Constructing a College Team Without Top Recruits

I love college basketball. I follow high school recruiting closely. I think the guys that evaluate talent for a living do an excellent job- Jerry Meyer and Eric Bossi at Rivals. Dave Telep, Evan Daniels, Gary Parrish and others...

But there are always misses that end up being All-American type players. So I decided to look at how good a team I could construct only with guys that didn't make the Rivals top 100 list.

I'd take my chances with this bunch. It is debatable whether this team would win a national championship with a spare like me coaching, but the basketball IQ of this group would offset a ton of coaching deficiencies that I would bring to the table.

PG: Jordan Taylor 6'1" 195lbs- Wisconsin. He was rated #124 in the 2008 class. Tough physical guard that shoots 42% from 3 and 83% from the foul line. He averaged 18 pts for Wisconsin (a low scoring team). What is most impressive about him is that he had almost a 5:1 assist to turnover ratio.

SG: Jimmer Fredette 6'2" 195lbs- BYU. Not rated in the 2007 class. He scores in a variety of ways. 45% from the field and 89% from the free throw line. Nearly a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. Averaged 29 pts per game.

SF: Jimmy Butler 6'7" 220lbs- Marquette. Not rated in the 2007 class. Exudes mental toughness. Good defender. Not a great outside shooter but serviceable. Averaged 16 pts and 6 rebounds. 78% from the free throw line.

PF: Derrick Williams 6'8" 241lbs- Arizona. Not rated in the 2009 class. An absolute beast. 20 pts per game; 8 rebounds; 60% from the field; 75% free throws. 57% from 3 points (42-74). A nightmare cover- if you try to take the 3 away you are likely to get posterized on a drive.

C: Kenneth Faried 6'8" 225lbs- Morehead State. Not rated in the 2007 class. Another beast. Tenacious rebounder- second jump is incredibly quick. Averaged 17 pts and 14.5 rebounds. Doesn't shoot free throws well- 57% but does shoot 62% from the field. High energy player- 2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.

There were many players I was disappointed to see they had just made the Rivals top 100 cut- Jordan Williams from Maryland; Matt Howard from Butler; Brad Wanamaker from Pitt and Quincy Acy from Baylor are all guys I would love to have on this team. But all four were in the top 100 Rivals lists for their senior years of high school.

Bench: I'm going with an 8-man rotation. I want a scorer off the bench who can give instant offense. This was my hardest decision. I've been a huge admirer of Jacob Pullen. Probably should put him on this list. But his shot selection is suspect at times. And I've had a man crush on Andrew Goudelock from the College of Charleston. So he gets the nod.

Guard: Andrew Goudelock 6'2" 200 lbs from College of Charleston- not rated in 2007. He averaged 24 pts per game; 41% from 3; 46% from the field and 83% from the free throw line. And I doubt any player in the country faced more box and ones than Goudelock. He scored 28 pts in a close loss at UNC. And 31 points at Tennessee in a 91-78 victory.

Guard: Ben Hansbrough 6'4" 206 lbs from Notre Dame. Unranked in the 2006 class. Like his brother Tyler just has a will to win. 18 pts; 4 rebounds; 2:1 assists to turnovers; 82% free throws; he gets to the line; hard nosed defender.

Forward: Keith Benson 6'11" 230lbs from Oakland University. Unranked in 2007. I struggled between him and Ezeil from Vandy. Gave the nod to Benson. He averaged 18 pts; 10 rebounds and 3.6 blocks. He's a grinder. Very active player who can give this team defense off the bench.

So that is my squad. Give me a month of practice and I would be happy to go to war against Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio State, Duke and other schools filled with top 100 national recruits.

One And Done- When Should a Player Go Pro?

I love hoops. Admittedly I'm a huge Baylor basketball fan. It was a tough year to be a fan. High expectations to start the season. The team was plagued by turnovers; sloppy play and just never hit its groove. Just a year ago, I was traveling all over the country to follow Baylor as they made it to the elite 8 where they lost in a terrific game against Duke (the eventual national champs).

One of the reasons for optimism heading into the 2010-2011 season was an athletic freak named Perry Jones. Perry Jones is 6'11" 235 lbs and has athletic skill that is extraordinary. He runs like a deer. His leaping ability is elite. He has a silky smooth jumper. But he is raw. He still struggles in many of the fundamental aspects of the game. Young and still learning.

Pro scouts are drooling over his potential. But many believe that he could use another year in college to hone his skills. But if he does decide to declare for the NBA draft after his freshman season (where he averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds), he will likely be drafted in the lottery (the first 14 picks in the 1st round) based on his potential.

The NY Times ran a good story on Perry earlier this month.

The question I will explore in this blog is should a player like Perry Jones go pro after his freshman year? Most basketball fans say, "Yes, take the money. You can always go back to school." But is this a wise financial decision?

The first 14 picks in the NBA draft have a rookie salary scale. This scale determines how much salary they will earn in the first 3 years of their NBA career. Those salaries range from an average per year of $4,752,000 for the top pick to $1,681,067 for the 14th pick in the draft.

After taking care of family members, agents (5%) and the government (45%), the player is often left with not so much to show for that first contract. The key to a successful NBA career from a financial perspective is getting the big 2nd contract and cashing in on endorsement deals.

Kevin Durant is a great example of this. He was clearly ready to go pro after dominating college basketball his freshman year at the University of Texas. He averaged 26 points; 11 rebounds; 2 blocks; 2 steals and was college basketball's player of the year. He has been an all-star in the NBA and recently signed a contract extension for $86 million for 5 years. He also reportedly signed a 7-year $60 million endorsement deal with Nike. In hindsight, his decision to go pro was a no-brainer.

There have been other forwards that we can compare Perry Jones to athletically that have also seemed to cash in well on going pro after one year in college. From 2003-2008 One and Dones (Forwards only) have produced Star NBA players- Carmelo Anthony; Chris Bosh; Luol Deng and Kevin Love. Solid NBA players- Thaddeus Young; Michael Beasley; Marvin Williams; and Tyrus Thomas. But also some guys that I would consider disappointments from the perspective that they weren't productive enough to get large 2nd contracts. Anthony Randolph; Brandan Wright and Kris Humphries. In each of those cases, those players would have probably been well served to stay in college longer.

The financial risk is not so great if a player stays in school from an injury standpoint. NCAA athletes are covered by a disability insurance program that allows them to take out loans to pay premiums at low interest rates. This coverage would pay up to $5 million in case of injury that prevents the athlete from getting drafted where he was projected before the injury. Loans while in college that help produce revenue for the NCAA are okay. But if a family friend gives your mom a loan to help pay the mortgage while you are an amateur, you will incur the wrath of the NCAA. But I digress.

There are plenty of college players who decided to come back another year and have used that extra honing of skill/experience to catapult them into NBA stardom and riches. Three come to mind without doing too much research- Blake Griffin; Lamarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay.

The big decision for Perry and his family to make in weighing the decision is: Is he ready for the NBA physically and emotionally? Would another year of college improve his draft stock? Would it help him secure larger endorsement deals if Baylor were to make a deep NCAA run next year?

On the surface, it seems like the wise decision is to take the guaranteed money. But in reality:

1. The first contract is not that lucrative after taxes and agent fees.
2. The key to financial security in the NBA is the 2nd and 3rd contracts and also lucrative endorsement deals.

Would the player set himself up for a better chance of #2 if he stayed or went? That is the key question in my mind.

Ashley Hodge