Dave Sez

Draft Punks

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I say that I never expected to read the headline, "Terps' Ibekwe, Strawberry May File for Draft."

Huh? Yeah, I'm sure the NBA is just drooling over a couple of guys who scored 10 and 11 points per game for a team that missed the NCAA Tournamant.

Now, folks close to the players are saying that neither really wants to enter the draft, but they want to see how the process works. They won't hire an agent. Fine. If that were really true, that they never really intend to leave, that would be sensible. But I don't believe that for a second. Shavlik Randolph said the same thing last year, but left and then wasn't drafted. Sure, Randolph was picked up and made a team, but that's a one-in-a-million shot and neither Strawberry nor Ibekwe is 6'11".

Instead, I think both of these guys think they are NBA-quality talent but are being held back in Maryland's system. They are hoping that their true talent will show in these camps and they can go get paid.

They're wrong - especially Ibekwe. Strawberry is talented and with some more seasoning, could be an NBA player. But he's not ready now. Not close.

The fact that these guys are doing this, one year after John Gilchrist was basically run off for having a prima-donna attitude, makes me wonder what's going on in Gary Williams' program. Add in Chris McCray's ineligibility and Travis Garrison's lackluster play and it looks like there's a whole lot of smoke swirling around College Park. And it's not just the remains of the post-women's championship rioting.