Good article in NY Times calling out NCAA for double standard- Perry Jones III

Proverbs 20:10 reads, "Unequal weights and measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord."

There is a good opinion piece in the New York Times discussing the unequal treatments of Perry Jones III- a talented basketball player at Baylor University and Jim Calhoun- a highly successful coach at national champion UCONN.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time around Jones earlier this year. I was invited by Baylor to go on a trip with the basketball team to Lubbock, Texas to watch them play Texas Tech.

Hard to imagine a more humble kid than Jones. He along with the other freshman players grabbed my bags as they came off the plane and loaded them onto the team bus- something that made me feel very uncomfortable but it is a rite of passage with the Baylor basketball team. Freshmen have to pay their dues by doing things like this on the road. And they are expected to show gratitude to the guests that travel with them by little gestures like this.

I was having a hard time imagining a Duke or North Carolina player having to carry other peoples' bags. There was something refreshing about it. No sense of prima donna in Perry. Here was a kid that will soon have agents and NBA personnel catering to his every whim and he's doing something without any aura of entitlement.

Perry seemed to love the camaraderie with his teammates and coaches. He's one of those guys that is light-hearted and keeps the conversation from being serious. During dinner, calamari came out as an appetizer and a couple of the players had never tried it before. I urged Perry to give it a try. He did but clearly not his thing. We had a discussion about who the best point guard in the NBA was and rap music. I came away thinking, "This is just a kid. Hasn't even tried calamari."

Two months later the NCAA is handing down a ridiculous punishment considering the alleged offense- his mom borrowed money to pay the rent and Perry accepted an invitation to watch a Dallas Cowboys' preseason game. For this the NCAA suspended him six games including just hours before the Big 12 tournament game against Oklahoma.

Now he's grappling with the decision of whether to go pro before he's probably mentally and emotionally ready as a true freshman. If he decides to turn pro, he will likely be one of the top 10 picks in the NBA draft due to his freakish athletic potential. Innocence lost and the NCAA has its part in that.

Here's the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/opinion/09nocera.html

Jason King from Yahoo Sports had written similar thoughts a month earlier:

If Perry shocks the Baylor nation and decides to come back next year, a strong case can be made for Baylor to make a title run:

They have stockpiled a lot of talent in the frontcourt. All of these players were rated in the top 50 in the nation at some point during their high school years:

6'11" 265 Senior Bobo Morgan (3 pts; 2 reb; 1 block)
6'11" 235 Soph Perry Jones (top 10 national player- 14pts; 7 reb; 1 block)
6'10" 190 Senior Anthony Jones (9 pts; 5 reb; 52% FG; 82% FT)
6'9" 220 Soph Cory Jefferson (redshirted)
6'9" 210 Freshman Quincy Miller (top 10 national player)
6'5" 180 Freshman Deuce Bello

what is scary about that frontcourt talent is that it doesn't include perhaps Baylor's best frontcourt player: 6'7" 225 lb senior Quincy Acy who averaged 12 pts and 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Acy brings an aggressiveness to the position that the others don't have.

Fred Ellis is another senior- 3pts/ 2 reb. The questions for Baylor are in the backcourt. They lose their top scorer- Lace Dunn. Dunn averaged 20 ppg, but shot a career low 40% from the field and averaged almost 4 turnovers per game.

AJ Walton (PG) led the big 12 in steals at 2.3 per game. AJ struggled with the primary ball-handling responsibilities. He did average 5 assists and 8 pts but turned it over 3 times per game. He also shot only 63% from the foul line.

Walton should have plenty of help this year. Hopefully, Baylor lands JUCO all-American Pierre Jackson from the College of Southern Idaho. Jackson is visiting Baylor this weekend. He's a 5'9" freakishly athletic PG who can get to the hoop with his speed/strength and also makes good decisions in distribution. Jackson also visited Creighton and is being heavily recruited by them and other teams in need of guard help. But it looks like Creighton and Baylor have the inside track here.

Baylor also has Stargell Love an athletic guard who was injured a bunch as a freshman. And two impact transfers in Brady Heslip- Boston College. Brady is a tremendous shooter. Gary Franklin is the other transfer- from Cal. Franklin averaged over 8 pts as a true freshman for Mike Montgomery but parted ways and transferred to Baylor. Franklin is eligible for the 2nd semester of the 2011-2012 season.

With or without Perry Jones, Baylor looks to field a much more balanced team with weapons inside and out. It is a shame that Perry's freshman season ended in such disappointment. It would be great to see him enjoy college basketball by making a deep postseason run instead of becoming the target of the NCAA's unequally-weighted policies.

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