jtex316
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« on: March 13, 2006, 04:09:44 pm » |
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Last night on ESPN, I watched the Sebastian Telfair movie, but I missed the last 30 mins or so, and just was hearing it in and out. But I got enough of the jist of it - a local high-school prodigy announces that he will play his collegiate ball with Rick Ptino at Louisville, only to enter the NBA draft and leave the whole state of Kentucky hanging.
The Movie Itself:
The movie itself was like watching a "behind the scenes" of the And-1 Mix Tape Tour. It's a little uncomfortable for me to watch a punk-kid who's 17 years old to be treated like royalty, when he hasn't even done anything yet.
A great part in the movie was when they showed his first televised game. Everything was going perfect for Telfair, Derek Jeter and Jay-Z were in the stands, and ESPN televised the game. All of a sudden, in a loose ball scramble, Telfair flops to the ground, rithing in pain. The arena was dead quiet. The injury was just a medium ankle sprain, which he toughed out and played through in the 2nd half.
Sebastian Telfair - The Player
For the next Michael Jordan of the NBA, he sure leaves a lot to be desired. His jump shot mechanics are very faulty, very frequently he fades-away at shots, even when he doesn't have to, and he has a questionable release, leading to innacurate shooting and shotty shotting PCT's. Also, I think he carries way too much when driving, something that should be called in the NBA, but won't. Also, the movie made mention that he's very generously listed as 6'0, when in fact he is 5'10.5 or 5'11. He need to seriously hit the weight room and put on a good 15 lbs of solid muscle, or he will last 10 days in the NBA.
Telfair's Coaches in HS / Telfair's teammates
It never seemed as if the coaches ever did any coaching in this movie, and did a lot of "You da man, "bass", you da man they came to see!". There is one exception when the assistant coach starts yelling at him, but I couldn't even understand what he was saying, and Telfair was probably dreaming of dollar signs instead of paying attention. I think that the movie making absolutely zero mention of any of his teammates at all kinda sucked, it's always good to hear what teammates say, I think.
Sebastian Telfair - The Person
There's not really anything I can realistically expect from a 17-year old that has been told since he's been 12 and 13 that he's going to be the next Michael Jordan of the NBA, and that is surrounded by people constantly hyping him up. No doubt, he is incredibly talented, but at the NBA level, that will buy you a Coney Island Hot Dog, and that's about it.
Then comes the part of the movie that I unfortunately missed. Didn't he hold a press conference, announcing him going to Louisville? Didn't he even play a game at the school, and everyone was going crazy for him? How did he wind up in the NBA as a Portland Trail Blazer? What happened to wanting to be taught by Rick Pitino?Â
Telfair's current NBA Progress
Telfair, although only in his 2nd NBA Season, is a mediocre NBA player, with a lot of upside. He's young, and still developing, but on the wrong team & coaching staff, IMO. He is not the starting PG on the Blazers, plays about 15-20 mins / game, and is showing slight improvements as a defender, even though he is committing one more foul per game on average. However, his offensive production is down this season, as his FG% and FT% #'s are down. His 3-Point shooting percentage has skyrocketed by about 25%, but he's already doubled his 3-point shot attempts, and is on pace to triple it by season's end, hence his 2 PPG increase this season, which now stands at almost 9 PPG. He had his season high in November, scoring 27 points at, where else, MSG vs. The Knicks.
Overview - Comments
In my opinion, Sebastian Telfair is nothing but a bunch of hype, from the capital of hyping bums up, New York City and it's surrounding area. Usually, this is done with the hacks that play street ball in Rucker Park, who wind up as alternates on NBDL rosters. This time, it's a high-school player. While Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James have been phenominal and complete successes, Kuwame Brown, Dorrell Wright, Tyson Chandler, and dozens and dozens of others continue to prove why high school basketball players NEED to play in college for at least a few seasons before entering the NBA.
Do I blame Sebastian for anything? I don't think so. It's hard to live up to everyone's expectations, and when they throw multi-million dollar shoe endorsements in your face, it's incredibly tough to walk away from it. I know I personally wouldn't.
But now that Telfair has all the money in the world, and is buying family members cars and houses, will he regret simply holding out a few seasons, going to college, developing his game, and then entering the NBA draft? If he went to college, he would have, for less money (but still rich, but not just as filthy rich as now, but still retardedly rich nonetheless), had a 12-15 year NBA career, and maybe a chance to become a Hall-of-Fame NBA Player, and who knows, one of the all-time greats. Instead, Telfair in 2 seasons will, at 22, contribute everything he can possibly, and live out the rest of his years as either a drug addict, a self-proclaimed rap / hip-hop mogul, or get arrested for soliciting prostitution or carrying a concealed weapon, sending him to disappear, right along with his 15 minutes of fame, with Maurice Clarett somewhere very distant or remote.
The sad thing is, Brooklyn-ites will still continue to gloat how great Telfair was, and how much of a legend he is. They will be alone in their opinions, like they usually are. But just ask any Louisville fans how they feel about him - believe me, they're tracking his stats and reading the newspapers for his name, and they'll be the first to tell you how and when he screws up. And guess what, I think they should. It's not perfect, but it's never too late to bring someone down from the high horse that they got put on by everyone else around them.
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