All Hail Our Prodigal Basketball Players

Have you ever finished a hard sudoku and felt proud of yourself? Have you ever seen a friend or family member graduate college and feel proud of them? Have you ever seen anything that makes you feel proud and thought to yourself "I feel proud of this" and felt proud?

No? Then if you need something to feel proud of then David Haugh has this article to tell you what you can take pride in.

Chicago should be proud of Duke’s Scheyer
Senior point guard is a walking NCAA commercial, emphasizing the proper side of the hyphen in student-athlete

By David Haugh
March 29, 2010

...
Remember when they booed Jon Scheyer two years ago at the United Center after he appeared on the ice between periods at a Blackhawks game to shoot the puck?

Were you among those at Wrigley Field the past few summers whom Scheyer heard booing him upon sight at Cubs games because they still were bothered he chose Duke over Illinois?

Thanks for starting out your column with rhetorical questions, it makes these things so much easier to write. But no, I don't really remember Jon Scheyer being booed at the Blackhawks game. I think the Wirtz family was still keep the Hawks a tight-lipped secret still, so missing it isn't completely unlikely.

And I don't specifically recall the Cubs game booing, but I usually tune out the guests because 90% of the time its someone I don't care about. But if he was booed at these two events, I'm going to really need to be convinced of this story's premise. I don't think Chicagoans will necessarily feel proud because he grew up in the Chicagoland area.

By now, hopefully Chicago has gotten over it. The face of Duke basketball is ready for his national close-up this week in Indianapolis, and Scheyer's hometown should be more eager than ever to embrace him.

After all, Scheyer is a 6-foot-5, 190-pound NCAA commercial for all that's right about college basketball. He is this year's senior citizen of the NCAA tournament who most deserves your respect and attention, a student-athlete who stayed four years and emphasized the proper side of the hyphen.

Alright, I'll concede this- way to go kid. You've made the final four and its quite an accomplishment.

And he did selflessly not go to the NBA and make millions of dollars. Most likely because he doesn't have the talent to play in the NBA- not as a starter or even a bench player getting significant playing time.

Haugh is saying that Scheyer "deserves your respect and attention" because he didn't do something he couldn't do? (that makes sense, right?). I stayed in school and didn't go into the NBA and no one said I deserved respect and attention because of it. I didn't drop out of college to become a rock star as part of my band "The Platypus Project." Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't have the talent.

The more it sunk in as Scheyer hugged teammates with his hat cocked to the side, the more I wondered whether Derrick Rose had experienced the depths of what Scheyer was feeling. The two get compared often because they rank among the top 10 prep basketball players to come out of Chicagoland and were a year apart.

Rose took Memphis to the NCAA title game as a freshman in 2008, and the Tigers lost to Kansas. That was Rose's team but not in the way Duke is Scheyer's. Rose had six months invested in that program; Scheyer endured four years.

This seems like a bad set-up. If Duke wins the championship, then some writer (David Haugh) might write the article that Jon Scheyer was a better college player than Derrick Rose. He'll have numbers to back it up to. Well, not averages or anything- but aggregate numbers. Scheyer's four year numbers will dwarf Rose's single season numbers and the bad article will be written.

I shouldn't write on hypothetical columns though-- back to this. Haugh is writing that there is some sort of comparison between Derrick Rose and Jon Scheyer. I'd go ahead and say the NBA experience - with the All-Star Appearance and Rookie of the Year and Playoff Series and Skyrocketing to NBA Stardom - might have a "depth of experience." But apparently if it isn't after four years in college, it doesn't matter. (Or whatever Haugh's point is, I'm still trying to figure that out.)


Rose, of course, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Bulls and now is among the top five point guards in the NBA with richness and stardom assured. He's just as terrific a role model and similarly gifted with a level head.

Yet if Scheyer leads Duke to a national title Monday night, I won't be certain who has had a more enriching, meaningful basketball career since high school.

I'll just be sure Chicago should claim one star as proudly as the other.

Role model? There's the obvious point that athletes are not role models. There was that little SAT thing with Derrick Rose too. Not the example a role model would set.

Even if Jon Scheyer leads Duke to a championship, he most likely will be thought of as "Remember Jon Scheyer? I wonder what happened to him" ten years from now. And then he'll be googled and that question will be quickly answered.

If you want to write something saying, "Hey, this guy is from Chicago. If you're still looking for someone to cheer for next weekend, consider rooting for him and his Duke teammates" then go ahead. Don't start comparing him to Derrick Rose and wonder who will have the more enriching, meaningful career. Its not even debatable let alone a good enough thought for a column in a major newspaper.