I don't write about sports a lot, but in this case I think it's worthwhile.
The media blew up today with the heartwarming story that Makur Maker had committed to Howard University, an HBCU. This sounds like great news. A 5 star recruit forgoing the big name college basketball powers to give some love to an HBCU. My initial reaction was that this is a great story.
Then I found out some more. Maker is one of the top 15 HS players in the country and has been heavily recruited, where he ends up is big news and a huge boost for the program, which makes the choice of Howard noteworthy. Except, Maker has declared for the NBA draft and will likely enter the draft if he's projected to be a first round pick. Which means, he wouldn't actually attend Howard. But even if Maker forgoes the draft, he's likely to be what they call a "one and done" player. In other words a player who plays one year of college ball, only to kill time and to improve his draft position for the following year. So, maybe this story isn't quite what the headlines portray.
Personally, as a CBB fan, I despise the "one and done" rule and believe that college players should play at least 3 years if they choose college. I just want that bias out there.
I am all for athletes taking advantage of their talent and taking it where they can do the most good for themselves. So, if he can get drafted I support his right to go that route fully.
If Maker does play any CBB, I am absolutely thrilled that he's going to avoid the usual suspects and give a program like Howard a huge boost in exposure, money, and hopefully recruiting.
I even think that the publicity for Howard and the HBCU is, on the whole, a positive thing.
However, here's where I think that folks have gotten ahead of themselves. The reality is that Maker has, at best, "committed" to play one year at Howard. He isn't necessarily interested in the education he could get, and certainly isn't really "committed" to anything except his own self interest. I think we have a situation where his choice fits in with a narrative and where the headlines are more important than the story details.
I truly wish Maker the best and truly hope that Howard University gets maximum benefits from this, but at this point it looks like more of a publicity stunt than actual news.
3 comments:
Not ever having been a college sports fan (as if I have the time keep up with the many colleges and conferences and yada, yada, yada), I don't know if this dude's attendance at Howard would even truly lift their prestige and the attention they get nationally. I have to suspect that the school does have some notoriety in college sports, because unless a kid is indeed going for the education, why else would he choose a low level program, unless it was because he felt he could better shine than were he to go to a more prominent program with a better overall class of player.
But your greater point, this certainly is the type of story that elicits attention on its most superficial level. A deeper dive is likely not desired.
By the way, I do have regrets about not following college sports, and that's at draft time for the pros. I have no idea who is truly good or suited for the pro teams I favor...which these days may end up being none of them if I hear of one more act of capitulation and appeasement of the BLM nonsense.
I do enjoy CBB and any time I see a high level recruit heading away from the usual suspects, I’m pleased.
Obviously there’s no way to predict what’ll happen on the court, but clearly the story wasn’t actually what they wanted it to be.
Just to give you an idea of how divorced I am from college hoops, I never even heard of the guy. As a hot shot high school baller, I'm sure most college b-ball fans are familiar with him. It would be like me knowing of Zion Williamson only because of him being touted during the draft season. Now that you've posted this, I'm sure his name will stand out more on sports talk radio while I'm zoning during the college talk.
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