Admit it, you're curious to see the LeBron phenomenon, too
Posted: Tuesday December 10, 2002 1:44 AM
Updated: Tuesday December 10, 2002 11:11 AM
There has already been plenty of hand-wringing over the circus that LeBron James' life has become, and we'll get another round of it this week.
The reason: ESPN2 on Thursday is going to broadcast a live, regular-season game between James' high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary's of Akron, Ohio, and Oak Hill Academy, a traditional powerhouse prep school in Virginia.
Lots of people are blasting ESPN for airing this game -- the first time a regular-season high school game is on national TV -- but you won't get any such carping in this space. The reason is even more basic than the obvious fact that I work for the magazine that put James on its cover last February.
Simply put, I want to watch the game. I want to see LeBron play.
Admit it: So do you. And we shouldn't feel badly about that.
If there is any entity that should feel badly about what's going on with James these days, it's the NBA. Why? Because James should be in the NBA -- right now, this season. That's exactly where he would be if the league didn't have a minimum age requirement of 18 for its players. David Stern has been lobbying to increase that minimum, but if anything, he should go in the opposite direction and allow anyone who's good enough to join the league to do so, regardless of their age.
The fact is, James is already a professional, in every sense of the word. He gets flown all over the country to attend meetings and workouts and camps run by sneaker companies. Last year, he started driving a Lincoln Navigator to school, and he doesn't go anywhere without his cell phone and two-way pager.
Nike and Adidas are waging a highly public, all-out war to sign him to a $20 million-plus contract. Meanwhile, St. Vincent-St. Mary's is playing games this season in Philadelphia, Trenton, Greensboro and Los Angeles, and the school gets a $15,000 appearance fee each time. Their home games are played are not at the high school but at the University of Akron and Cleveland State. Some of those games are being offered on pay-per-view by a local cable affiliate in northern Ohio. There are countless offerings of James-related merchandise over the Internet.
And here's the most telling sign James is already a pro: He is now referring to himself in the third person during interviews.
By what logic is LeBron better off in high school instead of the NBA? Because he needs to learn all he can about algebra? Why is it allowed for tennis players, golfers, gymnasts and figure skaters to compete professionally before the age of 18, but it's not OK for basketball players?
Once in a while, James will say -- disingenuously -- that he is still considering playing in college, but of course he couldn't do that even if he wanted to. He already has violated so many NCAA rules it would take years to ferret them all out.
If James were in the NBA, the money game would at least be played above board and on paper. Because he's still in high school, however, he does not have the benefit of having professional agents, NBA coaches and licensed financial analysts to manage his affairs. Instead, his top advisor is a surrogate father who has already served more than two years on a conviction of drug trafficking, and who is facing a possible three-year jail sentence after being indicted on charges of money fraud.
ESPN's decision to broadcast James' game this week is only a natural progression of what's already happened. Carping about it is just spitting into the wind. James may not be in the NBA, but he's playing on national TV because the interest in him is high enough to warrant it.
The only thing left for us to do is watch.
Other Hoop Thoughts
I know a lot of you are expecting Virginia to collapse again once conference play starts, but I don't see that happening this year. The Cavs have better inside-outside balance than any other team Pete Gillen has
coached in Charlottesville.
Michigan State is the most talented team in the Big Ten, but Chris Hill is obviously miscast as a point guard. Trouble is, there's nobody else to play the position, and that will be a big problem for the Spartans down the road.
Anyone else think it's unfair that Steve Fisher gets to press on unscathed at San Diego State, while Michigan is in a shambles because of violations committed on Fisher's watch?
For the life of me, I can't figure out why Georgetown and Maryland don't play each other. The fans want it, the players want it, the alumni want it. The only thing preventing it is the petty egos of the two respective coaches.
I don't know that any ranked team has its fate tied to a single player the way Florida's is tied to Brett Nelson. When Nelson is shooting well and playing under control, the Gators win. When he's playing poorly, the Gators lose like they did last week at West Virginia, a team that has little hope of
making the NCAA tournament.
This week's most overplayed storyline: exacting revenge during the regular season for losses in the previous NCAA tournament. All props to Indiana and Oregon for knocking off Maryland and Kansas, respectively, but as far as I
can tell, neither the Terps nor the Jayhawks had to take down their banners as a result.
Watching Notre Dame and Texas go at it on Sunday only affirmed in my mind that Chris Thomas and T.J. Ford are the best two point guards in the country.
I'd pay money just to sit an empty gym and watch Villanova's Gary Buchanan shoot free throws.
Big win for Kentucky in Chapel Hill on Saturday, but forgive me for being skeptical about this bunch of Wildcats. I still think they'll have more cold shooting nights than hot ones, and they'll face very few significant
opponents who are as vulnerable up front as the Tar Heels are.
College basketball's player of the year awards tend to go to the best players, not necessarily the most valuable ones. If college hoops did have a true MVP award, however, there's no doubt it should go to Luke Walton. No other player does a better job putting up star numbers while making his team
better.
Can't help but chuckle at hearing that former Florida forward James White is transferring to Cincinnati, where next season he'll play alongside juco
transfer Robert Whaley, who's had more than his share of legal troubles. Sure
hope Bob Huggins' ticker is fully recovered by then.
Why do networks insist on loading up game broadcasts with incessant chatter? The newest trend is treating sideline reporters as if they were the third members of the booth. Most color commentators already talk too much. Now we're subjected to interviews with relatives, alumni and, on occasion, with coaches whose teams are playing. Whatever happened to letting the game speak for itself?
I wish there were a way to chart shots based on how important they are within the context of the game. If there were such a stat, is there any doubt Maryland's Steve Blake would be leading the nation? Sometimes it seems as if the only shots Blake hits are the ones that help to decide games.
Kansas may be the season's biggest disappointment so far, but Western Kentucky isn't far behind. I know injuries have been a big factor, but if the Hilltoppers don't get Chris Marcus back soon and reverse course, they will have a hard time earning an at-large bid.
It's hard to defend every player who had to miss games for violating the NCAA's rule against outside competition, because the players knew the rule was there and they broke it. Still, why the heck does the NCAA even have a rule against outside competition in the first place? As long as the players are not getting paid to play, what's wrong with allowing them to play in
organized games during the offseason? Remember, these guys aren't even allowed to work out with their own coaches during the summertime.
I know Duke fans were excited to see freshmen Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams take the floor, but the Blue Devils are a much, much more dangerous team with Casey Sanders and Nick Horvath contributing the way they have. To me, nobody outside of Arizona looks as good as Duke does right now.
As long as I'm wondering about silly NCAA rules (talk about spitting into the wind), why is it okay for video game companies to produce games like EA Sports' March Madness 2003 that feature the likenesses of college players?
Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
