Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, a guard, from the University of Georgia. Personally, I never heard of the guy, but tracking college basketball hoops isn't one of my strong points, if indeed I have any at all.
They say he was the SEC conference player of the year. That sounds impressive. Then again, while the SEC has certainly been a powerhouse football conference in recent years -- it hasn't exactly been known (Kentucky aside, and even the Wildcats ain't what they used to be) for it's premier roundball play either. Guess you can't have everything.
Nevertheless, Detroit Pistons' GM Joe Dumars definitely rolled the dice with this pick. Why? Because southeastern Michigan area favorite Trey Burke (OK, maybe not in East Lansing), of the Univ of Mich, was still on the board. (Burke would be taken with the very next pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves and subsequently traded to the Utah Jazz). Dumars passed him over to take Caldwell-Pope. Certainly, Joe D has forgot more about basketball than yours truly will ever know, and I hope his wealth of basketball knowledge served him well in making the choice he did. Just minutes after the pick was announced, Dumars was already under fire from the local media. They didn't seem to get it either.
Make no mistake. Joe Dumars has a very impressive resume. A two-time world champion as a player, a member of the NBA Hall of Fame, and as a GM putting together the right pieces to get the Pistons to yet another world championship. Maybe more important yet -- Joe D is about as good as it gets when it comes to being an upstanding honorable man and giving back to the community in many ways. Like they say -- nobody doesn't like Joe D. Or is that Sara Lee? Whatever. Close enough.
Thing is, the Pistons are likely at least a few years away from being serious NBA title contenders -- even if things go well for them. Despite all their various promotions and gimmicks, they still struggle to put fans in the seats at the Palace, where they play. This is what happens when the team is lousy for an extended period of time. Fans can only be led on for so long until they say enough. Show me a winner. Or at least a competitor. The presence of Kentavius Caldwell-Pope likely won't cause a spike in attendance at the Palace. Trey Burke would have.
To be fair, one never knows how draft picks will pan out. Some eventually rise to greatness and others crash and burn. Regardless of how he fares, Trey Burke will likely be quickly forgotten by Pistons fans after he quietly disappears into the abyss of Utah. (Quick, how many former Jazz players can you think of not named John Stockton and Karl Malone? See what I mean?)
Maybe Caldwell-Pope will become a terrific NBA player. Joe Dumars better hope so. Because if this guy winds up being another Darko Milicic draft pick, where Joe D passed over the likes of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh, to snatch another relative unknown (that none of the "experts" had on their draft boards going anywhere NEAR that high) for reasons known only to him -- and he flames out like Darko -- methinks the curtain will quickly fall on Mr. Dumars' last act at the Palace. No encores.
That's just the way it goes in pro sports. Even nice guys like Dumars aren't immune from the question that seems to rule over all else these days.....
What have you done for me lately?
As far as Joe Dumars running the Pistons and how that team has perfomed over the last few years -- the answer to that question isn't pretty.
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