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July 27, 2009
Maybe it’s the weird facial hair or the less-than-ordinary ‘dos that have turned teams off of Drew Gooden.
You know the looks I’m talking about.
When Gooden first arrived at KU, he had a clean face, a goofy smile and seemed to play the way he looked — like a kid.
But something happened to KU’s 16th all-time leading scorer (1,526 points) and former All-American during his transformation from amateur athlete to journeyman pro that caused a severe change in his appearance.
It started simple enough. After a few years in the NBA, Gooden added facial hair to his look. At first, the slick, slim goatee seemed like a nice look.
Then, as if unable to control himself, Gooden let the thing grow and rocked the full-fledged beard.
Things only got more wild from there. At one point, when he was playing along side LeBron James in Cleveland, he shaved it all off except for a small tuft of hair above the back of his neck. The look was unique, there’s no disputing that. But, aside from a few die-hard Cavs fans who played a dangerous game of follow the leader, the look never took off.
Thank goodness.
After moving to Chicago, Gooden dumped the duck tail and brought back the goatee, with a twist — literally.
Not bad, but definitely weird.
Then, after playing for his fourth team in six years, Gooden was shipped to Sacramento, where he returned to his clean-shaven days. After playing just one game with the Kings, Gooden moved to San Antonio, where he played 19 games for the sixth team in his seven-year career to close out the 2008-09 season.
That brings us to today, when Gooden, an unrestricted free agent, has agreed to sign with the Dallas Mavericks.
The question here isn’t so much about what happened to Gooden to make him change hairstyles faster than Hollywood stars change relationships. The question here is what happened to the NBA that made Gooden the fourth overall pick (by Memphis) in the 2002 NBA Draft and now acts like it wants no part of this ultra-talented player.
I don’t have an answer. Maybe you do.
Maybe you can tell me why teams haven't been interested in a guy who’s relatively young, freakishly athletic and stacked with size, scoring prowess and defensive potential.
Maybe you can tell me why so many teams have been so quick to dismiss the 10-point and 7-rebound minimums Gooden could deliver on a nightly basis, or, better yet, why teams won’t give him the opportunity to become the 15-18-point, 10-12-rebound guy he has in him.
Again, I’m at a loss for words.
During his up-and-down NBA career, Gooden has been everything from a starter and key contributor to the forgotten man at the end of the bench. For the most part, he’s been injury free, which only confuses things more. He has a great offensive game — can shoot from distance and score inside — and has the size, length and body type to become a good, if not great, defender. He just needs someone to work with him the way Roy Williams did when Drew was at KU.
He just needs a chance.
Maybe Dallas and wild-and-crazy owner Mark Cuban will be the perfect fit for the journeyman forward.
Dallas will be Gooden's seventh new home, his seventh new jersey number and his seventh new team. Let’s hope the Mavs are the team that understands Gooden the best, all the way from the wild and wacky hairstyles to the incredible potential he still possesses.
Comments
suttonku (anonymous) says...
Well I love drew gooden and he doesnt have bad stats but the guy needs to be more assertive on the offensive end...in his career he only averages 12 points a game...I like the 8 boards a game (and those numbers will go up this season in Dallas)...his field goal percentage is pretty good at 47.1%...I think he needs to try and get a long term deal with a team and that may be with Dallas after this season...I think with Jason Kidd passing the ball, Drew should get a lot of dunks next season and I think Dallas will want him back after next season...Gooden would be the perfect compliment to Dirk because he makes up for Dirks lack of toughness and Dirk makes up for Drews lack of assertiveness...add Josh Howard and Dallas has a team that could make some noise when healthy.
July 27, 2009 at 8:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kcgregory (anonymous) says...
i love gooden too but even as a fan i can't gloss over his questionable (at best) shot selection and his tendency to make mental miscues outside of shot selection (turnovers, errant passes) as well. teams are intrigued by the talents you mentioned but grow weary of watching his inexiplicable decision making. i thought lebron was going to strangle him in one game i watched a couple of years ago.
July 27, 2009 at 12:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
timkhoward (anonymous) says...
This is just sloppy journalism. What good does this article do anyone? A bunch of questions and no insight into the answers. Why not interview some folks who have played with or coached him to get some insight into why he can't stick anywhere and/or why they think he's ready to make an impact for Dallas? But instead you give us this stupid hair angle. C'mon! I'm reading and reading waiting for some insightful quotes and then the article just ends. Big dud!
July 27, 2009 at 4:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
d_prowess (anonymous) says...
Not an article tim, just a blog that is supposed to encourage discussion.
I am disappointed that the "neck beard" never was mentioned. I know there are picture out there of it (for those that didn't see it, he basically shaved everything accept for the hair on his neck-it was gross). Also, how did Disney not weave Drew into their marketing campaign for Pirates of the Caribbean with that Johnny Depp-esque goatee?!
July 27, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
robot (Robin Smith) says...
Gooden was unstoppable in those last few playoff series he played with the Cavs. I was really surprised that they shipped him off to Chi-town.
Really I still consider the more recent shuffling to have been the after shocks of that move.
Dallas will be where he reestablishes the prowess he had which went largely unmentioned while playing alongside LeBron. when you have LeBron any shot not by the King himself will be questioned, but tolerated so long as it goes in.
July 28, 2009 at 7:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ChicagoJHawk (anonymous) says...
d_prowess,
Isn't that it, in the 2nd to last picture? It's kinda hard to tell, it's pretty dark, but I'm pretty sure he's got that neck beard thing you were talking about. I agree, pretty gross!
July 28, 2009 at 1:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BrockIII (anonymous) says...
With all of the Maverick's faults, their biggest need this summer was center; someone to star alongside Nowitzki. The Orlando Magic matching the Dallas offer sheet for Gortat and the Maverick's trade bringing in a semi-hefty Shawn Marion contract left them with very few options. Aside from the fact that they have an over-the-hill point guard who is a nightmare on the defensive side against quick guards, the fact they don't have a perimeter player that can attack the basket and get to the line, and the fact they have an incredible defensive liability in Dirk at the 4 spot, the biggest problem is that they have no athleticism whatsoever in the front court. Dirk and Eric Dampier get beaten time and time again by quicker, stronger 4 and 5's.
Bringing in Gooden may not shore up all of these issues, but he makes them more athletic and improves their rebounding. He probably will not start, and will still only be a 5th or 6th scoring option after Dirk, Terry, Marion and Howard in maybe 20-25 min a game. But, I think he'll fit in well in a more uptempo offense, which he has not gotten a chance to play in so far in his career. Should be very interesting.
July 28, 2009 at 2:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )