Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Issue link: http://dimemagazine.epubxp.com/i/73806
THIS IS THE YEAR OF TEAMMATES As much as Magic, Larry, Isiah and Mike helped reinvent and refine our vision of the NBA's blood feuds, they also helped destroy the concept of basketball as a graceful gutter war. The megastars of the '80s made basketball so popular and profitable that it inspired a mass expansion of the game on the youth level – from grassroots to high school to AAU – birthing in the exist- ing climate of national prep schedules, travel squads that go coast-to-coast, and elite camps that bring together talent from all over the map. Throw in accessible communication tools like texting and Twitter, and the byproduct of the NBA's golden era is a basketball culture that creates longtime friendships between elite players that trump the bitter rivalries of a past era. So if you're in the camp that can't stand to see players on opposing teams sharing pregame and postgame hugs in June, then cliquing up as teammates in July, you aren't going to like the 2012 NBA Draft. Of this year's top 40 prospects (ac- cording to NBADraft.net in early June), more than half belong to a set of college teammates expected to hear their names called on draft night. This year's rookie class will be full of friends and former teammates, ready to spread out amongst the league and further dilute what's left of genuine NBA animosity. Kentucky boasts a group headlined by consensus No. 1 prospect Anthony Davis that also includes Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague and Darius Miller – all of whom chipped in to lead the Wildcats to a national championship in April. North Carolina's four-man crew fea- WORDS. AUSTIN BURTON PHOTO. U. OF ILLINOIS tures Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, John Henson and Tyler Zeller – all of whom might go in the lottery. Syracuse (Dion Waiters, Fab Melo, Kris Joseph), Vanderbilt (Jeff Taylor, John Jenkins, Festus Ezeli), Baylor (Perry Jones III, Quincy Miller), UConn (Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb), Ohio State (Jared Sullinger, Wil- liam Buford) and Washington (Terrence Ross, Tony Wroten Jr.) also have their prints all over the first round and half of the second. Then there's Kansas (Thomas Robin- son, Tyshawn Taylor), Georgetown (Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims), Mississippi State (Arnett Moultrie, Renardo Sidney), Marquette (Darius Johnson-Odom, Jae Crowder) and Missouri (Kim English, Mar- cus Denmon) who could have multiple players selected on June 28. In an age of NCAA parity, how did a handful of programs come to dominate the NBA Draft? Maybe pro scouts have developed a better eye for college role players. Maybe recent examples set by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have trickled down to the top high schoolers in the country – now more willing to join a loaded college team rather than seeking out the next opportu- nity to be The Man. Or maybe it is true what they say: Teamwork makes the dream work. 37