European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                June 2007 stars and stripes Page 49 a big men less Likely to pan out in Aba by Rachel Cohen the associated press new York the Best value in the first round of this weeks Aba draft might come from a Wing player picked in the top five who left College the worst value might be a senior big Man selected late in the that what an analysis by the associated press of past Aba drafts an evaluation of the 10 first rounds from 19952004 revealed several trends Low Post players were the most popular selections but were much less Likely than their counterparts at other positions to develop into players who stayed in College four years were less Likely to be come Al stars than younger play ers picked in the same Range of die half of to five picks became Allstar Caliper that dropped to about on Quarter of draftees taken in spots six through but the Odds of get Ting a future Allstar were about the same percent whether a team selected around 11 or the franchise that seemed to get the least bang for its Buck was the los Angeles with eight top10 picks in that Span but no Al stars to show for theres huge variation from year to year in How Many Impact players Are the 1996 draft featured nine players who have made multiple Allstar a the 2001 and 2002 drafts combined produced just seven who were chosen for even one Allstar the abundance of and Lack of production from big men drafted want a Surprise to some Aba front office but changes in the nabs playing style May shift that the dearth of Quality Low Post players i the league leaves teams willing to take a Chance on a big if youre going to make a mis you make a mistake the Utah jazz director of player Walt said of the prevailing Low Post players accounted for 117 of the 286 selections from 199504 who played in the Only 17 of them 15 percent went on to make an Allstar team for players drafted in 2003 and came close to that level Early in their eight nine of those big men 76 percent had at Best a limited Impact in the in 21 percent of other draftees went on to become Allstar Caliper with 57 percent making no More than a limited further complicating matters is that bigger Guys tend to develop so teams often have a harder time predicting How effective they will just because a Low Post player never becomes a Star Doest mean he was a wasted Kevin Greg Oden talks with the Media after he toured the Seattle supersonics facilities and met with supersonics executives As the Aba team prepares for the upcoming draft in Seattle on Oden is hoping to Buck the trend of Low Post draft picks struggling in the the Way the Aba is most people Are getting their scor ing out of other said Bonnie the Dallas Maver icks president of basketball operations and general they May not be a great scor Penin but they can still have legitimate Aba skills in rebounding and blocking Are teams As desperate for big men these with the increased Reliance on Small Ball with Power forwards becoming More skilled and perimeter Ori Nelson theres less de Mand for traditional Post that was reflected i the last two when just 16 of the 57 draftees who played in the league were big the prevalence of players turn ing pro Early has left few College seniors whom Aba executives deem worthy of High but even the few who were taken in the top 10 have less of an Impact than their younger of the 19 seniors drafted that Only three became Allstar Caliper players 16 that compares with 41 percent 31 of 75 of americans picked in the top 10 who didst attend College or didst Complete their Eligi Bili the results do suggest that the Rule keeping High school players out of the draft will increase the chances of elite prospects devel Oping into the production of players who turned pro out of High school was very Allor Noth ing for every Lebron there was a Kwame five of the 12 High schooners taken in the top 10 became Allstar Caliper but an other five made limited contributions at of the top10 picks who spent some time in College but did not Complete their Eligi Bil Only 29 percent 18 of 63 had no More than a limited in addition to the the Atlanta Golden state War new York Portland Trail blazers and Seattle super sonics also got Little out of their the blazers and sonics can rectify that Dies drafting 12 with Greg Oden and Kevin Durant other teams seem to Excel taking players who thrive other the Boston celtics selected Chauncey Billups and Joe the Phoenix suns helped themselves with Amare Stoudemire and Shawn but Michael Finley and Steve Nash developed into Al stars with the Mavericks Al of Nash returned to the suns and became a two time Lebron James to play for team this summer by Tom Withers the associated press Ohio Lebron James will Wear the White and Blue this summer after Cleveland Allstar Forward ended uncertainty about his status with the National team on tuesday night by saying he will play i next months Fiba americas where the americans will try to qualify for the 2008 in going to James told the associated Ive had enough time and knowing my body More than in ready to i dont know How much in going to play or How but ill be for several James had said he was 5050 about playing for team Usa this he and his Girlfriend recently had their second and with the Cava Liers making it to the Aba James May have wanted some extra time off after playing More than 100 games since last of the who played on the olympic team at the 2004 ath ens games and for the squad that won a Bronze medal at last Summers world intends to Honor his three year commitment with Usa Basket it was a Long and Tough James but for if i make a i want to keep in a Loyal i commit Ted to three years and in going to hold up my end of the James decision was welcomed news for olympic coach Mike who toasted James before a Kickoff dinner pre ceding a three Day Summit involving James corporate business i know people dont realize the commit ment that these Guys Are the Duke University coach with the you play Well Over 100 games in a so they give up a lot and when they give up parts of three i ultimately respect their its a big time thing and i need to run things in a Way that respectful of that commit the team will have a three Day mini Camp from july 2022 in Las three weeks the americans will resume practice in preparation for the 10team tournament that begins on two teams from that tournament will qualify for the Beijing so Usa basketball has commit ments from Kobe Jason car los Chauncey Deron will Mike Tayshaun Tyson Amare Michael Greg Oden and Kevin do miamis dwyane Wade will not play in the summer tournaments following Shoul Der but the heat Star told Krzyzewski on monday that he will report to the minicams and wants to help out during practices in dwyane called me and coach in one of the and it Means a Krzyzewski that a Heck of a James waffling a few months Back was met with a Stern response from team Usa managing director Jerry who said James could be jeopardizing his status Andrea Aba Star Lebron shakes hands with Duke coach Mike As Maver ick ceo of armr marketing looks prior to a dinner to kick off a three Day Summit involving James corporate sponsors tuesday at a hotel in As a Core member of the team for playing in China is vitally important to James business interests As he has become one of that nations most popular players and some of his endorsement Spon sors coca cola and upper deck to name a few would like to tap deeper into that overseas James has been studying some Manda Rin in preparation for the the team finished third in Japan last another humbling result for the americans who can no longer claim to be the worlds Best at is confident the new additions to the team will help restore Pride in a sport it once Kobes we got James said weve definitely got a group that knows How to Well be ready to and Krzyzewski is ready to coach them to a Gold those Are huge pluses for our team and also be cause their egos Are at a place where it Doest have to be about he