Jerry Ratcliffe: Still Wrong
Wednesday, March 31 2010 by Ben
Sorry, to be piling on; I'm a bit like the last cop to catch fleeing fugitive, George Bluth, Sr.
I just thought this point was just too much to pass up.
In his article trashing Sylven for leaving, Ratcliffe drops this gem,
“For instance, just look at Landesberg and [Maryland’s] Greivis Vasquez,” one observer said. “They’re about the same size, same athletic ability. But Vasquez is more heady, more experienced, a better shooter.”
One couldn’t have said that about Vasquez after his sophomore season, but the Terps’ star profited greatly by sticking around an extra two years, developing his game."
Clearly, he's establishing that Vasquez was (1) about Landesberg's equal two years ago and (2) Vasquez profited from staying on for two years.
So, how are scouts/GMs/teams ranking these players?
The preeminent site for NBA draft information, Draftexpress.com, shows us the following:
Second Round Pick #16 (Minnesota Timberwolves): Greivis Vasquez
Second Round Pick #17 (Phoenix Suns): Sylven Landesberg
Two extra years bought Vasquez, who, according to Radcliffe's "observers" was Landesberg's equal, one singular spot in the second round.
Again, the point being that: it makes little sense for Sylven to stay in school and Radcliffe should know better.
I love UVa basketball as much as the next guy and I am, of course, not happy about the way he went about it, but what could he seriously hope to gain for two more years?
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Maybe I am naive, but ....
In some of my classes at UVa, you could pretty much not go to class the entire semester and no one noticed. Grades do not come out till May. Are BBall players under a more watchful eye than the common student? Are there such things as mid-term report card? I always get confused when this happens. I mean, football players I get. Bowl season is after the semester for a lot of schools. But Feb/March BBall? Semester only started near the end of January!!!
To answer A.J.'s question, the class that Landesberg was failing was an art class that was graded mostly on participation and attendance. Landesberg didn't show up for that class for weeks, so much so that the professor didn't even know that he was in the class until over a month into the semester, at which point he warned him that he was in danger of failing the class.
It's not that his departure really bugged me it was the manner of his exit. If the random stuff I heard about him not showing up to class anymore is true than that stinks. At least finish what you started this season for his teammates. Failing a class is bad but not showing up for it is pathetic.