What Does the Future Hold for Eligible College Players?

By Trey Cosby

The 2008 Collegiate NCAA Basketball Tournament has finally come to an end, after a month full of excitement and anticipation as the 65 teams have been shaved down to one!  The Kansas Jayhawks are the champions of the college basketball world.  They shocked everyone by mounting an almost impossible comeback in the last two minutes of the National Championship game against Memphis.  Down nine points with two minutes to go, the ‘Hawks shortened the game by fouling Memphis’ best players, and both Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose missed critical free throws to allow Kansas to come back.

The game began with both teams running up and down the court like runaway freight trains.  There were a huge amount of missed baskets, and each team made a great many mistakes.  The two teams hadn’t previously played each other, so they were kind of going through the “feeling each other out” process in the beginning of the game.  It was a seesaw game for about three quarters up until Memphis made their run.

With the combination of the missed free throws, timely defense and three-point shooting by Kansas, the game ended with a tie in regulation and went into overtime.  The Jayhawks took the lead and never looked back.  They finally closed it out with a 75-68 victory.  This was the first overtime in a national championship game since 1997.

The purpose of this article is to focus in on the players who might be going pro, and who I think the reader should go after when it comes to rookie cards and other memorabilia.

If you focus on Memphis then you need to look at the nucleus of players who might turn pro next year.  Joey Dorsey is a senior, so he has no choice but to turn pro.  When it comes to junior Chris Douglas-Roberts and freshmen Derrick Rose, both need to make a choice as to what they are going to do with their basketball futures, and that remains to be seen.  They have both stated that they need to talk it over with their families, so all of us who are watching with concern will have to wait until the decisions are made.

When you look over to the champion Jayhawks team, you should set your eyes on these three players:  Junior guard Mario Chalmers, sophomore guard Sheron Collins and junior forward/guard Brandon Rush.  They formed a strong triangle for Kansas in 2008, but they—just like all the players eligible for Memphis—must now turn their attention to what they are going to do in the near future when it comes to the much maligned NBA draft.

All five players are very skilled.  They have made wonderful college players, and I don’t think anyone will disagree with that.  However, now they will now have their weaknesses exposed, because that is what the NBA does, and each one of them needs to figure out whether or not they are going to maximize their draft potential or get another dose of experience in the college game.

Derrick Rose is the best of the five players.  Although is just a freshman, he gave Coach John Calipari and the entire nation a glimpse of what he is capable of by showcasing his array of talents: He has the athleticism of a Michael Jordan and the grace of a Bernard King.  He is a player who plays with controlled chaos.

Rose can absolutely jump out of the gym with a vertical leap of over 40 inches, and his explosive speed can beat just about anyone in the country when it comes to one-on-one skills.  He must work a bit on his shooting before he moves on to the next level, but overall he is as skilled as any senior who is eligible to come out.  The pros are going to be salivating over the opportunity to get this kid, and there is a chance that he could be the number one pick in the draft provided that Michael Beasley and Tyler Hansbrough stay in college.  Even if those two players do come out, Rose stands a good chance of being number three.

As soon as Rose makes his decision known, and I believe he will opt to enter the NBA draft, I am letting you know now that you need to get your hands on this kid’s rookie card.  Derrick Rose is going to be a star in the NBA!  He has all the skills required, plus he is a very likeable guy and a great student.  Not to mention the fact that he is a very marketable kind of player with a sense of style and work ethic, which the NBA will love to get a hold of.  It’s kind of funny how much he resembles Tiger Woods; now we will see if he can handle the fame and fortune with the grace and elegance that Woods handles it with.

The future is very bright for young Derrick Rose.  We will be talking about him in the same conversations that we talk about Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Chris Paul in the very near future.  He is good enough to take an organization and put it on his back.  Who will that organization be? 

As for right now we will have to wait before we can find out where Rose will end up.  When he gets drafted there will be a swarm of endorsements and an avalanche of new opportunities for businesses to make him their poster boy.  Stand in line to obtain anything you can get with Rose’s signature on it.  IT WILL BE WORTH IT.