Euro hoops

December 04, 2009

Jennings’ foreign concept now leading to big Bucks

Basketball Times
December 2009

The basketball world is buzzing about Brandon Jennings and his spectacular NBA debut. Fifty-five points in his eighth career game. Only Wilt, Earl the Pearl and Rick Barry scored more points as a rookie. It’s even more fascinating given his nontraditional path to the NBA, which cast him as a lightning rod for everything that is either right or wrong with basketball in the United States. Several writers ripped Brandon for his decision and everything he supposedly represented. Others (me included) applauded Brandon’s decision and thought Brandon would be well served going to Italy. I thought he would be a good NBA player, but no one thought he’d be this good, this soon. Jennings already is one of the most fascinating guys to enter the League since probably LeBron James debuted in 2003. Jennings’ journey to the NBA also serves as a great study in punditry and talent evaluation. When Jennings decided to go to Europe rather than go the traditional collegiate route, several pundits offered their thoughts. Ordinarily, these predictions would be quickly forgotten. How easy would have been to indict the American-to-Europe approach had Brandon flopped? Philip Tetlock, a Stanford research psychologist, recently wrote “Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?,” a book that examines the business of predictions. He looked at 82,361 predictions by 284 experts. Are some people, perhaps because of intelligence and education, better able to see the future? The book’s conclusion: A resounding no. “The best predictor, in a backward sort of way, was fame: the more feted by the media, the worse a pundit’s accuracy.” But pundits have a platform to say whatever they want, typically without much notice if they happen to be wrong. When Brandon signed with Lottomatica Roma, basketball analyst and lawyer Len Elmore said Jennings “is neither a pioneer blazing a trail for other young men to follow nor a hero” and wrote him off as “simply another impressionable young man, susceptible to the hawkers and hangers-on who tell him what he wants to hear instead of what he needs to hear.” I am friends with Jennings’ alleged “hawkers and hangers-on” who filled his head with ... really good ideas. Even respected Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was unkind, saying “(Jennings is) only doing it because he’s desperate … I’m not even sure he’ll be that wanted in Europe. He’s a thin, little guard, and European basketball is pretty good these days. It’s not like he’s going to go over there and be a star.” One pundit who got it right was ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb. He offered up a Nostradamus-like prediction, circa July 2008: “In the long run, (Brandon) might end up a lower-rated NBA prospect but a better player and more well-rounded, grounded person.” Spot on. Let’s look at the 2009 NBA draft and why Jennings might have slipped to the Milwaukee Bucks, who selected him with the 10th pick. Clarence Gaines, the former Chicago Bulls scout and son of legendary college basketball coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines, is my go-to guy for even-handed basketball analysis. Here’s a sampling of what he said: “Brandon Jennings appears to be the steal of the 2009 NBA draft. The question is why? When you’re in the draft room, it’s a lot different than analyzing it from afar and especially after the NBA season has started. “Brandon’s off to a great start, but it’s still very early in his NBA career. After reading several articles and talking to a lot of people about Jennings, it’s obvious that NBA decision makers did not really understand this kid. He’s tougher, more determined and works harder than many believed. He’s also more talented – he’s a better shooter and a better scorer than scouts thought. “But when it came down to drafting Brandon Jennings, there were some missing pieces in the evaluation process. ESPN’s Chad Ford wrote about poor workouts for teams and red flags on psychological evaluations. A lot of people underestimated Brandon Jennings as a basketball player and as a person. That’s what makes the evaluation process and the NBA draft so fascinating. A GM, not Jerry Krause, once told me that you have to separate basketball character from personal character. I used to confuse the two. The more time you can spend with a player, the better. “We’re looking to uncover information to improve the odds of making the best pick possible. But it will always be huge leap from to go from college or from Europe to the NBA. “Brandon was a high-risk pick. He didn’t put up numbers. There wasn’t much footage. There wasn’t much, if any, real hype. All he was doing was getting better. I wonder how many NBA teams scouted him in Italy. In the future, there’s no doubt NBA teams will devote more resources to scouting players who follow Brandon Jennings’s path.” Drafting players out of college is not easy. Drafting them out of Europe is even more difficult. Earlier this year, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a fascinating piece in the New Yorker on predicting successful NFL quarterbacks based on their college performance. Gladwell’s thesis: ”The problem with picking quarterbacks is that (a college quarterback’s) performance can’t be predicted. The job he’s being groomed for is so particular and specialized that there is no way to know who will succeed at it and who won’t. In fact, (there is) no connection between where a quarterback was taken in the draft – that is, how highly he was rated on the basis of his college performance – and how well he played in the pros.” NBA talent is probably easier to identify than NFL talent, but it’s far from an exact science, as we’ve learned with Jennings and so many players throughout basketball history. In the end, we can debate the failures in the system that led Jennings to being drafted 10th by the Milwaukee Bucks. But, things happen for a reason. And it’s not where Jennings starts. It’s where he finishes. Just ask NBA stars such as Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, who were drafted 10, 13, 15, respectively. And if money matters (and it should), the NBA is about the second contract, not the first. As fans, we can all enjoy Jennings’s fantastic journey.

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Posted at 08:18 AM in Euro hoops, NBA, NBA Draft | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

June 03, 2009

Jeremy Tyler just might be what’s right with basketball

Below is my May column in Basketball Times. Subscribe here. Click here to read the PDF version.

College basketball, as we often are reminded, is about academic achievement and molding fine young athletes. To quote one of the NCAA’s favorite aphorisms, college athletics is about the vast majority of the 400,000 NCAA “student-athletes” who “will be going pro in something other than sports.” Still, every year, there are a few “program changers” who attract extraordinary attention and stir passionate debate.

Last month, I wrote about the “Basketball Underground,” a term I have used to describe how big-time college basketball really operates. As the stakes increase, even in tough economic times, the Basketball Underground will continue to flourish. The big move last month was by Jeremy Tyler, who announced that he’s skipping his senior season of high school to go to Italy and play professional basketball. Tyler is a great talent. He wants – and should have every right – to maximize his abilities. The question is: What is the best use of Tyler’s time for the next couple of years? Some believe he’s making the right decision, given the many factors, including the sham of “one and done,” the decline of basketball development in the United States and NCAA rules. Others believe that not only is Tyler making a grave mistake himself, but he’s setting a bad precedent for young men who may follow Tyler off the same cliff. It’s a quick leap from Brandon Jennings to Jeremy Tyler to the ruination of basketball as we know it in the United States. To me, it’s absurd to make such a big deal about five to maybe 10 players a year. For the vast majority, college is absolutely a place for a young player to develop his or her game, gain maturity, receive a quality education and go on to achieve great things in life. But it’s not for everyone. Further, education is not the sole domain of the traditional classroom.

Continue reading "Jeremy Tyler just might be what’s right with basketball" »

Posted at 11:37 PM in Euro hoops, Jeremy Tyler, One and done | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 28, 2009

The never-ending Jeremy Tyler debate

NY Times writer Pete Thamel puts together a great sampling of opinion on Tyler's decision.

In Jeremy's own words

“If I go to college and fill up an arena with 30,000 people, I don’t get a penny. In my profession with what I’m doing in my life, it doesn’t need a full college degree. I’m definitely going to take classes over there. I want to be there, have fun and learn stuff that I don’t know. I’m going to study the culture, study the language and how their lifestyle is different than mine. I don’t know another language. I want to learn something else.”

Great point. Education does not have to take place in the classroom.

Sports Illustrated's George Dohrmann offers a couple interesting revelations about Tyler and his recruitment by both Louisville and by sports agents. The first one is hardly shocking: A sports agency offered cash to the Tyler family to tide them over until he declared for the NBA draft. The next one is a bit more salacious. Drumroll please...

"Around the same time [agents were offering money], coaches at Louisville and other schools began reviewing Jeremy's transcripts. They looked for ways to get him into college next fall, a full year ahead of schedule for a student in the class of 2010. "They went through his grades and wanted to help set up a program with online courses and other things," James Tyler said. "These schools have their ways of getting things done. They were saying, 'Let's see how we can get him a year early.'" (Louisville declined to comment, citing NCAA recruiting rules.)

For those who believe that agents and runners are intruding in the lives of young basketball players for their own benefit, stand in line. In my world, online courses equals GED! Bomani Jones has a great interview with my guy Dan Wetzel, who broke the Tyler story for Yahoo! Sports. The entire interview is worth listening to, but here are a few highlights from Dan...

He's getting shredded all over the country for this decision. If he just went to one of these high schools that doesn't even exist, They have 16 kids in the high school and 12 play basketball. 

There's no actual books. That would be fine. Oh, he's a high school kid. But those things have nothing to do with high school. They are basically a glorified AAU team with a home-school curriculum. Why bother? Why is that charade socially acceptable, but going to Europe with your dad isn't?

This is how you stay eligible for a one and done. You take four classes in the Fall. You get 2 Ds and 2 Fs. Then you don't show for a single class in the Spring. And you playing in the Final Four. That's all it takes.

[The Tylers] do think it's the right thing for them. Having talked to them and kinda liking them, the only thing I hope is people allow them to make their own decision and not just sit there and say, Oh this kid must do this and just stereotype him and call him a fool for trying.

It's a complete joke. They know it's a joke. They are told it's a joke by the coaches recruiting them. The academics mean very little in this case. These people do think it's the right thing for them. Having talked to them and kinda liking them, the only thing I hope is people allow them to make their own decision and not just sit there and say, Oh this kid must do this and just stereotype him and call him a fool for trying.

I posted a response on the DoubleAZone, the NCAA's "official blog. This elicited the following from Greg Johnson...

There's nothing wrong with enjoying your high school or college years and becoming a more rounded person. Someone needs to explain to me why finishing high school and going to college, even for a year in some cases, is the worst thing that can happen to a person.

Seems like it is only NCAA officials who spin the tale that one year in college is better than none. Maybe if these players actually stayed the entire academic year, I would grant that point, but as soon as the season ends most (probably all) "one and done" players drop out to prepare for the draft. Let's not live in a fantasy world. One and done is a farce for both athlete and institution.

To me it's crazy to make such a big deal for five to maybe 10 players a year. For most players, college is absolutely the best model.

If this is all about allowing kids to be kids, how come there's not similar outrage when football coaches encourage talented players "go college early" in order to participate in spring practice?

--Marc Isenberg

Update: Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop writes: "To me the best part of all is having more than one system, which is new. There was not much pressure on the NCAA to prepare athletes better than anybody else (whether for basketball or life after basketball). They got all the athletes!" Another good point.

Posted at 09:38 AM in AAU, Draft, Euro hoops, Jeremy Tyler, One and done | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

April 25, 2009

Jeremy Tyler as a lightening rod

Jeremy Tyler is a great basketball talent. He wants -- and should have ever right -- to maximize his basketball abilities. The question is, What's the best use of Tyler's time for the next couple years? Some believe he's making the right decision given many factors, including the sham of "one and done," the decline of basketball development in the U.S., NCAA rules. Others believe not only is Tyler making a grave mistake himself, but he's setting a bad precedent for young man to follow him off the same cliff. For these people, it's a quick leap from Brandon Jennings to Jeremy Tyler to the ruination of basketball in the United States.

Here's a sampling of opinions on Tyler's decision...

From True Hoop's Henry Abbott

If you love basketball, then you will love having the free market work its magic on basketball development. We have an NCAA model with limited practice time, questionable education, faked test results, all income pushed under the table, and a certain few individuals making all the big money from TV and sponsorship deals. That's going to be there. But now a few players are expanding horizons, and trying different models. Trying different models is good for basketball.

Exactly. On the court, basketball it is all about competition. Off the court, basketball is run (amok?) by powerful factions behaving like cartels. They stifle competition with big money, lobbying and good ole propaganda.

From ESPN's Fran Fraschilla, a good friend and an expert on basketball development worldwide

I have always felt that the "sweet spot" for one's basketball skill development happens between the ages of 16 and 21...The club system in Europe will allow him to grow at his own pace. I doubt seriously that he would help a top team in Spain or Italy next season because that is a level above any college league in America. Think of it as the Triple-A of hoops. It is serious basketball...However, every one of the high-level teams in Europe has, essentially, a "farm system" that would allow Tyler to face an excellent level of basketball, but at his own pace...Some feel that Tyler will be giving up the instant exposure of a freshman season in college basketball for relative obscurity for two years. If you ask me, that is irrelevant. Kansas is on television more than Regis and Kelly, and hundreds of sets of NBA eyes were on former KU star Mario Chalmers for three years. But even his Final Four heroics could not land him a spot in the first round.

Fran makes a lot of great points, but none better than...

I laugh at the suggestion by some that Jeremy Tyler is giving up his childhood for the big, bad world of professional sports. Almost any player who has been around the unseemly world of high-level, high school and summer basketball in the United States, like Tyler has, long ago gave up his basketball innocence.

Tyler should be applauded for not wanting to participate in his own academic farce. It is also worth noting that just because he won't go to college (at least after high school) doesn't mean he must stop his education. (For more on this subject, read an earlier Money Players post.)

Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples stops just short of playing the race card, but it is worth examining race...

Set aside the obvious racial overtones for a moment and consider only the sport-specific double standards. We celebrate individual athletes when they turn pro at a young age. Maria Sharapova was the darling of the tennis world at 17. Joey Logano is tearing up tracks and getting paid at 18. We celebrate entertainers when they turn pro at a young age. Nick Jonas, 16, is an actor, a musician and a paparazzi magnet. Miley Cyrus, 16, just might control the universe.

Exactly. I believe any backlash against Tyler is driven more by economic preservation than by racism, subtle or otherwise, but it is a fair point to raise. As Sonny Vaccaro told Staples in an interview, "Only in America do we chastise kids who want to make a living doing something they excel at."

San Francisco Chronicle's Scott Ostler offers a worldly view

When I was a lad, had someone offered me the chance to skip my high school senior year to play pro basketball in Europe for two years for about $1 million, I know what I would have said. "No, thank you, sir. That would hinder my educational and emotional development."

I would have paused for comedic timing before adding, "Just kidding! Where do I sign?" Here's what Jeremy Tyler will get:

-- A marvelous education in travel, culture, self-reliance and foreign language.
-- Enough money that if Tyler can't hack the NBA, he can send himself to any college in the world, live better than the dean and impress chicks with his Maserati and cafeteria platinum card.
-- An education in basketball far superior to what he would get in America. The Euros have secrets! Have you watched Dirk Nowitzki or Mehmet Okur play?

And now, let's go rogue...

ESPN's Doug Gottlieb thinks that money is main driver with Tyler:

Instead of learning to win and improving in high school, Tyler is going to chase the almighty dollar before he has even proven he can lead a winning team at the high school level (his team was 15-11 this past season). "Well, he is going to get paid" is not really a sound argument. If it is acceptable for Tyler to leave high school after his junior year to play professionally, when does it not become OK to leave? Tyler is setting a dangerous precedent by making this move. What about a sophomore or a freshman making a similar decision? Why even have high school at all?

I love Doug's passion for basketball, but it's an absurd leap to suggest Jeremy Tyler is our nation's basketball apocalypse. He's just a young kid who wants to play basketball and, like Jennings, believes that Europe is the best path.

Even the NCAA weighs in on Jeremy Tyler. Greg Johnson, associate director for The NCAA News and Champion Magazine, excoriates Sonny Vaccaro, who has advised both Jennings and Tyler, writing:

Vaccaro likes to champion himself as the only person who has the best interests of elite prospects in mind. He loves to rail about how unfair it is that a student-athlete receives "only" a free education. He has no idea how intercollegiate athletics works and doesn't want to know. He cares only about the elite-level men's basketball student-athlete. You never hear him speak about the other players on the team or the other non-revenue programs that exist because of the money generated by men's basketball and football.

I, too, spend more time talking and writing about the elite athlete. I do this because that's where many problems occur. In fact, the NCAA, Johnson's employer, reached the same conclusion: that more problems exist in basketball than in other sports. And that's why the NCAA convened task forces, created costly partnerships and added enforcement personnel to improve the "culture" of non-revenue sports. Why? I doubt it's because the NCAA "cares" more about basketball players than others. 

It's unfortunate that an NCAA official uses his platform to shoot the messenger, rather than address the real issues that would motivate a young man and his family to go to Europe. Seriously question: the NCAA and its membership bear no blame for the problems associated with recruiting, the "one and done" system and also agents?
The NCAA should focus on what can be done to improve the system, not throwing stones at Tyler, Jennings (Johnson writes, "It is unclear if Jennings would've qualified academically to play college basketball.") and Vaccaro.

Most laughable is that Johnson wishes "Tyler all the best." Twice. Of course, if it turns out Tyler succeeds, Johnson's thesis is blown to bits and his article would be even more absurd than it already is.

Certainly, the NCAA wants to protect its golden egg, but in the final analysis, it's premature to determine anything about Tyler's decision other than it is intriguing.
Tell us what you think.

--Marc Isenberg

Posted at 12:06 PM in Euro hoops, Jeremy Tyler | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

April 22, 2009

Jeremy Tyler goes pro before his junior prom

The Jeremy Tyler is reportedly going to Europe, bypassing not only college, but also his senior year of high school. Start the basketball world spinning off its axis. Now.

and scored a great interview with both Jeremy and his father. Writes Wetzel:

Tyler will play against the grown men who can challenge a player of his size and potential. Away from the court he’ll be home-schooled, earn a GED and return in two seasons when he’s eligible for the 2011 draft. By then, Jeremy Tyler figures, he’ll be a much better player and person; having learned from top coaches, enjoyed unlimited practice time and broadened his horizons in a foreign land. He calls it “a dream job” and isn’t the slightest bit nostalgic for homecoming, prom or missing out on college hoops.

Sonny Vaccaro is advising the family, so we can expect a backlash from those who want to protect the status quo.

James Tyler, Jeremy's father, on taking on the basketball establishment “It’s just the old way of doing things and no one wants to swallow the pill of change. Basketball is an American sport and they want the kids to go through the channels. And I think there is so much money generated in collegiate sports that they don’t want that interrupted. It’s a double standard.”

Is it a good move? Only time will tell, but according to an NBA GM: “His game will be picked apart [by scouts], but long-term it’s much better for his development as a player. It’s a bold move, but I’ve seen tape and that kid could play in the NBA right now. He’s an incredible talent.”


Just like Brandon Jennings, I am rooting Jeremy Tyler. This will not be an easy path, but neither is college.

Here's an expert from a recent Basketball Times column I wrote on Brandon:

Continue reading "Jeremy Tyler goes pro before his junior prom" »

Posted at 09:06 PM in Euro hoops, Going pro | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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