Sure, Northwestern basketball coach Bill Carmody’s office is only steps away from the Welsh-Ryan Arena floor, where 22 high school all-stars gathered Monday night for a dunkfest that featured more behind-the-back inbound passes than back-door cuts.
But Carmody wasn’t in attendance for this game – the prepsters there were too busy trying to impress NBA scouts to worry about the program that claims Welsh-Ryan as its home.
No, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause was the one doing the most important research, keeping his eyes glued to Thornwood’s 6-foot-11 behemoth Eddy Curry, who said after the game that he would enter the NBA draft this summer.
And Curry wasn’t the only player from Sonny Vaccaro’s Roundball Classic who views college as a waste of valuable professional dollars.
Two other all-stars are also considering the leap, and that’s just the beginning for Carmody and an NU program coming off an 11-19 campaign.
Forget about the kids going to the NBA – those who think of class as the nap before shootarounds aren’t too likely to pick NU in the first place. It’s the rest of the kids in this all-star game – as well as a number of similar games – that are the true problem for NU in the recruiting war, which begins again on Wednesday with the opening of the late signing period.
Because none of them, at least not the players at this 151-148 exhibition, would even consider the Wildcats.
Freshman Jitim Young – perhaps the unlikeliest of all recent NU recruits, coming out of Gordon Tech in Chicago – watched last night’s game knowing that only “half of them could get in here.”
The other 11 or so players don’t have the grades, not to mention the desire, to face the rigors your run-of-the-mill electrical engineering student encounters. So cross them out along with the NBA hopefuls – no chance for Carmody to bring them to Evanston.
Last, but certainly not least, is the rare student-athlete who can play with the stud athletes and excel in the classroom. And guess what – one of them was on display last night: Daniel Ewing, a 6-foot-4 guard from Texas who was 7-for-9 from the floor.
Only one problem for Carmody, though.
Ewing’s going to Duke. And why?
“Every other school had great basketball teams but I thought Duke had a better education for me,” said Ewing, who admitted that some other players couldn’t cut it at his future university. “That’s pretty much why I chose the school.”
No surprise there. Who wouldn’t pick the defending national champion over NU when you can get a great education at either university? But the truly foreboding words from Ewing came later, when he pondered what would drive someone with boatloads of talent to don an NU jersey.
“I think it would be kind of hard,” said Ewing, obviously trying not to offend the Cats but unable to avoid the hard truth. “It would have to be a decision where it was the only place you could have gone or you wanted to be close to home, something like that. No offense, it’s a good school as far as academics – it’s a great school. But their basketball program isn’t really up there yet.”
It’s just as well that Carmody didn’t show up to rub elbows with Krause and Curry. He desperately needs more talent on his paper-thin roster, but he lacks the recruiting firepower to land these 18-year-old gods of the hardwood.
And unfortunately for him, talent in college hoops is like money in major league baseball.
Can lose with it, can’t win without it.
