Eddie Griffin died last week when he crashed his car into a moving freight train.  He ignored warning lights and sirens and barricades to crash into the train.  He was burned so badly that they had to identify him through dental records.  Everyone is wondering today if it was suicide or not.  Nobody is wondering if Eddie Griffin was a troubled soul.

Some people around me, who don’t follow basketball, have been asking who he was.  I asked them if they heard of the NBA player who crashed his car while watching a porn flick last year.  Most have heard of that story and even chuckle a little bit at it but now it isn’t so funny.  Eddie Griffin was struggling in life and died an unhappy person.  Did the NBA help or hurt this kid?

When Eddie Griffin came out of high school he was one of the top recruits in the nation.  He signed with Seton Hall with a heralded recruiting class and he performed very well as a Freshman.  He was a very smooth player who had great defensive skills and who I thought would have been an all star right now.  I watched him every chance I could.  He could run, jump, shoot and block shots like crazy.  His timing was amazing.  Socially, the signs were all there that this kid had issues.  He got in a fight in high school and in knocked out a college teammate once.  Lots of kids get in fights though right?

The Houston Rockets drafted Eddie and if I remember right traded draft rights to Richard Jefferson to get him.  He was a clear cut lottery choice and every team saw it that way.  I praised the Rockets for doing it because Eddie Griffin had it all.

From there everything is a haze.  Eddie seemed to struggle with simple decisions and life with all that money.  He was an instant millionaire and reportedly hung out with the wrong people.  Most recently he was given a 3 year contract with the Twolves and then he went AWOL.  He violated the leagues substance abuse policy and went to rehab more than once.  The Twolves cut him loose and that was it.  Can you imagine what he was going through?  At a young age Eddie knew he was going to be an NBA player and expected it.  It came true and was over by the time he was 25 years old.  25 years old and everything he’d worked for was over.  That wouldn’t be an enjoyable feeling to have when you wake up one day and realize that your actions caused it all.  That accountability must have been very hard to bear.  Maybe so hard to bear that he kept trying to find it in a bottle. 

I always held out hope for Eddie and what he could do on a court.  Maybe the NBA was too much too soon or was it all inevitable.  If he had stayed in school for 3-4 years would it have been avoided or would it have happened earlier.  We’ll never know.  People have compared him to Len Bias, but Len Bias never got the chance to truly play.  Griffin did and failed to take advantage.  He should be in his 2nd or 3rd year of a max contract but instead he’s gone.  Rest in peace Eddie, finally.

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Today the United States finalized their roster of 12 as they get set for the upcoming qualifying tournament that starts on Wednesday.  The final two cuts were Kevin Durant and Nick Collison.  Yes, I said Nick Collison.  The same player that was rumored to have only benched 185 three times coming out of college.  Of course he denied it repeatedly and it didn’t hurt his draft stock.  Then as the season started he had a ball stripped out of his hands and it seriously injured both his shoulders to the point that he missed the season.  This guy is an average at best NBA player who would struggle to make the rotation of some teams.  Him being one of the final cuts scares me to death. 

On the other hand, Durant you can make a serious case for.  I wouldn’t mind having the youngster playing for the squad.  It gives him experience.  I’m sick of getting beat each year now and I’d like some of these guys to really stick around more.  Keeping Durant would accomplish that.  However, I know he is young and we want and need to win right now.  He’s still 18 or 19 years old so he’ll have plenty of chances hopefully. 

The final roster is now Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Redd, Miller, Tyson Chandler, Tayshaun Prince and Deron Williams according to Espn.  This is a very good team.  We have a great mix or scorers and defenders.  I like the addition of Prince.  This is a guy who doesn’t need the ball to be effective.  Williams, my favorite player, should do very well playing with Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups.  They have shooters finally with Michael Redd and Mike Miller.  The team lacks a lot of height but having Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard isn’t bad.  But they lack that experience down low that you like to see.  The good thing is that teams haven’t beaten us on the inside, they’ve killed us from outside. 

How would you like to defend a fast break with Lebron in the middle, Kobe on a wing and Carmelo on a wing?  I used Lebron to make it a tough choice.  If I put Kobe in the middle we all know he’d just shoot it.  I like our chances and here’s to the USA getting back to the top where they belong.

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College football is right around the corner which means college basketball is right around the corner also.  I’m so excited about it I can’t even tell you in words.  There is something about looking forward to Midnight Madness and getting annoyed with Dick Vitale within minutes of hearing him talk up Duke’s chances of winning the title.  But I thought I would list the coaches that I would most love to play for.

 5.  Roy Williams-  Great coach.  Has an apparent great relationship with his players.  Let’s the kids play a style that they all want to play.  Has a great respect for the game.  I remember when Kansas lost to Syracuse in the championship game and all the rumors were swirling about Roy going to North Carolina.  He handled that situation great and refused to answer anything directly after the game and was praised for how he handled that.  I compare him it to how Nick Saban left the Dolphins and it speaks volumes about what should take place there.

4.  Lute Olson-  The guy always gets great players and produces pro’s.  He has a very favorable playing style and his teams always win and are always a threat.  He let’s his guards play and freelance which is always a plus.  I don’t know how much is left in the tank but I’d love to have played for the guy.

3.  Paul Westhead-  Understand that while I was in junior high and high school this man coached Loyola Marymount University.  They aren’t very good now, but when he coached them they were the most fun team to watch ever.  I would stay up all hours to watch them play a game.  They had a goal to get a shot off within 5 seconds of having the ball and they simply wore teams out.  They had a kid named Jeff Frier or Fryer who would just launch shot after shot from deep and it didn’t matter if they always went in.  Westhead left Loyola to coach the Nuggets and most point records scored were set during his time in Denver.

2.  Tom Izzo-  By my top 2 you’ll know what conference I’m a giant fan of.  This guy always appears very classy and is not afraid to express how he feels about the game of basketball and the kids that play for him.  He doesn’t suffer through a lot of transfers and loves the game.  His kids play very hard and are always competitive.  Playing at Michigan st. is almost a sure loss for any team that goes in and plays.  Has the respect of his kids and the kids that play against him.

1.  Bruce Weber-  This guy can flat out coach.  I was a guard and their is nobody I’d rather play for than the Illini coach.  Most of us remember Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head and Bruce didn’t recruit any of them.  All 3 are in the NBA because of their hard work and playing for Bruce.  He let them shine.  In the game they lost to Carolina for the title, Illinois shot 40 3’s.  If I’m a good guard and have desires to be a pro I take a strong look at Illinois because Bruce knows what he’s doing to get them prepared for that level.  This past season he didn’t have as much talent and the team still won 23 games while suffering through injuries and off court problems.

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Some very good players remain unsigned for the coming season as teams decide on priorities and how much money they have left.  It was a time like this a couple years ago where Latrell Sprewell was offered a nice contract and responded with the famous quote “i need to feed my family.”  We haven’t seen or heard from Latrell since.  PJ has had more pub during the same time frame.

Espn is reporting that the Miami Heat are in talks with Sacramento about Mike Bibby.  Jason Williams and possibly Udonis Haslem would be going to Sacramento.  This is interesting because Williams basically was booted out of Sacramento when Bibby came on board and now the same thing would be happening again but this time bringing Williams back to Sacramento.  Other names in the mix are Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas.   We’ll keep on eye on this one.

The Miami Heat are still interested in getting Pietrus from Golden St.  Since Penny Hardaway signed a non guaranteed deal it doesn’t tie up any cap.  You tell me, would you rather have Pietrus or Penny?  I know who i would pick.  If I’m Penny, I’m begging Miami not to acquire Pietrus or that means the end of the Penny experiment.

Juwan Howard, who was recently acquire from Houston for Mike James, is wanting out of Minnesota before he even gets there.  He won’t have to ask for too long.  Minnesota is going young and Juwan doesn’t fit their plans at all.  He’ll be traded soon to a team in need of a veteran presence.

Lastly, I wanted to cover the rumored movement of the Sonics to Oklahoma City.  I’ve been to both places and they are both wonderful.  However, if the owners want to make money then they need to stay in Seattle.  I think Oklahoma City is a great short term choice and proved to do wonders for the New Orleans franchise when Katrina hit.  However, Seattle has a history and stability and just signed one of the most exciting young players to come into the league in years.  Now quite comparable to when Lebron signed with hometown Cleveland, but Durant will create value for the franchise like Carmelo did with Denver.  I’d stick around.  The owners have said that they wouldn’t mind even not making money if they moved the franchise, but I can’t see David Stern going for it for the sake of the league.  Players love Seattle and have always loved playing there, why risk that for the sake of a new city.  Stay in Seattle please.

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Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway has signed a contract to play for the Miami Heat next season and I’m absolutely shocked.  Penny was a very good NBA player over ten years ago when he had his last productive seasons as a pro.  Throughout his career Penny has missed more games than he has played and has a terrible history of injuries.  In fact, Penny has played a completed season only 3 times in his career. 

Why would Miami sign Penny?  I can’t grasp this one.  He is 36 years old and doesn’t have a dominating trait or skill.  As much as I’m against Reggie Miller coming back at 42, I’m more against Penny coming back.  Miller at least has a deadly shot to offer a team.  Penny doesn’t offer anything of the sort.  His main trait was his ability to make other players better and was good at a number of things.  A great passer, ballhandler and scorer when necessary, but that was years ago.  Now he just doesn’t have that athletic ability that he needs to put him over the top or to give him the competitive advantage.  I feel for the guy in that way.

I know Miami missed out on signing Eddie Jones back.  I know they missed out on Mo Williams who chose to resign with the Bucks.  But is getting a 36 year old journeyman going to solve problems?  No, it will create them.  He will do nothing but take minutes from a younger player who is just as good.  Is Penny coming back to ride the bench?  No, of course not, he wants to play and to get a ring. 
Miami won’t win this year as they didn’t get any better and if you aren’t getting better then get younger.  They didn’t do that either.

Shaq and Penny didn’t get along.  Both wanted to be the man in Orlando and clearly Shaq was the man.  Shaq still is the man.  Penny is going to need to be willing to accept a role that most players of his reputation just don’t take.  They had a rocky relationship as it was so this story is just getting started. 

Overall, why the Heat want a career 15 points, 5 assist guy is beyond me.  I personally don’t think he’ll make the team, but you never know.  I wish him the best.

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This isn’t a typo.  ESPN is reporting that the Boston Celtics and Danny Ainge have been talking with Reggie Miller about coming back and playing in a limited role for the Boston Celtics. 

Reggie Miller is 42 years old and has been out of the league for a couple years and did I mention that he is 42.  Obviously the Celtics are thinking that this guy can come in and provide 10-15 minutes a game and provide a specialty for the team.  Reggie Miller is one of the best shooters in the history of the game.  Now stats won’t exactly agree with me but this man was guarded by the team’s best defender each night and made his shots with people all over him.  Questions still remain.

 The Celtics are going to make a run at the eastern conference title this year by adding Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.  With Paul Pierce this team has 3 of the best players in the game.  Add in a specialist like Miller and it just creates more space for Garnett.  It seems to make sense.  Did I mention I think it is ridiculous.

I don’t think Reggie Miller can still play.  He has remained in shape after retiring but wasn’t exactly tearing it up when he left.  I know he’ll play in a diminished role but why not give those minutes to a younger player that you can develop a little bit.  Sure people will say they are going for the title and aren’t worried about development, but why not do both.  They are going to contend with or without Reggie Miller.  If they add him and the experiment fails they waste another year of development for a younger player.  However, if the experiment succeeds and Reggie does well but the team doesn’t, then how does that look? 

I’m not sold on it at all.  Reggie needs to stay retired with Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and all the other players that are trying to hang on.  Just let it go and walk into the sunset knowing you were a great player and had a great career.  Lastly, Reggie Miller will look hilarious in the green.  Remember how funny Michael Jordan looked in the Wizard uniform.  Reggie is a Pacer, drafted and retired and anything else is just wrong.  Stay retired Reggie or at least come back after the all star break when you can see the Celtics are good enough to win it all.  I know that the only reason he would want to play again is because of the allure of the ring. 

 We’ll see what happens, but you know what i think.

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Kobe Bryant is good.  He can play basketball as well or better than nearly anyone in the entire world.  He is loved and hated at the same time by fans all over the planet.  Why? 

People try to compare Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant all the time.  The way they could take over a game and carry a team on their shoulders for wins.  People compare the way they so easily could get endorsements and even have accused Kobe of trying to be just “like Mike”.  But he isn’t like Mike.  Not even close. 

Kobe came into the league as a brash young player who wanted to change the game right out of high school.  He wanted to prove to everyone that he not only belonged, but was a top tier player.  I don’t think it helped him that he started his career in LA.  I compare the Lakers to the Yankees.  People either love them or they hate them and the players that play for them.  The Bulls were that way for a while in that people hated the Bulls but rarely did you hear someone say they hated Michael Jordan.  But I hear daily how bad people hate Kobe Bryant.  He’s the basketball version of Barry Bonds.  People go to games to boo him and give him a hard time.  Kobe had the rape accusations against him that didn’t help his cause either and subsequently lost a lot of his endorsement deals.  At the time I thought that was ridiculous because he hadn’t been found guilty of anything and wasn’t found guilty of anything.  He bought his wife a multimillion dollar ring and she stayed with him.  Still, that made him more of a villain in many people’s eyes. 

Michael Jordan was a known gambler and someone who cheated on his wife.  He has had all sorts of attacks on his character but it never effected the way people truly looked at him.  He kept his endorsement deals and still has a bunch of them.  He is the hero.  He is Superman and to our country he is nearly our favorite sports son.

Kobe Bryant plays on the largest stage in the NBA and is loved by all Lakers fans but is even starting to turn them off by his recent trade demands.  To them he is a hero and the man who is partly responsible for bringing the Lakers their most recent titles.  What it boils down to to me is that Michael Jordan was the man for the Bulls but didn’t care who took the shot as long as they won the game.  Kobe wants to be the man who is credited for a title like Michael was or Magic was or Larry was.  Instead he’s dealing with Shaq’s presence and Shaq is the one credited for those rings. 

 I believe that Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the top 5 best players to ever play the game.  I think he’ll hold a number of records that may not be broken when all is said and done.  But to me, something is missing and Kobe is the villain.

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As much as I try to remain unbiased in a lot of ways, it is hard for me to not to show my love for the University of Illinois.  I was brainwashed at a young age by my father to love most things Chicago and it stuck.  I’m a die hard Illini fan living in Utah where I shed tears of joy when Deron Williams was selected by the Jazz a few years ago.  What does this have to do with recruiting?  I want the Illini to do well.  I want them to get the next Deron Williams.  Recruiting has changed since I was in high school.

 When I was in high school the methods were simple.  I’m 34 years old but there was no internet in 1991.  We didn’t have cell phones in 1991 that were worth anything.  We would play high school basketball and summer ball was just starting to get big.  Things have changed with the internet in a number of ways starting with websites and companies completely devoted to the recruitment of players in all sports.  I subscribe to an Illini website that I love to get all the latest updates there in basketball and football.  Coaches used to write letters and call the players.  Now the coaches write letters, call on the phone and text message like crazy.  Recently text messaging came into question by the NCAA and is probably going to be regulated.  Some players were saying they get texts in all hours of the day, so much so that they have handlers or people who handle their recruitment for them. 

 Shoe companies, who were once smaller players, have taken over college athletics.  Nike and Adidas have camps and sponsor traveling AAU teams in the summer and have an influence on kids decisions whether they push it that way or not.  It is a factor in recruiting.

 Something that I think has the largest effect are the message boards that are out there.  These free message boards allow people to post opinions on certain players and recruits and are accessible by anyone with an account.  If a kid is being recruited by Illinois he can go to the message board and see how much he is either liked or disliked and that has an obvious effect on recruiting.  I cringe when I go to the Illinois site that I subscribe to because people type things in there that could really turn a recruit off to the school and the program.  Disparaging remarks about a coach can be made and other recruits that are coming in.  Vice versa, good comments can help in a positive way. 

 These are just some of the ways that recruiting has changed in college athletics and with each turn in technology it changes more and more.

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