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<div id="article_body" class="body_copy"> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> </div><h1>I'm Declaring for the Draft, is Jamont Coming Too?</h1><span id="size_icons" class="size_icons">
</span> <p id="article_author" class="source_info">By Shane Power, Staff Writer
Posted Apr 18, 2008
<span class="article_copyright">Copyright © 2008 BullDawgJunction.com</span></p>
<div class="news_main_article_image"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100"> <tbody> <tr> <td></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div id="article_deck" class="deck_copy"> As I look ahead to next season I'm optimistic about MSU's current young talent and excited about the incoming recruits. With the meshing of these Young Guns I believe our team will be better than people think. As you contemplate State's basketball future, ask yourself what if somehow the stars were to align and the J-Tank came back, wow, State would now be back in the national scene. </div> <div id="article_body" class="body_copy"> <p class="MsoNormal">Jamont Gordon still has a difficult decision to make. He is obviously physically ready and I believe he is mature enough to go to the next level. It would be hard for him to put up better numbers than he did this year; he has already won two SEC West Titles and been an All-SEC performer twice. I believe the decision will come down to where he believes he will go in the draft and whether he feels like he is ready.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>What Part of an All-American Can Be Underrated?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I want to shed some light on an aspect of Jamont that I think is underrated and is something you wouldn't be able to find out unless you've had multiple one-on-one conversations with him. When you look at Jamont you see this athletic specimen of a player and a guy that just looks tough, and because of this he probably doesn't get enough credit for his mental aptitude for the game of basketball and life in general. Jamont is very street smart, which means not only does he understand what's going on around him but he understands tendencies of people, and the ways of the world. Jamont has a common sense understanding of things that not all of our players have. I think this is important to understand when analyzing Jamont's decision of whether or not to jump to the MEN'S League. Jamont is not your average Show Me the Money type of player who wants to jump to the NBA as soon as he steps foot on a college campus. Jamont knows this is the best point guard draft ever, but he also has an inherent confidence in himself that will allow him to flourish in the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp and the individual team pre-draft workouts. I had the privilege of going through the draft process and can tell you the setup of these ultra-important workouts that Jamont will go through if he decides to declare for the draft.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Beginning the Process</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">First you need to select an agent. This was one of the most difficult parts of the process for me. It's like going through the recruiting process all over again, and choosing your agent is like choosing the coach you want to play for. Your agent is going to have a big influence on your decisions and he will be the guy setting up your workouts and selling you to the various Directors of Scouting and General Managers. What you have to decide is if you want to sign with a big agency like SFX or IMG or a one or two person agency with more of a personal approach. The big agencies have lots of power and have the inside track on what's going on behind the scenes in the NBA and they have negotiating power because they are the agencies' with the All-Stars and Superstars. However, unless you are a superstar yourself you will be pretty far down on the totem pole and may not get the attention and push you need. A smaller agency can work with you much closer and give you all the attention you want but they don't have quite the bargaining power and instant respect like the IMG's of the world. A larger agency also has the advantage of bringing all their newly signed players to a city where they will train together in the weight room, on the track, and on the court. Only the major agencies can afford this because it gets very expensive for trainers, meals, lodging, and transportation. Another aspect you have to consider if you're not a guaranteed first round pick is which agency has the best balance of being strong in the NBA while also being strong in European basketball. Most agencies will have at least one American on staff that will deal with the overseas teams but many times they will also partner with a major local agent overseas. So you have to take it a step further and figure out how strong their partnered agents are in the overseas hotbeds like Italy, Spain, and Greece. This sounds like a lot for a twenty-two year-old to figure out, and trust me it is.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The ironic part of all this hustling and bustling by the different agencies is that they don't even get paid on the first three years of your contract, and will only make money those first few years if you get major endorsement deals. So you can see they are taking a big gamble on whether or not you can sign a large second contract after the first three years. Once you sign with your agent you can move on to the next phase of the draft process.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A specific team will work with your agent to set up a workout. Agents try to negotiate who will be in the workout with their player, and many times will not agree to a workout if they don't like the situation their guy will be put in. Your agent will try to get you workouts grouped together by location to cut down on your travel time. For every player outside of the lottery you can be looking at possibly ten to fifteen workouts in about a month. As you can see the process for many guys can get very tiresome.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>A Writer Gets NBA Tryouts</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I had similar experiences when working out with the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, and the Indianapolis Pacers. The team flies you in and picks you up from the airport in a limo. They then take you to your hotel, get you checked in, and give you a per diem for the day of $150. Yes a $150 a day to eat, that means if you are really famished you can buy $30 foot long Subway sandwiches, 250 wings at Buffalo Wild Wings, or 5 steak dinners at Outback Steakhouse. Since I was inexperienced I made the mistake of just ordering room service and trying to get some rest. I see why they give you so much money, because for a two course dinner with all the tips and fees added in at a four-star hotel in L.A. my bill was a $130. I almost cried thinking of the all the Cappe's and Veranda blue plate specials that I just wasted on a $130 of salad, hamburger, veggies, a side of fruit, and a lemonade. The next day was an Applebee's three course meal and I pocketed the rest which I later spent on some lovely ladies in Manhattan Beach. And yes, they were the type of girl's worthy of you handing half your salary over to and saying, "Buy whatever you want!"</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Workout Specifics</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All of the team workouts will have four players in them. Some workouts will have two point guards and two big guys, and some workouts will have four point guards. First, you go through 25 minutes of hard warm-ups and dynamic stretching. Then you pair up in teams and go through shooting drills. After all the shooting drills are done, you start the one-on-one and two-one-two drills. You go against each other full court, and then from every position in the half court. The coaches put you in a lot of pick and roll situations. By this time you finish these competitions you are absolutely exhausted. This is when you perform all of the athleticism tests, which include one-step and no-step vertical jump tests, lateral quickness tests, short sprint tests, and the dreaded endurance test. For the endurance test they put 2 minutes up on the clock and you have to run down and back as many times as you possibly can. The total workout may not sound like the Iron Man but when you are trying as hard as you possibly can in every situation, and guys are trying to kill each other in the team drills it proves to be the hardest workout you've ever done every time. Every player involved knows their career is on the line and their effort reflects that.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many times the guys who are predicted to get drafted in the Draft Lottery will try to have as many workouts by themselves as they can. They can then show what they do best, and not have to worry about getting out played or having a weakness exposed by a lower rated player. This is where the cat and mouse games come in with the agents. The top three highest rated point guards will only have to compete against each other three times at the most, and will probably only have to man up against lower rated point guards once or twice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>What This Means for Jamont</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There is no doubt in my mind that Jamont will be the most dodged player in the pre-draft workouts. Any agent worth his salt will not put his guy up against Jamont in a situation where he basically has to play one-on-one for two hours. For example Derrick Rose is the highest rated point guard in the draft and maybe the number 1 overall pick, but Jamont had 21pts 11rebs and 5asst against him in the NCAA Tournament. In a workout where Rose has to play one-on-one from the wing, one-on-one from the top of the key, and one-on-one full court against Jamont, I think best case scenario for the NCAA's top point guard, is a draw. Think about it, Rose isn't going to out shoot Jamont, he's not going to out physical Jamont like he does against many of the other point guards, and he's not going to intimidate Jamont. I think Jamont will actually look better in the draft workouts than he did this year while he was putting up double-doubles from the point guard spot.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It's obviously a mountain of a decision for a player who is ready for the NBA, but has to make the decision if he's doing himself justice by leaving early for possibly the best draft ever. "The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing." We'll have to wait and see if it's the right time for Mr. Gordon.</p> </div>
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