| Going High School Authored by Billy Ray - June 24, 2005 - 3:02 pm
With the new CBA now in place requiring the minimum age to apply for the draft to be 19, as well as for American prep players to be one year removed from graduation, is it possible that the Trail Blazers will decide to stock up on high school players one last time?
The Trail Blazers have never shied away from selecting a player directly out of high school. During Bob Whitsitt’s tenure the Blazers drafted Jermaine O’neal and Travis Outlaw. During John Nash’s first year as the Blazers GM the team drafted Sebastian Telfair.
With an influx of high school talent due to the age limit, would the Blazers be wise to take a couple high schoolers and try to develop them one last time?
It’s hard telling. Despite the fact that the Blazers have had a decent track record developing young talent as players such as O’neal, Bonzi Wells, Zach Randolph and now the emerging Travis Outlaw and Sebastian Telfair, developing a high schooler is not a sure thing.
While Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudemire, and O’neal have all become quintessential superstars, their high school counter parts such as Ousmane Cisse, DeSagana Diop, Lenny Cooke, Travis Outlaw and Ndudi Ebi have all been less than stellar. Meanwhile even highly touted prep-to-pro players such as Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler finally started hitting their strides this year—their fourth in the league.
Do the Blazers want to wait four years for a player who might never develop?
Sitting at the third pick with the biggest positional need being shooting guard, the Blazers are lucky enough to boast the opportunity to select the “pick of the litter” when it comes to the shooting guard position. But two of the three top rated shooting guards in the draft—Gerald Green, and Martell Webster—are high school guards.
While the Blazers have demonstrated success with O’neal and early signs of some success with Outlaw and Telfair, it has taken Outlaw two whole seasons to finally show promise. It will most likely take Telfair at least another season before fans can finally see what he brings to the table. Although Telfair has been greatly aided by receiving the playing time that Outlaw has still yet to benefit from.
As with many players, the best way to truly develop is time on the court. With the Blazers fully immersed in rebuilding mode, it would seem that the team could be more open to drafting a player out of high school and going through many of the up’s and down’s on the court. But as losses mount so does the bad habits that have forced some teams in the NBA to live in the cellar.
If either Green or Webster were selected by the Blazers they would get an opportunity that many Blazer rookies that have developed into solid players didn’t get in Portland, at least initially—playing time.
Derek Anderson is the incumbent shooting guard on the team, but has battled injuries and management for the better part of two seasons. It’s clear that both Anderson and the team are trying to find an amicable way to severe the relationship, but with Anderson’s contract one of the least friendly in the league at this moment, there is a good chance Anderson will be back.
Anderson along with 2004 first round draft selection Sergei Monya would provide Green or Webster adequate competition in practice as well as competition for playing time while not being direct detriments to the development of either player. Anderson can also play point guard while Monya looks more like a small forward with the ability to play shooting guard.
Regardless of the make up of the team going into the start of next season, Blazer fans will most likely be in for a treat. While not championship contenders the Blazers have a chance to compete for a playoff spot if they can find the right mix. The glaring need from next season may be remedied in this upcoming draft. But will it be yet another high schooler injected into the Blazer mix.
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