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KoriEllis
04-28-2003, 08:45 AM
FSP Feature -- NBA Draft: Head of the Class
Monday, April 28, 2003
Head of the Class (http://www.fullsportpress.com/draft042803.html)
By LJ Ellis

As the NBA powerhouses fought for supremacy, the NBA outhouses tried to stockpile the most ping-pong balls. With more dollars on the line than any Powerball Lottery, the lure of winning the NBA Lottery had teams throwing in the towel before the All-Star break. The source of the smoke was a high school student in Ohio. NBA fans will soon learn that where there is smoke, there is LeBron James.

James, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound All-World swingman, is the most highly touted high schooler since Lew Alcindor. He's an incredibly athletic pure scorer who has an uncanny knack for the game. His mixture of skills (some scouts believe he's a good enough ball-handler and passer to play point guard in the NBA) has GM's drooling as they anoint him the game's next megastar.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the podium to shake David Stern's hand. An orange National Championship and a scouting trip to the dark backwoods of Europe left NBA pundits scratching their collective heads. As great as LeBron is, were a pair of even better prospects uncovered?

If you stayed sane during March Madness, you missed perhaps the greatest tournament showing ever by a freshman. Say hello to a mellow fellow who combines size and skills rarely found in the NBA, much less in college basketball. Say hello to Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony is a 6-foot-8, 220-pounder who has a skillset that will make him an NBA star small forward for years to come. He can shoot the lights out. He can pass like a point guard. He can rebound like a center. And maybe most importantly, he displayed the ability to play big in big games.

Thousands of miles away, in the darkness of war-ravaged European countries, a bright light shown through. Darko Milicic lit up the eyes of scouts who ventured into the antiquated gyms that Milicic calls home. The 17-year-old is being touted as perhaps the greatest European talent in the world. The 7-foot, 245-pound forward can shoot the ball and run the court like a young Kevin Garnett. Growing up in worse conditions than virtually any NBA player, Milicic has the toughness and drive to become great. If you don't know his name yet, Darko will soon give you light.

Carmelo Anthony and Darko Milicic, along with names like Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford, will get much attention, but will the team that wins the LeBron Lottery change course and go a different direction? The simple answer is "No". There isn't an NBA franchise that would take the risk. The appeal of LeBron-mania coming to town and the ticket sale increase that will follow are enough to convince any NBA owner. The talent that LeBron brings to the table is enough to convince any NBA GM. Thusly, another player going number one is an impossibility.

But if the young man with the Championship ring or the young man from an unlit corner of Europe can make an NBA franchise do a double-take, that just goes to show what type of talent will be atop this draft. So if a team gets only five of the six lottery numbers correct, there are two reasons to keep smiling that you can take to the bank.

genghisrex
04-28-2003, 11:22 PM
NBA fans will soon learn that where there is smoke, there is LeBron James.I thought the saying went: "Where there is smoke, there is Lamar Odom."

kohai
05-30-2003, 05:16 PM
^^^^...and Ghostwriter. :fro

Nbadan
06-10-2003, 08:14 AM
Just ask the Cav's if they would ever trade the draft rights for Lebron and you'll get a definite "no" before you even get to the end of the sentence. I suspect the same holds true for Milicic in Detriot. However, the same cannot be said for Carmelo Anthony or any of the remaining draft picks who will go in the first round. Late bloomers like Dwayne Wade, Kirk Hinrich and Pavel Podkolzine could make a immediate impact for the right team.

For all the talk about the foreign invasion, expect only Leandrinho Barbosa, Michael Pietrus and Zarko Charkapa to possibly make a immediate impact aside from Milicic.