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Monday, September 20, 2004
Sayson: Money speaks, prep stars heed
By HOMER D. SAYSON
SECOND OVERTIME
CHICAGO – A more than subtle decline in the quality of play has been painfully noticeable in the ranks of college basketball lately. Among the many symptoms in this malady, none is more damaging than the fact that young kids are going straight from high school to the NBA, leaving less talent to go around with in the NCAA.
And why are these kids passing on the chance to earn an invaluable college degree in favor of a league that has swallowed and regurgitated so many weaklings by the wayside?
The answer is simple. Money. Oodles and oodles of moolah. I mean, why go to college when you can go to the NBA, become a gazillionaire, and then buy your own university?
Take the case of LeBron James. As a well-covered standout at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High in Akron, Ohio, Lebron, then 17, was fiercely recruited. Every blue-chip program in the United States wanted him to don their colors. Nike and Adidas bid crazy sums of money to sign him as an endorser. Heck, a few of James’ games were even broadcast live by ESPN.
LeBron, of course, followed the money. He then went on to sign endorsement deals worth over $100 million with Nike, Sprite, Upper Deck, etc. And oh, by the way, as the NBA’s No.1 draft pick overall in 2003, James inked a four-year guaranteed contract with the Cavs worth $18,790,000.
So instead of being in college, cramming his 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame inside an athlete’s dorm, LeBron now lives in a mansion. When on the road during the season, he stays only in five-star hotels. In college, Lebron would have taken the school bus and fly commercial during road visits.
But as the Cavs messiah, King James is getting the royal treatment, flying in the Cavs charter jet away from home and driving his H2 Hummer in and around Cleveland.
The lure of the NBA’s money, plus the spotlight it brings is too tempting for any promising player to resist. And for as long as that exists, the level of talent in college basketball will continue to dip.
Shaun Livingston is one fine gem college ball will never get to see. Voted as Illinois’ 2004 Mr. Basketball, Livingston brought back-to-back state titles to Peoria Central High School, averaging 18 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game last season. He shunned Duke and brought his talent to the ultimate stage, where he was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Livingston is the first high school point guard to become an NBA lottery pick. And speaking of lottery, Livingston claimed his winning ticket last week as the Clippers signed him to a guaranteed three-year deal worth $8.1 million.
Just 19, Livingston will earn $2.5 million as a rookie; $2.7 million as a sophomore; and $2.9 as a junior. If he plays according to expectations, the Clippers could pick up the fourth year option on his contract worth a cool $3.7 million.
Even if he busts out, the $8.1 million he signed last week will be Livingston’s to keep. Three years from now, he’d be just 22, infinitely richer and with more than enough time left to alter the course of his life.
Yap, going to the NBA from high school is a tough gamble to make. But it sure is worth taking. Just ask LeBron, and now, Shaun.
LITHUANIAN STRIKES GOLD. Remember Sarunas Jasikevicius, the deadly as sin Lithuanian guard who slew Dream Team IV with back-to-back-to-back triples in the elimination round of the basketball tournament at the Athens Olympics in Greece?
Well, the Lithuanians went home empty-handed, but Jasikevicius struck gold by inking the highest-paying contract in European basketball. According to USA Today, Sarunas’ deal with F.C. Barcelona is worth $6.5 million for three seasons.
Sarunas is Spain’s Michael Jordan in terms of popularity. The 28-year-old led Barcelona to a European title and a domestic league and national cup championship in 2002-03. But even with his star status in Europe, the former Maryland Terrapin still yearns to play in the NBA: “It would be nice to try. If it happens, though, it happens.”
TOUGH LUCK. To say that Gary Payton has had a rough summer is a gross understatement.
Last June, he got much of the blame for LA’s loss to the Pistons in an unexpectedly abbreviated five-game NBA Finals. Whispers were made about how The Glove had lost his touch, severely outplayed by a younger, hungrier lion named Chauncey Billups.
Two months later on Aug. 6, Payton, alongside the ailing Rick Fox, was shipped to Boston, a place he swore he’d never play. The ex-Sonic and ex-Buck threatens retirement and forfeiting some $5 million in salaries. I don’t know if he’s afraid of Harvard, but Payton just doesn’t want to go to Massachusetts.
And then on Aug. 28, in the small, wee hours of the morning, Payton was arrested by the California Highway Patrol for suspicion of driving under the influence. If Gary could free himself from the clutches of Detroit’s defense, he has no chance against a law enforcer’s pair of handcuffs.
Payton, 36, was pulled over after an officer saw him back down a ramp on the San Diego freeway “to avoid heavy traffic caused by an accident,” reported the Associated Press. Payton failed an alcohol sobriety test and was taken to the West Los Angeles Police Department, where he completed a chemical test. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 15.
Gary was drunk. I guess that’s what happens when Ben Wallace appears in your dreams too many times.
(e-mail:homsay@hotmail.com)
(September 20, 2004 issue)
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