Bowing to Seniority :: Documentary Journalism Sports Basketball Papers

Bowing to SeniorityWith the dearth of good centers in college basketball, one would expect that Xavier University would want David westerly, their All-American center who averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior, to return for his senior season. But West did not feel so welcome.Honestly, it felt like they wanted me to leave, West said. not Coach Thad Matta specifically, but most people seemed to be pushing me out the door to the NBA.Eventually, West decided to return for his senior season, and then became part of a dying breed college seniors who get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. In the last two NBA drafts, high school players and college underclassmen outnumbered the college senior first round picks 19-13, with solely four college seniors going in the first round in the June 2004 draft. In 1999, 13 seniors went in the first round.The number of lottery picks (teams who do not contact the playoffs, the first 14 picks of the draft) shows the disparity mo re clearly with more underclassmen being drafted in the lottery by an 11 to 5 margin. Before the New siege of Orleans Hornets took West with the 18th pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, he had a successful senior season at Xavier, where he was an All-American and the Associated Press Collegiate Player of the Year. As minor as eight years ago, West probably would perk up been a top five pick as prospects were still valued more for their capability to contribute right away rather than their potential. But because of what Mississippi State University Coach Rick Stansbury calls a disturbing trend, that of underclassmen entering the draft with greater and greater frequency, West fell completely out of the lottery. Some argue that the slide through the draft of seniors like West has to compete with not only the development of college underclassmen entering the draft, but also international prospects who have the upside to be superstars, even though many teams have seen very little of them act ually play. However, West does not think that the international players have affected the draft that much.If you can play, you can play, said West. Im not worried about what (European) guys can do. American guys have shown what they can do. In the end, if you can play, theyre not going to let you go. Over the past 10 years, the mindset of the NBA prospect has changed.