The next Lebron?

I hate seeing these type of stories. But this kid is legit.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/20101228_Philly-area_teen_could_become_latest_basketball_phenom.html

 

I think I first started hearing about LeBron when he was 14. I don't doubt this kid's talent, but I hope he stays healthy and doesn't do anything stupid for the next five years.

 

I can hardly wait for his ESPN special after the season to announce he's taking his talents to South Beach High School.

 

Delonte West wants to meet the mother.

 

At 6-foot-8 in middle school he's a freak. If he doesn't grow anymore he'll be 6-foot-8 as a high school senior. Still tall, but certainly not a freak for high school basketball, especially in a market like Philly.

At 6-foot-8, he will be playing nothing but the post from now until he finishes high school, so his skill set will be limited to that. A 6-foot-8 post player in the NBA will be up against 7-foot post players. Could he have a terrific college career as a 6-foot-8 post player? Absolutely. But to have an NBA career, he will either need to grow a couple more inches or develop a skill set where he can play #4 or even #3.

There are a ton of players in that 6-7, 6-8 ballpark who get caught in a trap of "not tall enough for NBA post and wrong skill set for NBA #4." It happens so much because high school centers are often only 6-4 or 6-5. So anyone taller than that gets stuck in the paint for their entire high school careers and don't develop an outside game.

Not saying the kid won't make it. But only time will tell. We had a kid a couple years ago who was about 6-4. Played the post and dominated -- close to 30ppg and 12rpg his senior year. But he ended up at JUCO because he simply didn't have a position to play at the next level. Kind of like in football when a good college defensive end is too small for an NFL d-line and not quick enough to move to linebacker. They simply get shuffled out because they don't have a skill set that matches their size.

 

Karl Malone is 6-9. Carmelo Anthony is listed at 6-8. Seems they did and are doing just fine in the NBA playing forward.

 

I thought this was about Terrelle Pryor.

 

By "post" I meant center. Should have used the word "center" instead as "post" also refers to power forward. My bad. And yes, if he can develop a good jumper like Malone and Carmelo and can develop that power forward skill set, he can make it. But if he graduates high school without ever developing a jumper because he's been buried under the basket all his life he'll be in trouble. The JUCO kid I mentioned above was great in high school because he played so well under the basket. But at only 6-4, he was forced to move away from the basket at the next level and he never developed that skill set. Malone and Carmelo had/have good outside games. They don't need to be under the basket to score.

All I'm saying is, I hope the kid has a coach who will help him develop that skill set and not hinder his development by just burying him in the paint. I've seen too many kids like that flame out.

 

He's only 13. He has skills to play forward. And even if he only played the post, I remember a kid by the name of Moses Malone who made out pretty well there.

 

He's 13 and we're comparing him to Moses Malone?

When he's selling crack in 10 years and crying about how he couldn't live up to all the pressure, I'm going to give him Drip's phone number.

 

Exactly. Who remembers reading how Greg Oden would be the most defensively dominant center since Bill Russell? Or the profiles of Schea Cotton as the next NBA superstar?

I learned long ago to wait until these kids have reached the backside of puberty to start predicting their future. Lebron is the exception, most 14 year old prodigies never meet the dreamy expectations.

 

These stories suck.

Except for when Drip deems it validated.

I heard he has a mean backdoor play.