Prepsters impact college and pros

By Alan Rubenstein Sports Central Columnist

Kevin Garnett's entry into the 1995 NBA draft surprised many at the time and changed the NBA landscape forever. When the Minnesota Timberwolves made Garnett the fifth-pick in the 1995 draft, Garnett became only the fourth player to jump from high school directly to the NBA.

The influx of prepsters to the league has robbed college basketball of many of its brightest potential stars and altered recruiting and the way fans, media, and coaches follow college hoops. Only twice in the last 12 NBA drafts has the top-pick completed college. Tim Duncan was selected by San Antonio out of Wake Forest in 1997 and Kenyon Martin went from Cincinnati to the Nets in 2000. Only nine of the 29 players selected in the first-round had completed four years of college. The 2003-04 college basketball season will be impacted greatly by players who went pro or decided to enroll at the schools where they signed letters of intent.

Ndudi Ebi was expected to make a Mike Bibby-type impact at Arizona. Instead, however, the 6-10 power forward from Houston will likely become Garnett's understudy in Minnesota. If he had honored his commitment to Arizona, Ebi might have upped his stock in addition to putting himself in the national spotlight similar to how Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse to a national championship this past March. "We thought if he came to school he could have been in the lottery, if not high-lottery in a year or so," Arizona assistant Josh Pastner said.

Without Ebi, the Wildcats will take on a different look next season. Junior Isaiah Fox is likely to main the power forward spot in Tucson. Don cry for Arizona, though, the 'Cats should still be among the nation's top-five when practice commences in October. In addition to Ebi, Arizona has to replace departed seniors Luke Walton, Rick Anderson, and Jason Gardner. Guard Salim Stoudamire and center Channing Frye will become the team leaders with Fox.

Also returning for Arizona are perimeter players Andre Igoudala and Hassan Adams, guard Chris Rodgers, and redshirt freshman Chris Dunn. Although the Wildcats will not have as much of an inside presence with Ebi in the NBA, Arizona will have one of the most athletic teams in that nation and should be an exciting team to watch.

Charlie Villanueva was one of the most interesting players to follow this past season. The 6-9 power forward from Blair Academy in New Jersey originally committed to Illinois. When Bill Self left to take over the Kansas program, Villanueva reneged on his verbal intent to attend Illinois. After he was not guaranteed that he would be selected in the first-round, Villanueva opted to attend Connecticut after considering Kansas.

The Huskies would have been the number one preseason with or without Villanueva. His addition makes UConn the overwhelming favorite to hoist the NCAA trophy in San Antonio next season. UConn returns pre-season All-Americans Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon. The addition of Villanueva makes an already deep team even deeper and strengthens the Huskies' hold on number one.

Travis Outlaw became the second player to pass on the collegiate experience in Starksville, MS. The athletic small forward will instead use his wares to begin his professional career with the Portland Trail Blazers. Had he chosen to attend college, Outlaw would have stepped into the position at Mississippi State to be the focal point of Rick Stansbury's team. Mario Austin's entry into the NBA a year early and the graduations of Derrick Zimmerman and Michel Ignerski leave gaping holes in the Bulldog lineup. With Outlaw, the Bulldogs would have been a top-16 team, but without him, they are a borderline top-25 team.

The return of Timmy Bowers in the backcourt and Ontario Harper on the wing, gives Mississippi State a great perimeter game. The key will be how they will compensate for the losses of Austin, Ignerski, and Outlaw. Seven-foot, two-inch junior center Marcus Campbell is going to have to be the player to produce inside in the Delta. Campbell is a former McDonald's All-American who produced only 5.1 ppg and 2.5 rpg last season.

Kendrick Perkins was expected to boost Memphis basketball only two seasons removed from Dejuan Wagner's one-year stint in Graceland and the defections of NBA Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire and Qyntel Woods before even putting on a Tiger uniform. The 6-10, 290 lb. center from Beaumont, TX decided to take his game to the highest level instead of playing for John Calipari. Perkins was picked 27th in the first-round by the Memphis Grizzlies.

The loss of Perkins and the graduations of Chris Massie and Earl Barron give Memphis glaring holes in the post. John Calipari has a plethora of unproven players who he will have to call on to man the center spot. Junior Duane Erwin, senior Modibo Diarra, Almamy Thiero, and Arthur Barclay are Calipari's candidates in the post.

Calipari is very high on Erwin. telling the Memphis Commercial Appeal, "What a great opportunity for Duane Erwin. This is the year for him. He's showed signs of being really good. Well, now we'll keep him on the floor for 35 minutes and let's see how he blocks shots, rebounds, and plays."

With Conference USA eliminating the division format for next season, look for Memphis to get stuck in the middle of the pack in Conference USA.

The proliferation of players from high school to the NBA should remain between 5-10 players per year. The disappointing part of the early entry candidates is that for every Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, and Tracy McGrady, there are players like Lenny Cooke who went undrafted, Korleone Young who was never able to make it in the NBA, and Deshaun Stevenson who seemed to not be emotionally ready for the NBA.

Kevin Garnett's entry into the 1995 NBA Draft surprised many at the time and changed the NBA landscape forever. When the Minnesota Timberwolves made Garnett the fifth pick in the 1995 draft, Garnett became only the fourth player to jump from high school directly to the NBA.

The influx of prepsters to the league has robbed college basketball of many of its brightest potential stars and altered recruiting and the way fans, media and coaches follow college hoops. Only twice in the last 12 NBA drafts has the top pick completed college. Tim Duncan was selected by San Antonio out of Wake Forest in 1997 and Kenyon Martin went from Cincinnati to the Nets in 2000. Only nine of the 29 players selected in the first round had completed four years of college. The 2003-04 college basketball season will be impacted greatly by players who went pro or decided to enroll at the schools where they signed letters of intent.

Ndudi Ebi was expected to make a Mike Bibby type impact at Arizona. Instead the 6-10 power forward from Houston will likely become Garnett's understudy in Minnesota. If he had honored his commitment to Arizona, Ebi might have upped his stock in addition to putting himself in the national spotlight similar to how Carmelo Anthony led Syracuse to a national championship this past March. "We thought if he came to school he could have been in the lottery, if not high lottery in a year or so," Arizona assistant Josh Pastner said.

Without Ebi, the Wildcats will take on a different look next season. Junior Isaiah Fox is likely to main the power forward spot in Tucson. Don cry for Arizona though, the 'Cats should still be among the nation's top five when practice commences in October. In addition to Ebi, Arizona has to replace departed seniors Luke Walton, Rick Anderson and Jason Gardner. Guard Salim Stoudamire and Center Channing Frye will become the team leaders with Fox. Also returning for Arizona are perimeter players Andre Igoudala and Hassan Adams, guard Chris Rodgers and redshirt freshman Chris Dunn. Although the Wildcats will not have as much of an inside presence with Ebi in the NBA, Arizona will have one of the most athletic teams in that nation and should be an exciting team to watch.

Charlie Villanueva was one of the most interesting players to follow this past season. The 6-9 power forward from Blair Academy in New Jersey originally committed to Illinois. When Bill Self left to take over the Kansas program, Villanueva reneged on his verbal intent to attend Illinois. After he was not guaranteed that he would be selected in the first round, Villanueva opted to attend Connecticut after considering Kansas. The Huskies would have been the number one preseason with or without Villanueva. His addition makes UConn the overwhelming favorite to hoist the NCAA trophy in San Antonio next season. UConn returns pre-season All-Americans Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon. The addition of Villanueva makes an already deep team even deeper and strengthens the Huskies hold on number one.

Travis Outlaw became the second player to pass on the collegiate experience in Starksville, MS. The athletic small forward will instead use his wares to begin his professional career with the Portland Trail Blazers. Had he chosen to attend college, Outlaw would have stepped into the position at Mississippi State to be the focal point of Rick Stansbury's team. Mario Austin's entry into the NBA a year early and the graduations of Derrick Zimmerman and Michel Ignerski leave gaping holes in the Bulldog lineup. With Outlaw, the Bulldogs would have been a top 16 team, without him, they are a borderline top 25 team.

The return of Timmy Bowers in the backcourt and Ontario Harper on the wing, gives Mississippi State a great perimeter game. The key will be how they will compensate for the losses of Austin, Ignerski and Outlaw. 7-2 junior center Marcus Campbell is going to have to be the player to produce inside in the Delta. Campbell is a former McDonald's All-American who produced only 5.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG.

Kendrick Perkins was expected to boost Memphis basketball only two seasons removed from De Juan Wagner's one year stint in Graceland and the defections of NBA rookie of the year Amare Stoudemire and Qyntel Woods before put on a Tiger uniform. The 6-10 290 Center from Beaumont, TX decided to take his game to the highest level instead of playing for John Calipari. Perkins was picked 27th in the first round by the Memphis Grizzlies.

The loss of Perkins and the graduations of Chris Massie and Earl Barron give Memphis glaring holes in the post. John Calipari has a plethora of unproven players who he will have to call on to man the center spot. Junior Duane Erwin, senior Modibo Diarra, Almamy Thiero and Arthur Barclay are the Calipari candidates in the post. Calipari is very high on Erwin telling the Memphis Commercial Appeal "What a great opportunity for Duane Erwin. This is the year for him. He's showed signs of being really good. Well, now we'll keep him on the floor for 35 minutes and let's see how he blocks shots, rebounds and plays."

With Conference USA eliminating the division format for next season look for Memphis to get stuck in the middle of the pack in Conference USA.

The proliferation of players from High School to the NBA should remain between 5-10 players per year. The disappointing part of the early entry candidates is that for every Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O' Neal and Tracy Mc Grady, there are players like Lenny Cooke who went undrafted, Korleone Young who was never able to make it in the NBA, and DeShawn Stevenson who seemed to not be emotionally-ready for the NBA.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.