. They are now has-beens and nobodies with
just one title: college dropout.
The only successful college dropout I have heard of recently is
Kanye West, and I am almost 100 percent sure that if Shavlik
Randolph couldn’t get drafted by an NBA team, the former Duke
Blue Devil isn’t about to sign a contract with a record
label.
If he had chosen to pass on the draft and remain in school,
Randolph would have been playing on a national
championship-contending team coached by one of the best collegiate
coaches of all time, Mike Krzyzewski.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, he would’ve also
received a degree from a prestigious university, providing a
back-up plan in case he didn’t get drafted the following
year.
But I guess playing summer league basketball is also pretty fun
and exciting.
It’s a tough decision.
E-mail Behniwal at abehniwal@media.ucla.edu if you are also
considering leaving UCLA for the NBA draft and need some
guidance.