<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's one of my favorite DVDs of all-time, and I plug it in whenever I need a few laughs. It is truly one of the most prolific comedies ever produced. Caddyshack? No. Young Frankenstein? No. The Three Stooges Meet Hercules? No again. It's even funnier. It's ESPN's coverage of the 2004 NBA draft. Listen to these hilarious gag lines from ESPN's analysts: Dick Vitale on the Magic drafting Dwight Howard instead of Emeka Okafor: "In 10 years, man, they're going to regret not taking Mr. Okafor." Stephen A. Smith: "The Orlando Magic cannot play a guessing game. Emeka Okafor is the man. He's the answer." Jay Bilas: "[Okafor] may make the Magic regret this." These may be the most classic one-liners captured on camera since Groucho Marx said in Animal Crackers: "One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know." This column is not meant simply to lampoon ESPN's commentators. All of us in the media have written or said things we regret. I once wrote that John Weisbrod might be a good general manager for the Magic. Recruiting analyst Max Emfinger once insisted Emmitt Smith would flop in college. And Dan Sileo, the local talk-radio gabmaster, says something stupid most every morning. But today, with Orlando boasting the best record in the Eastern Conference, allow me to extend a blanket media mea culpa to the Magic. As Brenda Lee once sang in her classic song, I'm Sorry: "You tell me mistakes, Are part of being young. But that don't right, The wrong that's been done." We've certainly lambasted some of the Magic's personnel moves over the years, so it's only fair that we laud them for decisions that seemingly have set up this franchise for the next decade. Drafting Howard, despite objections from the experts, was gutsy. Any NBA executive will tell you Okafor is a good player, but Howard is on the verge of greatness. Three years into his career, Howard is the NBA's top rebounder. And he's still only 20. "Taking Dwight was a no-brainer," Magic GM Otis Smith says now. "It was not as hard a decision as people made it out to be. Emeka will have a great career, but we think Dwight has a chance to be special."</div> Source
I was sooooooooooo happy when we drafted Dwight over Emeka. It was actually the 2nd day that I was up at UF and i was sitting in the common room watching the draft and right when they mentioned we drafted him I was jumping around yelling and everyone came out of their rooms and was like WTF. I will always remember that day. I took a lot of crap from Magic fans for wanting Dwight over Emeka and most people wanted Emeka, I was on the Dwight bandwagon the entire time. Now if only they would listen to me more. I wanted Barbosa over Gaines, Dwight over Emeka, Granger over Fran, and Brewer over Redick. So far every single one has been
To be fair, you can point to hundreds of incidents like this. The ESPN analysts that cover the draft are dumbass-coated morons with idiot filling.
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">To be fair, you can point to hundreds of incidents like this. The ESPN analysts that cover the draft are dumbass-coated morons with idiot filling.</div> One example: They all thought Reece Gaines was going to be a very good player and a good fit for the Magic.
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">To be fair, you can point to hundreds of incidents like this. The ESPN analysts that cover the draft are dumbass-coated morons with idiot filling.</div> I'm not sure if you can blame the analysts for not doing their own scouting, or you have to blame the scouts for giving them poor information. Most of the analysts don't have the time to track all the players and just regurgitate summarized information they receive. What I don't like is when they bring guys like Dickie V to talk about draft choices. He hates any International player automatically, and he hypes up every college player in the draft with the same played out cliches. I really liked the video footage the Bryna Colangelo came out with during the Raptors war room session. The NBA and ESPN should get more of the behind the scenes type footage on draft day. I'd rather hear what GM or other decision makers have to say about a player, than an ESPN analyst. I agree with Otis Smith, Dwight Howard was a no-brainer. Drafting an injury plagued player like Okafor is always too, risky, plus there was speculation Howard could grow to 7 feet or taller at the time.
That's one of the reasons I enjoyed seeing Tom Tolbert do the draft day analysis once. There were three consecuitve picks when they asked him to give his thoughts, and he said he didn't really know and had no opinion. That, to my mind, is the most intelligent response an analyst can give when evaluating a young talent. There's no harm in debating who's better than who, but to pretend you have some inside info because you're in the media is silly. Does anybody honestly believe that Dick Vitale sits down and watches tape of all these players before the draft? Of course he doesn't. Maybe if he did, he wouldn't automatically assume that a foreign or high school player won't be able to hang with the latest collegiate scrub.
im not gonna lie, i was one that was pulling for okafor, but now my mind has been changed to a maximum...i couldnt be happier that we drafted dwight
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not sure if you can blame the analysts for not doing their own scouting, or you have to blame the scouts for giving them poor information. Most of the analysts don't have the time to track all the players and just regurgitate summarized information they receive. What I don't like is when they bring guys like Dickie V to talk about draft choices. He hates any International player automatically, and he hypes up every college player in the draft with the same played out cliches. I really liked the video footage the Bryna Colangelo came out with during the Raptors war room session. The NBA and ESPN should get more of the behind the scenes type footage on draft day. I'd rather hear what GM or other decision makers have to say about a player, than an ESPN analyst. I agree with Otis Smith, Dwight Howard was a no-brainer. Drafting an injury plagued player like Okafor is always too, risky, plus there was speculation Howard could grow to 7 feet or taller at the time.</div> I feel the same way, actually. Most of these analysts come into the draft with very little knowledge of the prospects and try to compensate for it with their own little agendas. Dick Vitale automatically bashes any foreigners. Stephen A. Smith automatically picks on Portland or any other GM with a bad reputation. Its one thing to recite information, but their strongest opinions are always knee-jerk and don't come from any scouting reports or facts. That Colangelo footage was pretty awesome. Apparently RaptorsTV has released a similar show every year, a couple months after the draft. It definitely gave some insight into what he was thinking. BC was getting criticism from Raps fans for not trying to aquire another late 1st rounder to draft a PG. That footage basically quieted down those complaints.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> I really liked the video footage the Bryna Colangelo came out with during the Raptors war room session. The NBA and ESPN should get more of the behind the scenes type footage on draft day. I'd rather hear what GM or other decision makers have to say about a player, than an ESPN analyst. </div> Couldn't agree with you more... thats why i hate espn...so called expert analyst's aka washed up ball players with the only accomplishment on there resume is a 3 point championship..i wish espn would play more highlights and less lets go to see what the experts have to say...mark cuban called out espn on this one time when he was on the hot seat it was pretty funny
No one can predict what could happen, especially by taking a highschooler with the first overall pick (LeBron doesn't really count). I guess people still had Kwame Brown-syndrome stuck from a couple years ago. I do think that simply writing him off like that was a little too early though. And it's not like Okafor isn't giving Howard a run for his money. That guy's been on a tear for Charlotte.
They didn't write him off; they just said Emeka was going to be much better. When Emeka plays, he is very productive. He's one of the best defensive big men as it is.
Well, I meant that they were automatically writing him off when in comparison to Okafor and that he couldn't hold his own.
I never envisioned Okafor as a franchise player, but the upside of D12 along with his strong character made him a no-brainer. Okafor is never going to command a double team and he can't carry a team offensively. D12 can lead a team on both ends, and two-way players are the only people in the league who should be labeled "franchise" worthy.
<div class="quote_poster">GatorsowntheNCAA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> Now if only they would listen to me more. I wanted Barbosa over Gaines, Dwight over Emeka, Granger over Fran, and Brewer over Redick. So far every single one has been</div> Well your streak will soon end Rock..
Yesterday on NBA Fastbreak they were talking about different players around the league and whether or not they are stars. They talked about Dwight Howard and both analysts said he was a star and one of the best young players in the league. He also said that Dwight is a player you can build a team around and one went as far as saying that Dwight is "the best interior defender in the league and he has proved that this season." I was like, wow. Also, to make things even sweeter, both analysts said Chris Bosh wasn't a star because you can't build a team around him and he has a lot of aspects of his game that need work.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He also said that Dwight is a player you can build a team around and one went as far as saying that Dwight is "the best interior defender in the league and he has proved that this season." I was like, wow. </div> Puh-lease.. ESPN analysts really don't know what they're talking about these days and worry more about being PC than sayin what's REALLY on their minds.
<div class="quote_poster">authentiq Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Puh-lease.. ESPN analysts really don't know what they're talking about these days and worry more about being PC than sayin what's REALLY on their minds.</div> I know I agree with you. Me and my friend looked at each other and were like "um, ok?" because we both watch almost all the Magic games and while Dwight is a great defender guys like Emeka Okafor or Ben Wallace are better.
