A Lesson For Lebron....and the game of basketball

A great group of musicians once uttered the famous phrase, "You cant always get what you want". Maybe Lebron should have been more of Stones fan and he wouldnt have thrown away his legacy for a few crazy nights on South Beach.

All of us should be thankful for the performance of the Dallas Mavericks because they saved our country, no, they saved our civilization from losing touch with one of its principle moral virtues: hard work. What makes life on earth the fulfilling life that it is is that all of us have to work to get where we want in life. As Dan Gilbert gracefully tweeted, "there are no shortcuts".

Remember, Michael Jordan spent 6 years in Chicago unable to get past the Pistons before the Bulls finally broke through and won the 1991 NBA title. In that span, Jordan faced a similar situation to Lebron but chose to stick with it and signed a 2nd contract with the Bulls in 1988. While he probably couldnt have picked up and joined the Pistons at that point (they wouldnt have welcomed him with a parade, lets just say that), he definitely could have decided to head for greener pastures. But there was a competitiveness in Jordan and others of his era that just doesnt exist in Lebron and some of the other "greats" of today's game. It is no longer about winning a title with the team you have come so close with time after time, but just about getting "me" that ring. The team on that ring is irrelevant.

This is the problem with the NBA today and basketball in general. As Michael Wilbon (FINALLY) said after Sunday's game, the "AAU mentality" is a disease that has metastasized throughout the game. High school players no longer identify with any team, let alone with their high school team with whom they spend virtually none of their time. Instead, they are defined by their performance in AAU, a system designed specifically to showcase individual players and ignorant of the team aspects of one of the ultimately team sports we have today.

That AAU mentality has spread into the college game, largely because of the 19-year old rule imposed by the NBA. The injection of "one and done" players into prestigious programs across the country has made the NCAA title irrelevant in comparison with preparation for the draft. Players dont play sore for fear of injury, they dont share the basketball for fear of losing draft stock, and they certainly dont accept playing zone defense for fear of having their "defensive intensity" overlooked by NBA scouts who see nothing but a great system.

Unfortunately, this is why programs like Wisconsin cannot get players drafted and why programs like UCLA cannot win titles. On the one extreme, you have a program whose system hides individual talent and as a result reduces the draft stock of those players with NBA talent that do come to Madison. And on the other hand you have a program whose embrace of the "one and done" has left it without any long-term stability and devoid of any semblance of consistent character.

So now that Lebron has found out that there are no shortcuts in the game of basketball, maybe others will learn from his mistake. Perhaps we will start seeing high school phenoms and college stars focus on their development as a basketball player rather than on the maximization of their rookie contract. Maybe we wont have to change the 19-year old rule to get players like Jared Sullinger and Harrison Barnes, or even players of their skill level and less maturity and/or support system, to stick with college, get a degree, and in the process learn how to play basketball at the highest level.

Perhaps it will cost them a million come draft time, but in the long run I would bet on the college player each and every time.
Jordan spent three years at UNC, winning an NCAA title in 1982.

Magic Johnson spent two years working toward a communication degree and a career in broadcasting, leaving only after having won that elusive title in 1979.

Larry Bird: 4 years at Indiana State (and 1 earlier at Indiana).

Jerry West: 4 years at West Virginia

Doctor J: 4 years at UMass

Kareem: 3 years at UCLA

The list goes on and on.

As for the list of greats who spent a year or less in the college game:

Kobe.

I'll take my chances with the "sacrifice" of working for a degree.