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Volume CXXXII, Number 20 |
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Wade and Carmelo prove their worth
J.P. BOX
COLUMNIST
I had no idea that March would be such an enlightening and instructive month. For example, I learned that if you pay five dollars to enter your friend's March Madness pool, you might not receive a single dime in return-even if you win.
You see, your friend may have spent the 50-dollar cash prize at the bowling alley. And come to think of it, I had no idea that bowling was so expensive these days. I just hope that my winnings went to a good cause.
In addition to learning just how important bookies are, I discovered that there are some pretty darn good amateur basketball players not named LeBron James. Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Nick Collison proved to be big time players capable of carrying a team in the NCAA tournament.
For months, I prayed that my home-team Denver Nuggets would continue to lose and challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers for dead last in the NBA. I hoped that LeBron would land with the Nuggets and turn around a stumbling franchise by putting on an unparalleled display of dunks, fade-away jumpers, and sweet no-look passes. And these hopes were just for his rookie season.
Watching the tournament, however, I began to wonder: what would Dwayne Wade be able to do in a high school basketball game after he notched a triple-double in the Elite Eight against Kentucky? Or, how would Carmelo Anthony play against a high school kid if he scored 20 points, grabbed ten boards, and dished out seven assists in the national championship?
And then it suddenly hit me-they would put up comparable numbers to LeBron James. During his junior season, King James averaged 28.8 points-per-game, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. As a senior, James pushed his point total to over 30 per game and continued to crash the boards and find teammates open for easy buckets.
In the Ohio Division II basketball championship, James led his team to victory with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Because of his championship season and more importantly world-class talent, James has cemented his status as the unquestioned number-one pick in the 2003 NBA draft.
Again and again, we hear commentators and columnists ask the same question: will LeBron live up to le hype? Will he be the next Jordan? Will he be even greater than his Airness?
In a recent ESPN Page 2 column by Colorado's own Jim Armstrong, Jordan offered his take on the high school star: "He may think he's great enough to be on this level now. But when he gets on this level and plays against guys who've been competitive and very good on this level, he's going to find it's a big difference from that 5-10 high school kid."
Naturally, MJ's comments beg the question: how would college basketball's best players do against that same high school kid? You see, lost in the debate about LeBron's potential are Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony-the two best collegiate basketball players in the tourney. Based on their performances in March Madness, Wade and Anthony would have dominated high school ball-just like James.
The 6'4" 210-pound Wade carried the number-three seeded Golden Eagles of Marquette into the Final Four. During the tournament run, the junior shooting guard averaged 21.5 points-per-game, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals. In addition, he shot a rock-solid .504 from the field.
His play peaked in a March 29 showdown against the favored Kentucky Wildcats in the quarterfinals. Wade led the Eagles to an 83-69 victory with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Could LeBron James done any better? I think not.
The tournament's most outstanding player, however, was Syracuse's freshman swingman, Carmelo Anthony. At 6'8" and 220 pounds, Anthony was too quick for a forward and too big to be covered by a guard.
In route to Coach Jim Boeheim's first national championship, Anthony averaged 22.2 points, 10 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 steals. In a 95-84 romp over T.J. Ford's Texas Long Horns, Anthony put up 33 points and 14 rebounds. Again, I must ask: could LeBron have done any better?
Wade and Anthony played against tougher competition-in practice, during the regular season, and during tournament play-than LeBron James did during his run to the high school basketball championship of Ohio. Playing against more talented athletes, these college ballers put up statistics comparable to James.
Nevertheless, neither Wade nor Anthony will challenge LeBron's status as the number one pick. In all likelihood, Carmelo will be the third pick in the draft (assuming he leaves after his freshman year) behind James and Yugoslavian big man Darko Milicic. Because of his size, Wade will drop to the lower half of the top ten picks.
Anthony and Wade's performances, however, have changed my perspective on the 2003 NBA Lottery. Here's to hoping that the Nuggets don't get the first pick! I would be happier with Anthony or Wade-two players who may not have unlimited potential, but have proven themselves against better talent on a much bigger stage than LeBron James has.
After all, if they dominated college basketball during the month of March, imagine what they could have done against hapless high school kids. In other words, the consolation prizes of the 2003 NBA draft might turn out to be the best pickups.
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