The city of Pittsburgh, myself included, is pretty much speechless with the outcome of last night's NBA draft. Dejuan Blair, rumored to go as high as 10th overall, slipped to San Antonio at 37. Sam Young, also thought of as a potential first-rounder, went a pick ahead of Blair at 36 to Memphis. If not for the sudden death of Michael Jackson, this certainly would've been the most shocking news I heard yesterday.
In following a recent trend of Pitt athletes leaving early, the results ended up being much less than anticipated. Lesean McCoy, one of the top running backs in college football last season, went a disappointing 50th to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL draft.
I'm searching for answers as to why Blair fell so far, and the best I can come up with would be his knees, which were operated on twice while in high school. Still, he got picked behind a guy from the Congo and a guy who needs a liver transplant. I guess NBA GMs must not have seen Blair dominate #2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet twice last season.
As for Young, his age (24) apparently did him in, sending him to the basketball Siberia of Memphis, Tennessee, where careers to go die. I mean, at least Blair gets to play with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, etc. Young is going to a team that was 24-58 last year and is most famous for helping the Lakers to the Finals last year and the title this year by gifting them Pau Gasol. Good luck with that.
Now, these two young men have to earn their contracts and their PT. There are no guarantees. They literally lost millions of dollars last night. For their sake, I hope they both attach super-size chips on their shoulder immediately. If not, they can give Chris Taft a call and compare stories of whose draft-day story was worse.
I'm searching for answers as to why Blair fell so far, and the best I can come up with would be his knees, which were operated on twice while in high school. Still, he got picked behind a guy from the Congo and a guy who needs a liver transplant. I guess NBA GMs must not have seen Blair dominate #2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet twice last season.
As for Young, his age (24) apparently did him in, sending him to the basketball Siberia of Memphis, Tennessee, where careers to go die. I mean, at least Blair gets to play with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, etc. Young is going to a team that was 24-58 last year and is most famous for helping the Lakers to the Finals last year and the title this year by gifting them Pau Gasol. Good luck with that.
Now, these two young men have to earn their contracts and their PT. There are no guarantees. They literally lost millions of dollars last night. For their sake, I hope they both attach super-size chips on their shoulder immediately. If not, they can give Chris Taft a call and compare stories of whose draft-day story was worse.
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