He arrived at Georgia Tech with a ton of hype and fanfare. He will leave Georgia Tech without a shining moment. Derrick Favors' potential last game as a Yellow Jacket will be remembered for his first half foul trouble and frustration to get into a groove vs. Ohio State. Or will we remember any of it?
Favors was Mr. Everything in high school. He was the MVP in the McDonald's All American game and the Jordan Brand Classic. When Paul Hewitt landed this prize recruit, Georgia Tech fans saw endless possibilities for the upcoming season. 'Possibilities' should mean being an elite team in a pretty mediocre ACC conference and landing a top 5 seed in the field of 64 tournament. Once invited, you hope to advance a few rounds and make some noise. Let the Derrick Favors Era Begin! Yeah baby!
And.......era over. Boy, that was fast. Sure the dream you had of landing one of the top high school players in the country was real. The execution and accomplishments shortly thereafter was more like a nightmare.
Elite in the ACC? How does finishing in 7th place with a 7-9 record sound? NCAA Tournament seeding? Let's try a 10 seed on for size. Advancement? One single win and a fizzle in the round of 32. There is nothing sweet or elite about that.
Throughout this season, Favors showed flashes of why he would have been a first round draft pick right out of high school. Flashes wasn't enough for Georgia Tech fans. Consistency always trumps flashes -- ask John Wall or Evan Turner. Favors now has one season of college basketball under his belt and his first round draft status probably remains unchanged. Sadly, that is going to cost Georgia Tech. More than likely, Favors will leave school and enter the NBA draft.
And so the Favors era comes to an end....and what an era it was! Who could ever forget that loss in Athens vs Georgia where Favors had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Or how about that huge win in Chapel Hill vs. a really bad North Carolina team where Favors had 7 points and 4 rebounds? Finally, how about his last game! Going out with a bang! 24 minutes, 10 points! Memories I'll cherish for at least the rest of this afternoon.
So all this begs the question: if your Paul Hewitt, do you continue to go after these one-and-done NBA prospects? Has the reward been worth the risk? Is winning one game in the NCAA tournament really considered a reward? Since Hewitt starting recruiting and landing kids like Favors, Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton, he hasn't had much post season success. Maybe he should take a closer look at his 2004 roster, which made it all the way to national championship game. That team consisted of upper classmen like BJ Elder, Ismail Muhammad, Will Bynum and Luke Schenscher. That team built an 'era.' This year's team, along with Derrick Favors, is already a distant memory.
Favors was Mr. Everything in high school. He was the MVP in the McDonald's All American game and the Jordan Brand Classic. When Paul Hewitt landed this prize recruit, Georgia Tech fans saw endless possibilities for the upcoming season. 'Possibilities' should mean being an elite team in a pretty mediocre ACC conference and landing a top 5 seed in the field of 64 tournament. Once invited, you hope to advance a few rounds and make some noise. Let the Derrick Favors Era Begin! Yeah baby!
And.......era over. Boy, that was fast. Sure the dream you had of landing one of the top high school players in the country was real. The execution and accomplishments shortly thereafter was more like a nightmare.
Elite in the ACC? How does finishing in 7th place with a 7-9 record sound? NCAA Tournament seeding? Let's try a 10 seed on for size. Advancement? One single win and a fizzle in the round of 32. There is nothing sweet or elite about that.
Throughout this season, Favors showed flashes of why he would have been a first round draft pick right out of high school. Flashes wasn't enough for Georgia Tech fans. Consistency always trumps flashes -- ask John Wall or Evan Turner. Favors now has one season of college basketball under his belt and his first round draft status probably remains unchanged. Sadly, that is going to cost Georgia Tech. More than likely, Favors will leave school and enter the NBA draft.
And so the Favors era comes to an end....and what an era it was! Who could ever forget that loss in Athens vs Georgia where Favors had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Or how about that huge win in Chapel Hill vs. a really bad North Carolina team where Favors had 7 points and 4 rebounds? Finally, how about his last game! Going out with a bang! 24 minutes, 10 points! Memories I'll cherish for at least the rest of this afternoon.
So all this begs the question: if your Paul Hewitt, do you continue to go after these one-and-done NBA prospects? Has the reward been worth the risk? Is winning one game in the NCAA tournament really considered a reward? Since Hewitt starting recruiting and landing kids like Favors, Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton, he hasn't had much post season success. Maybe he should take a closer look at his 2004 roster, which made it all the way to national championship game. That team consisted of upper classmen like BJ Elder, Ismail Muhammad, Will Bynum and Luke Schenscher. That team built an 'era.' This year's team, along with Derrick Favors, is already a distant memory.
No comments:
Post a Comment