We are in the midst of an age where young athletes are being showcased, analyzed, and exploited in this country before they are even old enough to vote for its leaders. The national media has ranking systems and publicized opinions before these athletes even reach high school. Sebastian Telfair exemplifies the problem this presents.
“Bassy,” as he is often called, was rated the #1 basketball player in the country for his age before he reached high school. He was also the youngest player ever to attend the prestigious ABCD Camp, which is reserved for the nation’s top prospects. Telfair first turned heads there when he showed up as an incoming high school freshman and performed brilliantly against phenoms older, stronger, and supposedly better. It was then that the mystique of Sebastian Telfair began to take shape.
Each year of high school Telfair developed as was expected, and he became a living legend at his Lincoln High School. People began to draw comparisons to his cousin, current NBA star and former Lincoln standout, Stephon Marbury. Bassy’s number of fans began to rapidly increase. The hype surrounding him reached a fever pitch by his senior season. He became the most highly touted high school player, not named LeBron, in recent memory. Telfair even had one of his games televised on ESPN, which is something that was only done for LeBron prior to that. Bassy was receiving immense praise from all who watched him take the floor each game.
How can this young man be underrated? Well those same people who hyped him up became the ones dragging him down after he signed with Adidas and declared for the NBA Draft, rather than going to play for Rick Pitino at Lousiville. It has now become popular opinion that he is simply the product of a perfectly orchestrated marketing scheme put together by Adidas and those close with him. Although he was drafted 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers, the selection was immediately condemned by an overwhelming majority of the media.
Just about every commentator believed that Jameer Nelson, the Naismith College Player of the Year should have been the one selected by the Blazers if they wanted a point guard with that pick. Some even absurdly asserted that Telfair was picked by Portland as some type of conspiracy put together to keep him in Oregon where the Adidas headquarters are located. I personally question the intelligence of anyone who could think that an NBA General Manager and coach would put their jobs on the line by drafting a player not on merit, but rather to appease a local shoe company. Nevertheless, these are the type of perceptions out there now in regards to the most scrutinized player in the 2004 NBA Draft.
For those who believe that this prodigy has more style than substance, I will concede to one fact; he does play the game with a great deal of flare and style, yet it does not in any way detract from the substance of his well rounded and polished game. I have seen him play first hand many times and he impresses me more each time. He is a floor general, with the heart of a champion, who can do anything for his team, except lose his composure. He has the poise and basketball savvy to be the leader of an NBA team. If you don’t believe me, just ask him; he doesn’t lack confidence either. He probably felt he was underrated all along.