Darrell Arthur's Rough Night
Anyone watching the draft had to feel for Darrell Arthur. Arthur was invited to sit in "the green room" with some of the other presumptive top picks, so he'd be on hand to shake David Stern's hand. More and more picks were announced... and there was Arthur, sitting with his family, and looking more and more concerned.Then reports about a possible kidney condition started to surface. And more picks were announced. And Arthur's name still wasn't called.
His name finally came up for the 27th overall pick -- just three away from slipping into the second round.
That said, the night actually worked out pretty well for Arthur. He was originally selected by a loaded Portland Trailblazer team where he'd have trouble getting any run... but after a flurry of late trades, he landed with the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis is painfully thin in the frontcourt -- Arthur could very well be their opening night starter at power forward.
If He's Still In School, He Can't Play...
The first senior was selected 12th overall -- and the selection -- Rider's Jason Thompson, by the Sacramento Kings -- was universally panned as a major reach.Only four other seniors went in the first round: Georgetown's Roy Hibbert (17th), Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee (22nd), Indiana's D.J. White (29th) and New Mexico's J.R. Giddens (30th).
But in the second round, 14 seniors were drafted -- including nine of the draft's last twelve selections. It's as if the assembled general manages have taken the attitude that -- as one of the ESPN commentators put it, "If he's still in school, he can't play."
Because second-round contracts aren't guaranteed, teams are more willing to gamble. The late run on seniors may have been the NBA collectively saying, "We don't think this guy will amount to anything, but we'll give him a shot in our summer league."
