Karl is against high school stars in NBA
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- Bucks coach George Karl is one of the few around the NBA who has not caught LeBron James fever.
Before James' Akron St. Vincent St. Mary team faced top-ranked Oak Hill Academy in a nationally televised game Thursday, Karl voiced his displeasure over high-school students entering the NBA.
"No, I will not watch it," he said.
Karl wants a minimum age requirement -- preferably 20 -- for players entering the draft.
"There's a ninth- or 10th-grader in Yugoslavia," Karl said, seriously. "They say he's damn good, too. They say he's better than LeBron."
It makes sense that Karl would be against James' early entry, given the Bucks have practically no shot at getting the No. 1 overall pick if the team continues playing at its current near-playoff pace.
Isiah Thomas, coach of the Central Division-leading Pacers, has a different opinion.
"If anything, there should be a skill limit," he said, laughing. "If you look at the sports profession the same as others, you'd say a lot of these guys are geniuses at what they do. You can't say they're geniuses in life, but in the profession, they're geniuses. There are some mature old heads at 17 and some immature young heads at 35. James might be one of those guys who has it all together."
The teams currently on pace to draft James are the Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Knicks, Heat and Bulls. Although ending with the worst record gives a team the best statistical chance at James, it's far from a guarantee. No team with the worst record has gotten the No. 1 pick in 12 years. The last time it happened was 1990, when the Nets selected Derrick Coleman.