One of the beauties of the current Kansas University basketball team, at least in my mind, is that no players have harmed the team with mindsets about how professional scouts are perceiving them. That’s not the case for many college teams anymore. Such selfishness is the stuff that drives coaches nuts and loses key games.
Wayne Simien should be a sure-fire first-round NBA pick, maybe promising enough to get a guaranteed three-year contract for $10 million-or-so. With all his skills and achievements, he doesn’t have to posture for the pro ivory hunters. Barring new injuries, Wayne could start off with an even better deal than ex-Jayhawks Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Drew Gooden. But his team-conscious play never has reflected any obsession about pro gold.
KU’s Aaron Miles and Keith Langford both seem to understand they are marginal NBA prospects and that doing the best they can with what is at their disposal is the surest way to attract appropriate attention. If KU keeps winning, they win. By now, J.R. Giddens must realize he’s not pro-ready. He needs at least another year of major-college seasoning and still has to prove he can be a determinator for KU, let alone some NBA club. Giddens may have had delusions of grandeur earlier. Too many adoring fans heightened that notion. He first must settle down and become a consistent college star.
J.R. has a ton of talent to hone and refine and needs more seasoning. He has terrific potential to help spark Kansas to a three-win-or-better record in NCAA play. Whether he delivers will determine his pro future.
Coach Bill Self periodically has had to take some youngsters to the woodshed to get them in the proper frame of mind to nab an all-important Big 12 Conference title. Yet, I don’t think he’s ever had to stare down kids the way Roy Williams did a time or two because they obviously were thinking more about the NBA than Kansas basketball.
The best piece I’ve read about the erosion in the college ranks these days was by Michael Wilbon, a knowledgeable, perceptive and talented guy. When he’s not on television yapping at Tony Kornheiser in those pro-con yell-sessions that can damage your eardrums, Wilbon turns out excellent printed material. He put the money squarely on the table in discussing the erratic performances by the 2005 Maryland Terrapins. He calls the crisis subtle but damaging.
“The Terrapins (and we’ve seen Maryland on TV often) can do everything well enough to beat Duke twice and challenge the second-ranked Carolina Tar Heels right down to the final shot. But Gary Williams, like an increasing number of coaches each season, has been victimized by his players’ fascination with the NBA. It’s no secret in hoops circles that junior point guard John Gilchrist, the most important player on the Maryland team, has had his mind at least part-time on what he perceives will be an NBA career. Funny thing is, a lot of NBA teams project Gilchrist to be a second-round pick, if they have paid attention to him at all.
“But, hey, people get to these kids. Street agents, their boys and sometimes family members who have not a single clue. ‘Maybe I should leave college for all those millions of dollars.’ Of course, the best thing Gilchrist can do to appeal to the pros is what (former Terp) Steve Blake did, which is run the team right into and through the NCAA Tournament. That’s what the NBA scouts want to see, especially from a playmaker. Anybody who tells this poor kid he’s a lottery pick should be arrested for grand lying.
“Did that specifically have anything to do with Maryland’s (two-point) loss to North Carolina yesterday? Probably. A team with a distracted player or two is diminished. Roy Williams and his Tar Heels are way too good to beat if key players on the opposing team aren’t locked in.”
Maryland went nuts after halftime and almost dumped Roy’s Boys. But disaster had struck earlier. Wrote Wilbon: “Maryland could have assured itself a tournament spot by beating North Carolina and didn’t, mostly because the Terrapins played an unintelligent final 10 minutes of the first half.”
Along with everything else, including tough opponents, coaches have to determine if their players are thinking more about the NBA than the team. It’s due to get worse before it gets any better. We’ve been blessed with Kansas 2005. Wayne Simien knows he’s prime pro bait and doesn’t have to manipulate things for attention. The others guys by now have ascertained that the best thing they can do is to help thrust the team into and through the NCAA Tournament.
They do that and any prolongation of their careers will take care of itself. There’s no better example than heady Steve Blake, who quarterbacked Maryland to the 2002 NCAA title, defeating the likes of Kansas and Indiana en route to earning a spot on the Washington Wizards roster.
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Among all the athletic stars and superstars who’ve graced the Kansas University landscape are people like the late John Parker, who are so vital to any successful and productive program. John recently died at age 70 after a long struggle with multiple sclerosis. He quietly but productively accomplished so very much and it’s a shame how seldom we take into full account the likes of John. Some of his many accomplishments should be recalled.
All-around athlete? A 1953 Shawnee Mission North graduate, he was co-captain with the late Gene Elstun of the Kansas big school basketball champs. He won all-state football, basketball and track honors. John and Gene were co-captains of KU’s 1957 NCAA basketball finalist. Parker often was obscured on a team that featured the likes of Elstun, Maurice King and Wilt Chamberlain, but coach Dick Harp never was more confident of any player than he was John Parker. Think how the ranks of that great KU team are decimated — Wilt, Elstun, Parker, ace subs Lew Johnson and Bob Billings, all gone; if there are any others, don’t ruin my day by telling me. Ron Loneski is the only starter left.
Man, oh, man, we’ve had so many people of John Parker’s caliber go through our ranks that we too often overlook them or take them for granted. NEVER should we do that!
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