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Lenny Cooke- the star that never was


Matt39

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Cooke made his own tupid decisions. Had he gotten a decent education out of basketball he wouldn't be in this mess. he next time Dick Vitale preens about paying college basketball players, show him this.And then you kid's tuition bil and/or 529 statement.

In fairness though Vaccaro, the AAU coaches and all these hangers on cannot wait for a payday. Vaccaro only sets up these camps to recruit future pro endoresers and present college caoch endorsers. And they sell these stupid kids on the total longshot of NBA success.

Suspect part of the reason a lot of the basketball establishment is having such a tough time coming to terms with and explaining Jeremy Lin's ascent is it shows of not only how corrupt they are, but how much failure they breed. Cooke is but one of many examples of schoolyard prodigies who were indulged and then dumped when it didn't pan out.But it's another cautionary tale that will be ignored.

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Read through the article quickly but still suprised that no team drafted him if he was that good.

Reminds me of the Earl Manigault story. While some considered Manigault the best ever, drugs were his downfall and I did not read that with this guy. It is impressive that Anthony considered him the guy which still begs the question of how he went undrafted.

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Read through the article quickly but still suprised that no team drafted him if he was that good.

Reminds me of the Earl Manigault story. While some considered Manigault the best ever, drugs were his downfall and I did not read that with this guy. It is impressive that Anthony considered him the guy which still begs the question of how he went undrafted.

I dunno. It's weird sometimes when you see the guys that make a living in the NBA that couldn't score 10 points if you left them in the gym by themselves. You see it every year in the NCAA tournament--there are five, six guys on small-school teams that can score 30 points on elite competition who never get a sniff of the NBA. Then you get dudes like Jared Jeffries, Mike Sanders, Robert Horry, Scott Brooks, Mario Elie etc, who last ten years in the league. In the thing I saw on Cooke, he seemed like an entitled a$$hole that never worked on the other parts of his game.

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I dunno. It's weird sometimes when you see the guys that make a living in the NBA that couldn't score 10 points if you left them in the gym by themselves. You see it every year in the NCAA tournament--there are five, six guys on small-school teams that can score 30 points on elite competition who never get a sniff of the NBA. Then you get dudes like Jared Jeffries, Mike Sanders, Robert Horry, Scott Brooks, Mario Elie etc, who last ten years in the league. In the thing I saw on Cooke, he seemed like an entitled a$$hole that never worked on the other parts of his game.

Hell, Marty Conlon spent 11 years in the league.

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I dunno. It's weird sometimes when you see the guys that make a living in the NBA that couldn't score 10 points if you left them in the gym by themselves. You see it every year in the NCAA tournament--there are five, six guys on small-school teams that can score 30 points on elite competition who never get a sniff of the NBA. Then you get dudes like Jared Jeffries, Mike Sanders, Robert Horry, Scott Brooks, Mario Elie etc, who last ten years in the league. In the thing I saw on Cooke, he seemed like an entitled a$$hole that never worked on the other parts of his game.

In the NBA, you either need to be a star or an effective role player... the tweeners are the ones that never make it. It's the reason why a guy like Walter Berry can sweep every major college player of the year award, yet end up as a middling NBA player for a few years who has to go to Europe to find success. If you can come off the bench cold and play defense, board, and/or knock down an open 3, you're going to stick around the show for a while, just like an effective left-handed relief pitcher. If you're a volume scorer in college with no other redeeming aspect to your game (see: Morrison, Adam), then the odds are you're not going to make it, unless you happen to be a great shooter that can adapt to a different role as more of a specialist (JJ Redick). A guy like Fredette is going to have to adapt to be a successful NBA player, as he's not going to be given a chance to shoot his way out of a slump. Efficiency doesn't matter as much when you're the best player on a team like BYU, St. Peter's, or New Orleans.

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In the NBA, you either need to be a star or an effective role player... the tweeners are the ones that never make it. It's the reason why a guy like Walter Berry can sweep every major college player of the year award, yet end up as a middling NBA player for a few years who has to go to Europe to find success. If you can come off the bench cold and play defense, board, and/or knock down an open 3, you're going to stick around the show for a while, just like an effective left-handed relief pitcher. If you're a volume scorer in college with no other redeeming aspect to your game (see: Morrison, Adam), then the odds are you're not going to make it, unless you happen to be a great shooter that can adapt to a different role as more of a specialist (JJ Redick). A guy like Fredette is going to have to adapt to be a successful NBA player, as he's not going to be given a chance to shoot his way out of a slump. Efficiency doesn't matter as much when you're the best player on a team like BYU, St. Peter's, or New Orleans.

This is excellent. Never thought of it that way. Thanks.

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