I will leave the analysis to our basketball guys Ramos and Marcus, they respect my baseball and hockey knowledge so I will do the same here. However, as the only graduate of West Virginia University I wanted to get this out there first.
The NBA draft saw John Wall, Washington Wizards, and Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers, become the first 2 picks, shocker right....? The draft experienced a record, the longest wait ever for a senior to get selected. What does that say about todays NBA and NCAA basketball? Kentucky stole the show as 5 Wildcats were taken in the first round, Cousins number 5, Patterson 14, Bledsoe 18, and Orton with the 29th pick all came off the board after their former teammate Wall at number 1. Being a graduate of West Virginia University I feel there are two other note worthy selections, it was back to back city for WVU. Mountaineer stand out Da'Sean Butler had to wait until the second round as he became a member of the Miami Heat, they made him the 42nd player taken this year. Devin Ebanks was taken by the champion Los Angeles Lakers with the number 43rd overall pick.
Butler suffered a major knee injury towards the end of West Virginia's loss to the eventual tournament champion Duke Blue Devils in the Final 4 this April. The injury and it's corresponding surgery certainly hurt him on draft night, Butler was a projected top 10 pick at the height of the Mountaineers run during the season. Regardless this may be a blessing in disguise, the better picks are generally placed on the weakest teams, (Washington, Philly, Minnesota, Sacramento etc) give or take a weird lottery ball bounce based on last season, Butler now will go to a playoff team from 2009-2010 despite the fact that it may or may not include Dwayne Wade. It also may be a big help whether or not Wade is on south beach to be able to consult with a Hall of Fame guy running the organization, Pat Riley. Butler will be able to be mentored by a man who won 5 titles as a head coach, 1 as an assistant, and another as a player (72 Knicks, teammate of Phil Jackson), not to bad at all. Ebanks most likely could have used another season of college ball, however, we all knew from his first practice that was never a possibility. He will join a stacked roster looking to 3 peat for the second time in 10 years and a franchise hoping to tie the rival Celtics with a 17th banner after next year. As was said perfectly by a friend of mine, get ready to carry Kobe's bags Devin. Granted with some development and if he can get his mind straight Devin Ebanks could become a nice addition to a great team, he also will have a legendary figure within the franchise to help mold his talent and guide him along the way, his head coach (if he doesn't retire) Phil Jackson otherwise known as Mr. 11.
Butler suffered a major knee injury towards the end of West Virginia's loss to the eventual tournament champion Duke Blue Devils in the Final 4 this April. The injury and it's corresponding surgery certainly hurt him on draft night, Butler was a projected top 10 pick at the height of the Mountaineers run during the season. Regardless this may be a blessing in disguise, the better picks are generally placed on the weakest teams, (Washington, Philly, Minnesota, Sacramento etc) give or take a weird lottery ball bounce based on last season, Butler now will go to a playoff team from 2009-2010 despite the fact that it may or may not include Dwayne Wade. It also may be a big help whether or not Wade is on south beach to be able to consult with a Hall of Fame guy running the organization, Pat Riley. Butler will be able to be mentored by a man who won 5 titles as a head coach, 1 as an assistant, and another as a player (72 Knicks, teammate of Phil Jackson), not to bad at all. Ebanks most likely could have used another season of college ball, however, we all knew from his first practice that was never a possibility. He will join a stacked roster looking to 3 peat for the second time in 10 years and a franchise hoping to tie the rival Celtics with a 17th banner after next year. As was said perfectly by a friend of mine, get ready to carry Kobe's bags Devin. Granted with some development and if he can get his mind straight Devin Ebanks could become a nice addition to a great team, he also will have a legendary figure within the franchise to help mold his talent and guide him along the way, his head coach (if he doesn't retire) Phil Jackson otherwise known as Mr. 11.
Look away Mountaineer nation....
I wanted to post the package conducted by ESPN concerning Da'Sean's recovering and everything he went through to get a team to roll the dice on him, however, due to legal reasons I was not able to. Here is the link and url of that piece, copy and paste it if you wish to watch for yourself. I highly recommend it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSqgXgEVmQQ
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