Child's play

Sporting News, The, July 10, 1995 by Michael Bradley

Had Shawn Bradley remained in college for the past two years, it would have cost Brigham Young University about $40,000 to continue developing him from a 7-foot, 6-inch pipe cleaner into a real basketball player. That includes tuition, room, board, books, lab fees and extra-extra long warmup pants. It's a reasonable tab, considering Bradley might have helped the Cougars to the Final Four.

Because Bradley left Provo, Utah, after his two-year Mormon mission and brought all of one year's collegiate experience with him to the NBA, the 76ers have spent about $5.3 million (of an eight-year, $44-million deal) to introduce Bradley to professional basketball. For their outlay, the Sixers have received two years (one cut short by a knee injury) of wildly inconsistent--and sometimes downright awful--play and the promise of more growing pains next season. Bradley is coming around, slowly, but his production at center hasn't been worth anywhere near what the Sixers have paid him. There is no guarantee, of course, that Bradley will ever blossom into the imposing force the 76ers envisioned when they made him the second pick in the 1993 draft. There is also no certainty that if he ever does emerge as a star, Bradley won't thank the Sixers for their patience and take his spindly body back to his native Utah for an even fatter free-agent contract.

"It's almost like we're getting these young guys ready for the next coach," Sixers Coach and G.M. John Lucas says. "It's hard to assess players when they come out of school after their senior seasons, but with guys who leave after their freshman or sophomore years, you have to give them two years of fundamental work. The things you take for granted with some rookies, they don't have."

Lucas isn't alone in his concerns. All around the NBA, teams are drafting raw underclassmen on the margin and hoping that patience and on-the-job training will trans-form them into productive professional players. And unlike colleges, which invest the cost of an education in the quest for a winning team, NBA franchises spend millions on 19-and 20-year-olds, many of whom are clearly unprepared physically, mentally and emotionally for the pro game.

Last week's draft was a perfect example of how the NBA has changed from a showcase for the world's best players into a developmental league for its future stars. The first five players picked have NCAA eligibility remaining, and one, Chicago high school star Kevin Garnett, hasn't even played a minute of college ball. A record 10 underclassmen were chosen in the first round.

The first four players selected were sophomores--Joe Smith by the Warriors, Antonio McDyess by the Clippers, Jerry Stackhouse by the 76ers and Rasheed Wallace by the Bullets. Five juniors were selected later in the first round -- Gary Trent by the Bucks, Corliss Williamson by the Kings, David Vaughn by the Magic, Mario Bennett by the Suns and Cory Alexander by the Spurs.

Underclassmen enter the league with significant deficiencies in their games and steeper learning curves than if they had spent four years in school. Some will become outstanding pros, but others will stumble.

For every Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber or Shawn Kemp who has flourished immediately despite leaving college early, there are several more failures--remember Dennis Hopson, Luther Wright, William Bedford or Jerrod Mustaf? The reasons for their failures vary, from poor fundamentals to immaturity. And though some might never have succeeded, no matter how long they remained on campus, others get lost in the league's drive to win now and fail to get the proper nurturing they need. And yet nothing can stop the flow of underclassmen into the NBA because no court in the country would uphold a rule that prohibits teams from drafting them. It's also tough to fault the kids for leaving school early and collecting millions of dollars.

"A lot of what you're doing is paying a guy a lot of money and hoping by the end of the contract the total dollars invested are worth it," Trail Blazers President and G.M. Bob Whitsitt says. "We know the first few years are going to be cloudy, but we hope it's sunny at the back end of the deal."

That's quite a chance to take in a business where front-office personnel and coaches have little job security. The draft process is an inexact science to begin with, and now teams are being asked to analyze prospects who have incomplete resumes and particularly underdeveloped personalities. Lee Rose, the Bucks' vice president of player personnel, complains about the difficulties of projecting intangibles such as heart, perseverance and the ability to take criticism in 19-year-olds who spend their leisure time playing Mortal Kombat. It's also more difficult to assess a player's game properly in one or two seasons, rather than four. And Garnett is just a few weeks removed from his senior prom. He can't be expected to comport himself like a 25-year-old veteran--even though he'll be paid like one. By the time the Timberwolves are done babysitting Garnett for three years, he could be free to go elsewhere, thanks to a new collective-bargaining agreement.