Whether Kansas State offensive machine Michael Beasley goes first or second in Thursday’s NBA Draft seems meaningless on the surface. Either way, Beasley will become an instant millionaire.
Nevertheless, don’t discount the prestige of being No. 1.
Obviously, Beasley would love it, and so would Kansas State’s resurgent basketball program. The ‘Cats would rather sell the top pick in the NBA Draft to potential recruits than the second selection.
To a lesser extent is what Beasley going No. 1 would mean to the Big 12 Conference, which has never produced a top pick in its 12 years of existence. Not that the Big Eight, the Big 12’s precursor, turned them out hand over fist.
The Big Eight’s debut season was 1958-59, and in that first year the old Cincinnati Royals nabbed Kansas State’s Bob Boozer with the top overall pick. From the selection of Boozer until the league was absorbed by the Big 12 in 1997 – a span of 38 years – only one other Big Eight player was anointed No. 1 in the NBA Draft.
That player was, of course, Danny Manning.
In the summer of 1988, a couple of months after Manning led KU to the NCAA championship and pocketed numerous player-of-the-year awards, the Los Angeles Clippers called Manning’s name.
Now here it is two decades later, and I’d venture to say that if Manning had been the player who sparked KU to the 2008 NCAA title, he would not be at the top of the draft.
Manning definitely would fall into the lottery category and most likely would be one of the first four or five to go. But I can’t believe he would be No. 1, and I base that on the Methuselah Factor. He was a senior, and, in the contemporary NBA mind-set, a senior is an old man. NBA coaches and GMs much prefer potential to proven performance.
Back in 1988, however, Manning became one of the few college basketball players in history whose draft stock was enhanced by opting for a fourth year in college. Or at least that’s what everyone around here always has believed.
Would Manning have been the No. 1 pick if he had turned pro following his junior year on Mount Oread?
If you look at his statistics, you won’t find much disparity. Manning averaged 23.9 points and 9.5 rebounds as a junior, with corresponding numbers of 24.8 and 9.0 as a senior. But the draft pool must also be taken into consideration.
The first player taken in 1987 was David Robinson, who had concluded a storied career at Navy. Would Manning, if he had come out a year early, have been taken ahead of Robinson? Probably not. But he very well could have been chosen ahead of Armon Gilliam, the second player taken in ’87.
In 1988, Manning was the clear-cut No. 1, and it took the Clippers a mere 28 seconds of their allotted five minutes to choose him. The second name called that year was Rik Smits, a huge 7-foot-4 Dutchman who had played at Marist College. Nos. 3 and 4 were the long-forgotten Charles Smith and Chris Morris, respectively.
Now we are left to wonder if Beasley will join Manning and Boozer in select company. Or if he will become the Big Eight-Big 12’s fifth No. 2 pick, following previous runners-up Kevin Durant (2007), LaMarcus Aldridge (2006), Wayman Tisdale (1985) and Steve Stipanovich (1983).
