"WELCOME TO THE NBA"
It’s been awhile since my last post, a very long while! Let’s recap what’s going on in MY world of sports up to this point: 1) The NFL is still in lockout and under negotiations <boo> 2) The NFL has held it’s 2011 Draft <Yay> 3) Baseball is off and in full swing <Go Yankees> 4) The Dallas Mavs are the NBA Finals Champions to the dismay of many Heat fans <giggle> and 5) The NBA has held their 2011 Draft with new prospects being brought into the league.
I watched the NBA Draft, and to be honest, I would have rather watched paint dry. It was not exciting at all and after the Pistons first round pick, I changed the channel and waited for the alerts on my cellphone. Now the talents of the players had nothing to do with my boredom because I had no clue who was who since I’m not big on college ball. Next season I’m going to have to at least watch through March Madness so I’ll know a few names on the board!
By the end of the night the Pistons had drafted Brandon Knight (Kentucky), Kyle Singer (Duke), and Vernon Macklin (Florida Gators). Now when Knight was picked I constantly heard references to his academics (4.3 GPA not shabby at all!) and how smart of a player he was, but that he was a “developing” player, not one who would be able to step in and make a difference early. I wanted a player who could step in, put the team on his back and carry them back to former glory! Is that too much to ask? Okay, I guess it is. So I had mix feelings about the young man I had never seen play from Kentucky, 'cause the media didn't show any HYPE and he looked "stunned", to say the least, when picked.
There once was an old Public Enemy song called “Don’t Believe the Hype”. After looking at post draft interviews and hearing Joe Dumars explain the reason for all three picks, I must same that I am content. First of all Joe continued to talk about how they were attempting to focus on “high character guys”. He repeated that phrase constantly through the press conference and touched on issues occuring over the past two years. When you think about it, “high character guys” are going to be the ones who work hard day in and day out because they have a standard that they want to achieve and are most times “teachable” because they want to meet their goals. These guys are stirred up from within not motivated by the things going on around them. These guys never say quit and don’t allow anyone around them to give up.
There once was an old Public Enemy song called “Don’t Believe the Hype”. After looking at post draft interviews and hearing Joe Dumars explain the reason for all three picks, I must same that I am content. First of all Joe continued to talk about how they were attempting to focus on “high character guys”. He repeated that phrase constantly through the press conference and touched on issues occuring over the past two years. When you think about it, “high character guys” are going to be the ones who work hard day in and day out because they have a standard that they want to achieve and are most times “teachable” because they want to meet their goals. These guys are stirred up from within not motivated by the things going on around them. These guys never say quit and don’t allow anyone around them to give up.
I sent out a tweet on twitter after the first round asking what Pistons “tweeps” thought about Knight. No one answered of course, which is quite common when I send questions out about anything of substance. Maybe like me, they had no clue what to think. I must say after hearing Knight speak and seeing how focused and self-motivated this young man is (which he credits to his parents and upbringing), and watching some footage, I feel good about this pick and the others.
So I would like to take this time to extend a welcome to the newly drafted Pistons Brandon Knight, Kyle Singer, and Vernon Macklin. Good skills and God Bless fellas!
PS: I really need to tighten up my bball viewing. I hate being out of the sports loop!
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