–Was beautiful to see Ichiro and Chone Figgins reach 1st and 3rd with no outs twice.
–Was awful to see #3-hitter Franklin Gutierrez make feeble outs each time.
—Michael Saunders looks exactly the same: He falls behind in the count, then waves at a pitchers’ pitch for a K or soft ground out. Wouldn’t count on him winning the LF job.
—Doug Fister did just what Doug Fister should do. He threw strikes, got a few called strikes on his big curve, and kept the M’s close.
What they’re saying…
“Occasionally, college kids make mistakes and make the wrong decisions, but in most instances, we hope we can give them a second chance if they show they’re deserving of one and turn their mistakes into a teachable moment.” — Scott Woodward
“There was a stretch there when we didnt score goals and everyone said it was almost the end of the world. Now, tonight, we scored three goals and its not like the new dawn has approached either. You cant get too low with the lows or too high with the highs. — Sigi Schmid
In other news…
The Sounders offense finally showed up in a 3-1 win over Colorado in the Community Shield exhibition. Fredy Montero was involved in all three goals, assisting on Jhon Kennedy Hurtado’s and scoring two of his own.
Sounders MF Brad Evans suffered a hamstring injury and is out 1-3 weeks. Evans missed most of last year with a knee injury.
Wazzu PG Reggie Moore will play against the Huskies tonight.
Washington F Justin Holiday remains a game-time decision as he recovers from a concussion.
Former O’Dea star Jamelle “Son of Nate” McMillan’s college career ended last night when Arizona State lost to Oregon in the Pac-10 tournament. McMillan played 121 games for ASU, despite being hobbled by a series of injuries. McMillan now wants to become an NBA GM.
The next seven days in Seattle sports…
Today, March 10
Baseball: Mariners vs. Angels, 12:05 p.m. (No local radio, check MLB.com for other feeds)
NCAA Hoops: Seattle U vs. Portland St. @ KeyArena, 7:10 p.m. (710-AM)
Pac-10 Men’s Hoops Quarterfinal: Washington vs. Washington St., 8:40 p.m. (FSN)
Friday, March 11
Baseball: Mariners @ Cleveland, 12:05 p.m. (710-AM)
Pac-10 Men’s Hoops Semifinal: UW/Wazzu winner vs. UCLA/Oregon , 8:40 p.m. (FSN)
Saturday, March 12
Baseball: Mariners vs. Oakland, 12:05 p.m. (710-AM)
Pac-10 Men’s Hoops Final, 3:10 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, March 13
Baseball: Mariners @ LA Angels, 1:05 p.m. (710-AM)
NCAA Tourney Selection Show, 3 p.m. (CBS-7)
Monday, March 14
Baseball: Mariners vs. Cubs, 1:05 p.m. (No local radio, check MLB.com for other feeds)
Tuesday, March 15
Soccer: Sounders vs. Galaxy @ Qwest Field, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday, March 16
Baseball: Mariners vs. Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m. (FSN)
9 Comments
I can write something about what happens to players who come out of school early for the draft before they’re ready, and I can do it in two words: Mark Sanford.
Good luck to Terrence Ross, who sounds like a decent guy, but it’s not going to be an easy transition to the NBA after being a 6’5″ college forward for two years.
That’s an argument a good lawyer would make, but no high school senior wants to make the legal argument that would piss off his future college or employer. As has always been the case, the injured party in college sports has no inclination, money or time to pursue redress. It’s possible to sue afterward, but even then, the injured parties are too wealthy to care or too broke to make the fight in court.
Then the best solution may be what Brandon Jennings did: Pass on wasting one year in school for no money and head overseas to play pro ball. Not every player has Jennings’ talent, so they can’t expect the $1.6 million he got for one season in Rome, but a Tony Wroten Jr. would’ve made six figures in Europe or Asia easily, not to mention most teams historically have paid the player’s income taxes and subsidized their apartment and car while they’re there…at least that’s the case in Italy.
It used to be that playing overseas was like joining a federal witness protection program in terms of visibility, but with so many scouts and the internet, you’re not a member of the Lost Legion these days. If you’re a legitimate player, the NBA will find you.
Zero or two would be an improvement over the one-and-done phenomenon. You are right; Ross was ready after two seasons. But Wroten, who also may leave after one season, was a selfish, careless player who was making the same mistakes in March that he was in October. He is not remotely ready for the NBA but apparently considered his UW year as time he had to spend, rather than as an opportunity to develop his game or, for that matter, get some academics. A large number of undeclass playes have declared for the NBA draft again this year; a high percentage of them
will not make an NBA roster. Wroten, if he declares, is likely to spend the next year or two in an NBA development league or somewhere overseas. He is not NBA-ready and he hurt the Huskies with his undisciplined, unintelligent play over the past season. I’d rather see the Huskies recruit players or who will stay more than a year and have a team mentality. Think Roy and Brockman.
How about Spencer Hawes? He was a one-and-done, and I don’t consider him a selfish player. There’s no way to predict the progress of many players, and they can’t be held back if they want to go, no more than Bill Gates or Paul Allen had to finish college before they took on professional careers.
Wroten did a lot of foolish things, and he did even more spectacular things. He’s a great, but undisciplined talent — as has been the case with many who finally made it into the NBA. Obviously he would benefit by another year in college, but I think he’s had his eyes on the prize so long that the Huskies would be better off without him.
The NBA needs name reconition for the players coming into the league. Highschool players do not play on the national stage. Therefore the driving force behind the one year rule is the NBA looking to get top talent on national tv playing in front of 70,000 at the superdome.
Fair point, Hume. All of Calipari’s freshmen now have a modest national brand. But that’s only 3-4 guys who get the F4 stage. Without one-and-done, the rest would have to be scouted at the high school level, where many more drafting mistakes are made. Remember Robert Swift?
They should just make it similar to the agreement that MLB has with the NCAA. Allow players to be drafted out of high school. If any of those players want to attend college, allow them to do that but with the understanding that they cannot be drafted again for a certain period of time (2 to 3 years). That way, if a high school player who thinks they are NBA material is not drafted or taken in the second round, they can always have the option of going to college to develop their game. This puts NBA scouts back in high school gyms, but there are already MLB scouts on high school baseball fields anyway.