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NBA looking Miles ahead
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
MINNEAPOLIS -- Darius Miles knew he was gone as soon as he saw NBA scouts at his prep all-star games. He knew that waiting for a qualifying test score to go to St. John's wasn't worth the time. He knew he had the game to play in the NBA.
|  | | Darius Miles thinks he's ready to bring his high-flying skills to the NBA. |
How? Because Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady bypassed college for the pros, so why couldn't he?
That's the thinking of a new generation of high school seniors. Forget about veterans like Karl Malone, Reggie Miller or Patrick Ewing being influences on high-profile prepsters.
High school seniors who think they can play at this level without going to college know the path has been blazed before them. So, why not take the chance? For Miles, the 6-foot-9 (he's probably closer to 6-7) McDonald's All-American from East St. Louis (Ill.) High, declaring for the NBA draft was worth it after Wednesday night.
He ended up going to the Clippers with the third pick. He wasn't even the top high school player in the class of 2000. But he might have been the most talented, and the one who was closest -- at least on first glance -- to Bryant, Garnett and McGrady. The comparisons aren't fair, or realistic, but they are reality for Miles.
"The people who influenced me were Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady," Miles said on the eve of the NBA draft at the Target Center in Minneapolis. "They had the chance to do it. So do I."
Miles has had an air of confidence about him since the end of the high school season. He signed in November with St. John's, but struggled to get eligible. Once his stock rose among NBA scouts, qualifying became a moot point. He said he would have made the same choice to declare, even if he had reached a qualifying score.
Making that statement proves how the NBA and college basketball have changed over the past five years. But it proves how important high school all-star games and NBA workouts are for players making a decision to skip college or leave after only one season.
Duke's Corey Maggette heard the buzz about him during the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Even though he wasn't starting for the Blue Devils, Maggette took the bait that he would be a lottery pick after hearing it from NBA scouts through the media. He was hooked, and he was taken with the No. 13 pick.
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The people who
influenced me were Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady. They had the chance
to do it. So do I. ” |
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— Darius Miles |
The buzz over Miles has taken on mythical proportions over the past few weeks. Without a clear impact player in this year's draft, teams didn't want to get burned by missing out on Miles. Remember, Bryant went 13th in the '96 draft, Garnett went No. 5 in the '95 draft, McGrady was taken at No. 9 in the '97 draft. Rashard Lewis, who was chastised for skipping college, went No. 32 in the second round in the '98 draft. Yet, two years later, teams are wishing they had grabbed Lewis earlier.
All four players might have been better prepared for the NBA than Miles is today. But that shouldn't deter Miles. Jonathan Bender was taken No. 5 in
last year's draft instead of going to Mississippi State. Bender took advantage of being a hit at the McDonald's game and got into the top five. He didn't do much in year one for the Pacers, but that doesn't mean much to players who want to be another a teenage millionaire sitting on an NBA bench.
"Kids today are coming out with a lot of talent," said LSU sophomore Stromile Swift, who considered coming out of high school two years ago and is pegged to be the No. 2 pick to Vancouver Grizzlies. "It's all about timing, and the timing was right for Darius to go."
How can a player know the timing is right?
"You can't," Swift said. "You just got to know. I knew the timing was right for me."
Miles is confident that he'll be a major contributor next season. He doesn't think he's going to be a seven to eight-minute man. He thinks he can be the seventh or
eighth man on the roster. According to his workout partner Quentin Richardson, Miles is more advanced than "people think." But he's still only 18 years old. What he's missing is maturity, both mentally and physically.
"I'm a man now, and I feel that there's nothing that can disrupt my concentration," Fresno State fifth-year senior Courtney Alexander said. "That's how I know I'm ready."
A few of the players assembled for the draft have joked with Miles that they were signing a national letter of intent when they were 18, not a million-dollar contract. Jealousy and skepticism are the common themes surrounding Miles.
"I guess he felt he was ready like Kobe and KG," said Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin, who will likely be the No. 1 pick. "I know that the experience helped me. I know how to make myself a better player. Darius needs someone to work with him. He's talented, but he needs someone to help him make it in the league."
Martin wouldn't have been a first-round pick had he left out of high school. He might not have been one after his sophomore season. A year ago, he said he knows he had no chance to be No. 1.
But each player has to make a decision as to whether or not they're ready for the rigors of the NBA both mentally and physically. Miles is soft-spoken, but he's cocky -- so much so, that he seems to fit in fine with the high rollers running around at the draft. He has just as much of an aura around him as Martin or anyone else in the draft.
Miles already has the draft jargon down. He knows he's going in the top four and doesn't mind saying it.
"But one of the teams will trade their pick," Miles said. "If I were predicting the draft, I would say Kenyon goes No. 1, Stromile No. 2, me or Marcus Fizer No. 3 or me at No. 4. There's no dominating player in the draft like when Tim Duncan was No. 1."
The Clippers are banking that Miles will be a hit. Based on the past five drafts, he certainly was a star for at least one night.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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Darius Miles rocks the cradle.