Mullens to the NBA . . . DL

It's march which means aside from the college basketball madness, it's time for the annual migration of Ohio State freshmen to the NBA. This year, Canal Winchester's own BJ Mullens has decided to follow in the footsteps of such luminaries as Greg Oden and Kosta Koufos and take his unique skill set, and by unique skill set I mean 7 foot frame, to the NBA. A few quick thoughts:

1. I've seen plenty of Ohio State fans who just can't wait to tell anyone who will listen that Mullens isn't ready for the pros. Oh really doctor? You think so? You mean to tell me a soft big man with a questionable attitude and work ethic, who got pushed around in the Big 10 and averaged 9 and 5 isn't ready to play against the likes of Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard? These folks must be privy to some sort of inside information or scouting reports because I personally can't see any reason why he can't step in to the league and make an immediate impact. It's a can't miss!

2. This is all part of the reason that bigtime college basketball isn't what it should be. Every year, major programs have to roll out a new cast of characters for their fans to connect with. Sure, there are talented guys like Tyler Hansborough and, um, Tyler Hansborough that stay for multiple years, but most of the premium talents that come through the college game aren't even there long enough to make an impact. When the NBA came up with the 19 rule, I loved it. I thought it meant that we would finally get to see guys like Lebron and Kobe take on the college game. As it turns out, the rule is causing some serious damage to the sport. For every Carmello Anthony or Kevin Durant that actually makes a memorable impact on their campus, there are a host of Michael Beasleys, O.J. Mayos, and Eric Gordons whose time in college is mostly forgettable.

3. Anyone who calls out one of these kids for jumping early is absolutely absurd. If I'm a 19 year old college freshman and someone is offering to guarantee me a couple of million dollars to show up to practice and sit on the bench for a couple of years, that's a pretty easy decision. Now, I presume that being a star athlete on a college campus is certainly more fun and entertaining than essentially being lost and alone in the NBA, but you have to look at the big picture. Financial security is everything. Sure you might be miserable (as I assume Greg Oden is and I presume BJ Mullens will be) for a while but it's got to be worth it. If you're smart, you'll never have to worry about puting food on the table again. And please, don't give me the lecture about not having a college education to fall back on. How much does the average person coming out of Ohio State with an undergraduate degree make? 40k a year? I think I'll take my chances with the guaranteed millions.

4. There are two other considerations that make jumping early a prudent move for these kids, aside from just the first contract: First, a player can get better faster sitting on the bench in the NBA than he can playing in college. I know that sounds counterintuitive but the level of coaching, training, and practice competition in the NBA is such that players can improve faster by jumping early, even if they're essentially glued to the bench. J.J. Hickson will be a better NBA player at 21 than he would have been if he had decided to stay at NC State for 3 years before entering the league. People love to spout off about how college seasoning is necessary to prepare a player for the next level, and that may be true in terms of immediate impact, but, if you're comparing a player's ability based on age, and not number of years in the league, I would be certain that most players improve more quickly on an NBA bench than they do playing in college games. Second, the way the NBA pay scale is structured, it's important for a player to start accruing his time in the league so that he can hit restricted free agency and get on to that second contract. As long as a player is genuinely talented, it makes sense to get those years accruing as soon as possible.

5. I hate seing NBA benches filled with underdeveloped young players who have no business occupying roster spots on NBA teams. That being said, the 19 rule is completely discriminatory and unfair. There is absolutely no legitimate business reason that players shouldn't be allowed to be drafted out of high school. This isn't the NFL. There is no genuine safety concern associated with allowing young kids to play in the NBA. They may not be mature enough to deal with the money and the fame, but physically, they're not endangering themselves by stepping out onto the court with bigger, stronger guys. They may get knocked around but their safety won't be in jeopardy. So, essentially, the rule tells young, predominately African American kids, that they can't pursue their careers, and accept the millions of dollars that general managers are knowingly craving to pay them, for no good reason at all. It's baseless, it's unfair, and it should be abolished.

6. As an Ohio State basketball fan, I'm finding it harder and harder to care about the program. Of course I enjoyed the ride from the Oden-Conley-Cook class but the whole thing was a little contrived. I may have enjoyed seeing an Ohio State jersey at the final four but I certainly didn't feel much of a connection to the team. Winning is always fun but watching your school act as a halfway house for NBA-bound prospects isn't really quite the fulfillment that most people are seeking through sport. Obviously, sentiments like these put a guy like That Matta between a rock and a hard place: Ignore the blue chippers and fans will get on you about recruiting. Lock down the Mullens and Koufos's of the world and people will get upset that your program lacks continuity. Based on the recruits that have already signed on for future classes, it looks like Matta is going to try to keep winning with mega-prospects as he's already received committment from Scout.com's #1 center, Jared Sullinger, and #2 PF, Deshaun Thomas, for the class of 2010.

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Given the transient nature of major college programs, I'm sad that the Big Dance doesn't really have a Cinderella this year. For me, the plight of the underdog is one of the few compelling stories left in the college game. Unfortunately, I don't think the situation will improve until the NBA either abolishes the age limit or moves it to 21. I'm interested to hear how the rest of you feel about this.

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Cavs Win in OT

Quick thoughts after the Cavs OT win over Portland:

1. I actually attended the game tonight, my first at home this season. You would think that since I now live about a 5 minute walk from the Q, attending games would be a no-brainer. Well, a funny thing has happened as I've grown older: My tolerance for all the hassles of attending major sporting events has been greatly diminished. The horrible music, the atrocious entertainment, the lines at the bathroom, the absurd concession prices, the uncomfortable seats . . . it was one thing when the alternative was sitting at home and watching the game on a grainy pixelated tube. But now, with gigantic HD plasmas and LCDs and DVRs . . . you can make a very compelling case for staying home. Still, my buddy DC has great seats in the lower bowl and even for someone who has attended his fair shair of NBA games, there is something special about being that close to NBA players. The same can be said for guys in the NFL but even that's not quite the same. NBA players are just a different species.

2. As for the game, the Cavs did their now common sleepwalk through the first half taking bad jumper after bad jumper. It was amazing, given the way that they played, that they were only down two at the break. Then, in the second half, as soon as they started taking the ball to the hoop, the game changed dramatically. Brandon Roy did a nice job hitting free throws down the stretch to force the game into OT but I felt fairly comfortable, once the Cavs got the lead, that they weren't going to lose it.

3. I like the way Delonte took the ball inside a couple of times in the second half. I can't stress enough how much the Cavs need him ready to go for the playoffs. It's an old NBA cliche' but it only takes a few easy buckets to get a shooter's outside stroke going again.

4. The Blazers, even without Batum and Aldridge, are a very good young NBA team. We were talking during the second half about the fact that if the Blazers had taken Durant instead of Oden, the NBA might have to shut down operations in the next couple of years because the Blazers would be OWNING everyone including the Cavs. A top 3 of Durant, Roy, and Aldridge plus an owner who could afford to pay all three? That, my friends, would've been game, set, and match. Luckily, they took Oden and the rest is history. I know people like to point out the fact that this is still technically his rookie season and he's still young BUT . . . I can't say I would be too excited if I were a Blazers fan about a skinny, timid 7 footer, with no offensive game, a fragile psyche, and a microfracture procedure under his belt. Oden could very well be a 17-12 guy some day but I wouldn't be the farm on it.

5. It's been a while since I've said this and I know some of you think I'm too hard on Lebron so let me just say this: My god, he is breathtaking. The ease with which he was getting to the hole down the stretch was just amazing. How does one guy just slice through an entire defense that knows exactly what he's going to do? Ridiculous. If that's playoff Lebron, and history would indicate that it is, then I feel pretty good about our chances of getting out of the East.

6. Nice adjustment by Mike Brown to go small and Bring in Sasha in the 4th quarter to contain Travis Outlaw, who had developed quite the hot hand. Normally, I like to see Andy on the floor late in the game but sitting him tonight was the correct move.

7. I had no idea that the Cavs were on the verge of setting the record for fewest turnovers until I was told after the game. Obviously, you don't notice a turnover unless it happens.

8. Looking at the schedules, the Cavs play better teams down the stretch than the Lakers but LA has almost all of theirs on the road. I would say if the Cavs lose 3 or fewer games the rest of the way, they'll get the top overall seed. With games against Boston, San Antonio, and at Orlando just to name a few, that's going to be a tall order. The Cavs will almost definitely lose at least one more game against a sub-500 team so limiting the remaining losses to 3 is going to be a tall order.

That's it for now. Happy Friday everyone!

(MORNING UPDATE)


You've got to be shitting me ESPN. Against my better judgment, I just went to the worldwide leader's NBA page to read the daily dime. I was actually somewhat pleased at the "Beast of the East" headline for the article. I should've known better. Inside, I was treated to a nice sloppy Tim Leger/Celtics BJ featuring a host of completely insane comments. Allow me to post some of my favorites:

With all their injuries, the Celtics have no rhythm right now and the Magic
need to figure out a way to steadily feed Dwight Howard at crunch
time.

Those are the two biggest reasons I don't think that Boston or Orlando can catch Cleveland. Cleveland is 4.5 games in front of Boston and five games ahead of Orlando, and with the exception of Ben Wallace, the Cavaliers are the one team that is not dealing with injuries.

. . .

It is more important for the Cavaliers to have home court than it is for Boston . . . The Celtics won big games on the road last season so they are confident they can do it again.

. . .

[The Celtics] are the most complete team in the league and they have more options offensively than the Cavaliers or Magic.

. . .

The Celtics are mentally tough.

. . .

I think Paul Pierce needs to get a mention [for MVP].

So let me get this straight: The reason that Boston can't catch the Cavs right now is because of injuries? Now that's interesting. You see, I thought the reason was that the Cavs never fucking lose and have already played 95% of their tough road games. Silly me. I can totally see your point though Tim. With a healthy Garnett, I could definitely see Boston jumping the Cavs in the seeding. The selection committee would certainly take into account the way Boston played after Garnett's return.

And really? The Celtics don't need home court because they've already shown their ability to win on the road? Are you sure it was the Celtics that won on the road last postseason, Tim? Are you sure it's wasn't, I don't know, NOTHING?

The Celtics have more options offensively than the Cavs or Magic? That must be why they've established such a strong offensive identity. It's a good thing they're not just a sloppy offensive team with a great defense.

The Celtics are mentally tough? Are you sure about this? When did this new information come to light? You've been holding out on us the entire time! You should really alert the rest of the gang at ESPN as to this fact so that they can incorporate it into their regular schtick.

Paul Pierce for MVP? Are we talking about Celtics MVP because I think Ray Allen would disagree with that statement. I know you can't be talking about league MVP because statistically, that type of argument would be ridiculous right? I mean Lebron averages 8 more points a game and his team is 4.5 games ahead in the standings. Wade has single-handedly made the Heat dangerous. Certainly, you're not proposing that someone should actually vote for Pierce for MVP are you?

ESPN, seriously, your NBA coverage has become a joke. How can you let people write this stuff! It's one thing to take a controversial position. It's quite another to make statements that are so asinine that no reasonable person could believe them (like that Paul Pierce deserves MVP consideration). Get a life ESPN. And while you're at it, could you do some research for me? You see, I've been sitting around all morning wondering whether Kevin Garnett is intense. That fact was strangly omitted from the dime this morning and so I'm now questioning whether everything I've read about him prior to today was just unsubstantiated rumor. Can you get back to me on this?

I really wish the playoffs were here because I can't wait for the Cavs to shove it right up ESPN and Barkley's ass.

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