spurschick
06-11-2006, 09:16 AM
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/basketball/nba/golden_state_warriors/14793894.htm
American basketball comes under scrutiny
IT IS, ONCE AGAIN, fashionable to bash American basketball players.
With German native Dirk Nowitzki leading Dallas to the NBA Finals (the first foreign-born player since Hakeem Olajuwon to do so), with international players making up 20 percent of the league, talk has turned to the ills of American basketball. And NBA commissioner David Stern is talking about doing something.
"There is something totally wrong with the development system for young basketball players," Stern said Friday at his annual NBA Finals news conference. "It historically has not been the place for professional leagues to do (something about) it, but on the basis of the consistent failures of everyone else to do it, we are at least thinking about it, and we'll be getting some dialogue with some interested parties to see if there's something that can be done here."
While this is part paranoia and another veiled swipe at urban culture (Don't be mistaken -- we are talking about the African-American ball player. Nobody's concerned about Adam Morrison's fundamentals), it's encouraging to hear the NBA is prepared to act considering the NBA shares in the blame.
It is the NBA that cornered the market on marketing individuality and showmanship. It is the NBA and its executives that have passed over fundamentally adept, well-round players to draft flashy-but-raw prospects. It is the NBA that has failed to put pressure on the NCAA -- whose rules force athletes to pass on the tutelage of college basketball for the financial stability of the NBA -- to share some of the riches they make off the players.
Stern said the league is figuring out a solution. The NBA has helped the cause recently by developing a minor league, which gives players another option besides college to hone their skills before joining the league, but the NBA Development League needs work.
At a gathering in Chicago last winter, NBA officials met with NCAA president Myles Brand; officials from Nike; college coaching legends Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and George Raveling; and AAU reps to discuss how to address problems with American basketball. According to ESPN, a follow-up meeting was held recently.
"The roster of NBA teams is going to be enriched by huge numbers of international players, and it's going to happen," Stern said. "But I also believe that the production of American players and their development is going to go through a renaissance. If we have to fuel it ourselves, OK. Maybe we're viewing it as our obligation to become involved in something we never wanted to touch because it was both unpleasant and possibly deleterious to their academic health, but we're talking about it internally."
It's hard to say the rise of international players is cause for such alarm. Twenty percent is not a lot when you're talking about a pool of players consisting of five other continents. Looking at the stars of the league now, it's hard to say to the American game is in bad hands. No international players are coming in and making the immediate impact players such as LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul are making.
Plus, players get better while in the league because the NBA has the best coaches and the most resources in the world. Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and the like, got better because they took advantage of the opportunities in the NBA.
That said, it wouldn't hurt to change the focus of youth basketball and start solidifying the foundation of American basketball. And the NBA should lead the way.
American basketball comes under scrutiny
IT IS, ONCE AGAIN, fashionable to bash American basketball players.
With German native Dirk Nowitzki leading Dallas to the NBA Finals (the first foreign-born player since Hakeem Olajuwon to do so), with international players making up 20 percent of the league, talk has turned to the ills of American basketball. And NBA commissioner David Stern is talking about doing something.
"There is something totally wrong with the development system for young basketball players," Stern said Friday at his annual NBA Finals news conference. "It historically has not been the place for professional leagues to do (something about) it, but on the basis of the consistent failures of everyone else to do it, we are at least thinking about it, and we'll be getting some dialogue with some interested parties to see if there's something that can be done here."
While this is part paranoia and another veiled swipe at urban culture (Don't be mistaken -- we are talking about the African-American ball player. Nobody's concerned about Adam Morrison's fundamentals), it's encouraging to hear the NBA is prepared to act considering the NBA shares in the blame.
It is the NBA that cornered the market on marketing individuality and showmanship. It is the NBA and its executives that have passed over fundamentally adept, well-round players to draft flashy-but-raw prospects. It is the NBA that has failed to put pressure on the NCAA -- whose rules force athletes to pass on the tutelage of college basketball for the financial stability of the NBA -- to share some of the riches they make off the players.
Stern said the league is figuring out a solution. The NBA has helped the cause recently by developing a minor league, which gives players another option besides college to hone their skills before joining the league, but the NBA Development League needs work.
At a gathering in Chicago last winter, NBA officials met with NCAA president Myles Brand; officials from Nike; college coaching legends Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and George Raveling; and AAU reps to discuss how to address problems with American basketball. According to ESPN, a follow-up meeting was held recently.
"The roster of NBA teams is going to be enriched by huge numbers of international players, and it's going to happen," Stern said. "But I also believe that the production of American players and their development is going to go through a renaissance. If we have to fuel it ourselves, OK. Maybe we're viewing it as our obligation to become involved in something we never wanted to touch because it was both unpleasant and possibly deleterious to their academic health, but we're talking about it internally."
It's hard to say the rise of international players is cause for such alarm. Twenty percent is not a lot when you're talking about a pool of players consisting of five other continents. Looking at the stars of the league now, it's hard to say to the American game is in bad hands. No international players are coming in and making the immediate impact players such as LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul are making.
Plus, players get better while in the league because the NBA has the best coaches and the most resources in the world. Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and the like, got better because they took advantage of the opportunities in the NBA.
That said, it wouldn't hurt to change the focus of youth basketball and start solidifying the foundation of American basketball. And the NBA should lead the way.