<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">NDUDI Ebi's dream is not over, but we should hope the charade is. There will come a time when one of Houston's greatest schoolboy basketball players will realize he was just a gullible, misinformed kid. Maybe that time will come when the checks from the Minnesota Timberwolves stop coming next year. Maybe it will be when Ebi is hustling for $50,000 a year in Europe, but hopefully it will be sooner. Ebi wasn't ready for the NBA three years ago and might not be ready now. Not yet, anyway. But when he was everyone's All-American and called the next best thing to LeBron James in 2002, so many agents, rating services and hangers-on told him he was ready. He started believing it. As soon as Ebi realizes he was wrong and starts over ? not with a guaranteed contract, but in a gym full of players hungrier than him, and renewed humility in his heart, perhaps things will begin to change. Humble beginnings ... Until then, he will not be the Ndudi Ebi we once knew. He won't be the humble Ebi, who at Westbury Christian High School promised his family he would attend the University of Arizona at least for a couple of years, so he could grow and mature. He won't be the Ebi who used to carry a notebook into the locker room before high school games, writing down inspirational messages to himself, listening to pregame devotionals, nodding and convincing himself he would always have perspective. He won't be the Ebi who as a 15-year-old was turning down money and limousine rides to all-star games by shoe company representatives because he was loyal to his school and summer teams. He won't be the Ebi who was always quiet and levelheaded, the son of Nigerian parents who not only never pushed their son into basketball, but hardly understood the game or watched Ebi play ? concerned more with his academic progress. Those days are hardly olden days. Yet after being chewed up and spat out by the NBA, the pages on which Ebi's rise to stardom were chronicled now seem faded, yellowed and ragged around the edges. ... give way to greed Ebi became a different kind of person when he started listening to the wrong people. His is a classic case of gullibility and greed. Agents came calling, telling him lies. He started thinking that just because he was running up the floor of the McDonald's all-star game with LeBron that it meant he was as prepared for the NBA grind and lifestyle. He wasn't. That much became clear soon after the Timberwolves made him a No. 1 draft choice, 26th overall. Last month, after two fruitless seasons riding the bench, never developing into what the Timberwolves hoped ? pronouncing himself too good to consider the NBA developmental league or Europe ? the Timberwolves waived the 6-9 forward. Few doubt Ebi could easily recover from his Minnesota slap in the face and become a quality NBA player. But Ebi's demeanor and parting shots from Minneapolis were disturbing to anyone who ever cared for him. They spoke to the depths of confusion the once-grounded Ebi has fallen. "You don't know anything," Ebi told Minneapolis-St. Paul reporters last week. "You don't know if I'm smiling right now. You don't know if I'm crying. You don't know if I've got a gun to my head. You keep asking me questions like I'm a chump. ... I'm not a chump." He spoke in the third person and fired off non sequiturs: "Now I just think I'm going to go into poetry, manual labor and live life like a regular guy. ... If you believe that, you don't know Ndudi Ebi. You wrote all that stuff down, didn't you? So you don't know Ndudi Ebi." This was not the same Ebi who seemed to have it all figured out as a 17-year-old. This was a 21-year-old kid thrust into the real world too soon, believing it was all right there for the taking, but never understanding what it took to grasp it. This was someone who always was told he was a superstar, believed it when a guaranteed $2.2 million contract came his way, then suddenly was overwhelmed. "It's a good example of why not to leave early," said John Lucas, a former Rockets guard and longtime counselor for troubled athletes. "He didn't know how to play. He wouldn't have been playing right away if he had gone to Arizona, either. He had the ability. He just wasn't ready. "The problem with rankings and things you read everywhere are they make people think they're better than they are. Everybody (in summer basketball) promotes their own guys so they can get shoe money. The guys ranked highest aren't necessarily better. They're just the guys who got ranked higher." Teams are showing interest in signing Ebi, notably the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets. His talent is unquestioned. He is sure to get another chance to chase his NBA dream, but until Ebi swallows his pride and remembers the focus and humility he had as a teenager, nothing will change. He has made one smart call. Ebi will return home and start working out with Lucas this weekend. Lucas, as always, will talk bluntly with the kid he tutored before the 2003 draft. He will tear apart Ebi's game and rebuild it. He will tell Ebi what he has told drug addicts, flops and failures. "Life is nothing but a bunch of start-overs," Lucas said. "It's what you do with them that matters."</div> Source
It all went downhill after David Stern called him "Doody" during the NBA Draft. Should of went and played for Lute. This is exactly why their is an age limit.
Yeah for all the Jermaine O'Neals, Tracy McGradys and Kevin Garnetts there are way too many Ndudi Ebis and D'Angelo Collins' I wrote a column last year about the NBA needing to put an age limit because of the terrible cases like this. This kid has really, as bad as it sounds hurt his life, because he has no higher level education, hes destined for playing ball oversees for very little money or working in an uneducated job.
I agreed with the age limit being raised, but I thought the NBA should have taken a hardline stance on making it 20, and not 19. Also to protect the young athletes from suffering a career ending injury during college, the NBA should pay the premium for insurance policies on the top prospects. Once those players are drafted the policy is cancelled.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> the NBA should pay the premium for insurance policies on the top prospects. </div> yeah that would be a fantastic idea, but then you get the agents involved and the NBA would have to agree who are the top prospects, blah blah. I'd love the idea, but theres too many people trying to get their money that would screw this whole system up. But no doubt agree that the limit needs to be 20, at least get two years of college (equal to that of a Community College) for the players.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting FedEx227:</div><div class="quote_post">yeah that would be a fantastic idea, but then you get the agents involved and the NBA would have to agree who are the top prospects, blah blah. I'd love the idea, but theres too many people trying to get their money that would screw this whole system up. But no doubt agree that the limit needs to be 20, at least get two years of college (equal to that of a Community College) for the players.</div> Actually the beauty of it is agents won't be involved, because a player would lose their college eligibility if they signed with an agent. Figuring out the top 60 prospects will be a task, but I think it benefits the players, college hoops, and the league. It's well worth the effort to accomplish this system. There's already company's who rank these players out of highschool, and they would just need to figure out a system to select the consensus top 60 recruits from the high schools each year. Or the NBA and College can do something they really love ... create a "Committee." This would hopefully build a stronger bond between the NBA and College, thus resulting in a better product for NBA and NCAA fans. Will there be politics involved? Yes of course, but there's always going to be politics involved when you're dealing with highstakes. There's politics involved as it is, but at least the end result will turn out better for all those involved.
Unfortunately whilst guys like LeBron, Kobe, KG and T-Mac continue to dominate after coming straight from HS kids are going to continue doing it (have they changed the rules yet?) thinking it's the fast way to get rich.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jerry West:</div><div class="quote_post">Unfortunately whilst guys like LeBron, Kobe, KG and T-Mac continue to dominate after coming straight from HS kids are going to continue doing it (have they changed the rules yet?) thinking it's the fast way to get rich.</div> Ummmm, yeah, where have you been?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting STCBBall3:</div><div class="quote_post">Should of went and played for Lute. This is exactly why their is an age limit.</div> Ya he should of
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting STCBBall3:</div><div class="quote_post">Ummmm, yeah, where have you been?</div> Haha... ya, bro they made the ruling like...10 months ago. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually the beauty of it is agents won't be involved, because a player would lose their college eligibility if they signed with an agent.</div> Yeah, my bad. I forgot about that. I could see however, more agents/boosters from high-schools trying to beg guys into the top 60 or something... but overall its a good system actually. The committe would be the best, take 2-3 NBA legends and 2-3 big college b-ball guys and have them select the top 60 every year, those guys get some type of insurance... great idea and one I bet Stern has examined.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting STCBBall3:</div><div class="quote_post">Ummmm, yeah, where have you been?</div> The other side of the world, where the only NBA coverage we get in the media is the odd score in the newspaper.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jerry West:</div><div class="quote_post">The other side of the world, where the only NBA coverage we get in the media is the odd score in the newspaper.</div> Good answer LOL
The bottom line is does the player have the talent and is the timing right. Ebi probably had NBA talent, but what was his strength and what team needed him to fulfull that role that best suited his strength. That's where timing and to some degree luck comes into play. Ebi needed the best advisors to make sure luck factor was reduced to marginal at best. Look at a player like Randolph Childress, one of the best in college basketball, a fearless shooter, but he had certain strengths that were not best suited for the team which ultimately bought his contract. Should have caught on with an upcoming franchise who needed leadership but ended up with P. J. Carlissimmo in Portland. The story would have been much, much different elsewhere. Don Nelson could have grooved Childress into the next Speedy Claxton. Larry Brown would have helped his career. How many great players just don't have the agent or power to command the position that's right for them, a la Danny Ainge? So Ebi, who was also unlucky to be drafted in a year when teams went overboard on upside overseas players, found himself in an untenable spot. He could not give what was demanded or promised by others to the team which drafted him. Do you blame Ebi or the stiff who sold him as an upside great, long and unstoppable with the ball. How can his draft be justified when Josh Howard was taken at the 29 spot? Howard is now so good that when pundits use the name Howard (in re: Dwight Howard) I think they're talking about JHoward. Josh Howard is a legimate all NBA small forward. Ebi taken well ahead of him is left to ponder. Well, ponder this. You are very young. You are very good. You cannot go to college and play ball. So go to Europe where the best coach is available. And do not enter into long term deals unless contingent on the coach leaving. Learn for 2 years. Develop your defensive skills and a jump shot as good as Rasheed Wallace. If you had seen Wallace in college you would have never thought that momma's boy would be a dangerous pro. A moderately bad ankle sprain would have him blubbering like a baby in front of 30K fans. So Ebi, you should not have gone pro but it was only partly your mistake. You did not go into the best situation becuase teams can't wait for development. It's not baseball. So sit down, make the best 2 year plan, and work 8 hours a day to improve. Do not get married. Do not have children. Do not make new friends if the friendship turns to basketball. Remember Muhammed Ali. Long before a fight he went to a remote area of Pennsylvania to train, chop wood and ready himself for a fight. Your future is Ivan Drago (that's the metaphor Stallone used for life) and make it your job. In 4 years, Ebi will be starting as an unstoppable small forward inthe NBA.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> In 4 years, Ebi will be starting as an unstoppable small forward inthe NBA. </div> How much can I put down on a bet?? Ebi is a creation of himself and agents/boosters around him.
Ebi was given the chance to remain on the TWolves if he agreed to play in the DLeague. Instead of bracing the opportunity and develop into a useful player, he was insulted by it and when Minny couldn't find anyone to trade him for, he was waived. Now Ebi is going to find out the reality of making excuses and surrounding himself with the wrong people instead of taking advantage of the rare opportunities he was given. He won't go to Europe because he won't get much playing time there. In Europe the PT is based more on seniority than skill or potential. Right now he thinks he's too, good for that because he's been playing with NBA talent since he was 15. I don't think many teams are going to give him a chance at free agency either. A new crop of players out of college and overseas will get first crack at making a roster, and even if Ebi has a strong showing in the summer league or preseason, there's no guarantee he makes a roster. It's going to be hard for Ebi to develop the hunger, because it sound like he hasn't had to work very hard for his opportunities. It's been handed to him since he was in high school because of his "potential." How do you turn the switch when you've been told your entire life you'd be an NBA superstar? This is why college is so important for these players. College will humble them and teach them responsibility. Physically the tools are there for a lot of players, but mentally they aren't ready for failure and disappointment. There's a difference between LeBron, KG, Kobe etc. because they were mature enough to succeed in the NBA and knew how to handle the mental pressure of it. They don't make excuses when things don't go right, they shoulder the responsibility when their teams lose.
Exactly, some people can handle the transition and some can't... thats why the NBA is so smart in adding the age limit, because those who maybe can't handle the pressure just yet, will get an opportunity to work it out and see if they are truly destined for NBA greatness.
No bet. Looking back at the post, I meant to say he could be an unstoppable small forward. I said alot of dumb things and that was one of them. Thanks for calling me out on that one.