<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The Utah Jazz can come away from Tuesday's 51st pick in the NBA Draft looking like humanitarians for helping a troubled young man continue his recovery or appearing to be likable-though-perhaps-naive losers if their gamble on 6-foot-10 center Robert Whaley doesn't work. But, hey, it was the 51st pick, which often doesn't pan out and doesn't cost much, and Whaley was one of the better big players still available. The Jazz liked his showing at the Chicago pre-draft camp, and they really liked his answers and the apparent accountability he showed in their own workout. "There's a lot of things that we were aware of, but ... I think he was very sincere in those conversations, and we were very sincere in our response," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan Wednesday at a post-draft press conference. "We won't put up with any nonsense, and we told him that in the beginning. "Sometimes a second chance is worth taking a chance on. We've all had a second chance somewhere along the line. That's very important to us, and we hope it's very important to him because he's the one that has to do the work."</div> <div align="center">Source</div>
The checkered past of this kid has been well documented. Whether he makes it or not will depend on the decisions he makes from here on out. He's dug himself quite a hole. Nothing is irreversable, but the odds are against him at this point. It'll be up to him to prove himself. I'm one who loves the underdog and I hope he makes it, but he needs to grow up quick!! Tank
