The It Factor

The it factor is not something new to sports, i guarantee you have sat down and watched a sporting event and said to someone wow that guy has it. I am also guaranteeing you that most people sit there and just agree nodding their heads aimlessly even though they have know clue what the hell the it factor even is. The it factor is a very simple equation, its talent+clutch divided by swagger and confidence. That's it. The it factor can be seen in athletes from the age of 14 all the way to 36, its just this look that certain people possess that shows you that when the chips are on the line their cashing in. So now that we know what the it factor is its time to get to a few athletes that have it and one who does not. I was going to save the one player who does not till the end but the hell with it lets just dive in. Dwight Howard, yes Dwight Howard does not have it and there is no convincing me that he does. First lets look at Dwight's numbers, in six NBA seasons he has averaged 17.5 ppg and 12.7 rpg. To a casual fan you would say thats real good, shit you would then proceed to tell me that he has been to a NBA final already and that in order to win in the NBA you need a big man. Keep in mind while your telling me all this nonsense im sitting there thinking to myself that if someone had a gun to Dwight's head and told him in order to live he just had to make ONE free throw i know the end result(See Chris Henry) so you know what that tells me that he doesn't have it. A guy that has it does not shoot 58% from the charity strike, awesome he has two defensive player of the year awards lets give him a f*cking oreo for all his hard work. Dwight doesnt have it because he does not want it. How can you tell me that someone as psychically talented as he is and is now into his sixth NBA season can not develop a low post game or develop a jump shot or face up game from 5 feet away, how? especially when the Magic have assigned Patrick Ewing to basically nature this guy along. I have seen no progression in is offensive game over the past six years and i question if i ever will. So i have gotten to the point where I am officially nominating Dwight Howard for the Ewing Theory. If you don't know what the Ewing theory is then you can go here and read about it  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/010509a. Yes the Magic can win without Dwight they just proved it today against the Bobcats when he fouled out, matter of fact they have been beating the Bobcats all series without the services of Dwight it feels like. Do i think Dwight could possibly somehow not come away with The Ewing Theory award? Well frankly that's like asking if you think Ben Roethlisberger will stop raping 18 year old girls who are black out drunk.

So who does have the it factor? It's easy to identify the NBA players who have it today, the Tim Duncans, Deron Williams, and Kobe Bryants of the league so im not going to bother win them i am going to look towards the future and look at the upcoming draft and college players. The first guy that has it is in my opinion the best player in the draft, Evan Turner. He's cold blooded and a flat out killer. On the court there is no one i want more than Evan Turner. At 6-7 he has the rare talent that he can rebound, handle the rock and score, a true triple threat. Clutch? well all you have to do is throw on the OSU-Michigan game in the Big Ten tourney in which he hit a shot that was three feet in from the half court line with no time left and sank it. And finally without a question he meets the swagger/confidence criteria. Without Turner the buckeyes were a pedestrian 4-3 and feel out of the top 25, with him they won the big Ten tournament.

Two other guys who have the it factor were teammates this past season in Lexington. John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins both have it. Not much explanation is needed just look back at the season in which the Wildcats went 35-3. You can just tell when watching Wall that he has that killer instinct in that he is going to do whatever it takes to win and you can be sitting there knowing that he will make a play when the game is on the line. As for DeMarcus a lot of scouts challenge his worth ethic, but what i saw this season was a guy that was unstoppable and John Calipari quickly realized this as well because Cousins became the focal point of the offense. At 6-11 he has the ability to dominate at the next level and can really change a NBA franchise.

The final guy that has it is Greg Monroe. Its so obvious that it is stupid how good he is. And why is that? Because he of all the college kids has that Tim Duncan like it style. That is a soft spoken leader that has the look of Rae Curruth(a killer). He has the swagger though it is not always evident but it is there. And the talent is also present, he is everything that that overgrown 12 year old that tries to call himself Superman is not. Monroe can pass has already developed a low post game and can make his teammates better. Maybe the It factor is genetic because some guys just never get(Dwight Howard) and then there are guys like these four college kids who figure it out right away.