NBA Teams Gamble On High School Talent In 2001 Draft

Jet, July 16, 2001

Seniors fared the best in this year's NBA draft--seniors in high school that is.

Kwame Brown made history as the first high school senior chosen as the first overall pick in the draft when Michael Jordan, part-owner and president of basketball operations of the Washington Wizards, selected the 19-year-old.

The draft, held at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York, had more non-college graduates--including six high school players--than ever. The highest pick a high school player has ever gone was at No. 3 in last year's draft when the Los Angeles Clippers chose Darius Miles.

Teams that held lottery picks (top 13 overall) had their choice of seasoned, college-experienced athletes, but instead chose to gamble on players with "potential."

Brown, out of Glynn Academy in Georgia, averaged 20.1 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.8 blocked shots last season. He says he's at peace with his decision to forego his college career, and his main concern is to take care of his family.

"I guess I just made history," said Brown, one of eight children of a single mother on disability because of a sustained back injury. "It's great. I've never been so overwhelmed and nervous in my life. I'm now the representative of all high school seniors, and I have to show it wasn't a mistake."

Jordan was expected by many to trade his first pick, but instead set the tone by choosing players based on potential and developmental ability. Jordan said he has no regrets about his historic decision to draft Brown.

"He's done a lot in terms of his basketball capabilities, and it's up to (Wizards coach) Doug (Collins) as well as the Washington Wizards to help this kid develop; he certainly has the skills.

"We were entertaining possibilities, but nothing could change our minds as to what he could do for the Washington Wizards."

Tyson Chandler from Dominguez High School in Compton, CA, was the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers. Surprisingly, his rights were later dealt to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for their veteran player, Elton Brand. The media savvy Chandler was the subject of a "60 Minutes" profile when he was a 6-foot-11 freshman. The third pick went to a player from Spain who has never played in the USA, and the fourth pick was yet another high school phenom, Eddy Curry. The 6-foot-11 Curry from Thornwood High School in the Chicago suburb Harvey, IL, is delighted that he has the opportunity to play in his hometown with the Chicago Bulls.

A fourth high school player, DeSagana Diop, went to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the eighth pick. Diop is Senegalese and attended Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Jason Richardson, the early-entry sophomore from Michigan State, was the first college-experienced player chosen with the fifth pick by Golden State.

After a four-year commitment to Duke University and honored as a consensus National Player of the Year in 2001 upon winning a championship title, Shane Battier went to the Vancouver--soon to be Memphis--Grizzlies with the sixth pick.

"It may sound archaic, but I really enjoyed my four years," said Battier, the first college graduate chosen. "I have no hard feelings (about being chosen sixth); it's the nature of the NBA now. I think the Grizzlies got a hell of a player."

Although NBA Commissioner David Stern wants to set an age limit for players coming into the league, a contradictory, breakthrough message became clear on draft night: You don't have to attend college to be a top draft pick.

"There's no question you've always had a contradiction," said David Aldridge, NBA analyst for ESPN. "You've had a league say stay in school and you've had (drafted) players not stay in school."

But Aldridge said this year's draft was an exception.

"If [the NBA officials] had their wish, they would have an age limit, (but) what the draft signified is that talent ultimately always wins out. If you have talent and potential, people are going to take a chance on you. I wish kids would think about going to school, but I understand what the desire is to get [to the NBA]."

Understandably teams draft the best talent available in the position needed on the team. With tall players who possess a complete game a rarity in the league, NBA executives took risks to grab possible stars.

"All of the high school people were big men," Aldridge said. "This year you had all guys that were 6-feet-9 to 7-feet tall--that's unusual. And to have all that happen in (the same) year and all have the ability to go to the NBA is a little more unusual.

"I think next year you're only going to see three or four guys (from high school declare themselves for the draft). I don't think it is a trend line going up. I think it is going to be like a stock market: up one year, down the next."