Friday, February 3, 2006
In December 2004, former Kansas basketball player Micah Downs pondered a jump to the NBA. His father, Steve, told media outlets that he wanted his son, then in his senior year of high school, to go to the NBA. He later said he wanted his son to play for Kansas.
It’s not uncommon for fathers of today’s high profile men’s basketball players to become deeply involved in determining which schools their sons choose. Two KU basketball players, however, said players lean more on themselves than on their fathers when it comes to recruitment.
Though Steve Downs’ influence on Micah’s transfer from Kansas last week is relatively unknown, freshman forward Julian Wright said he knew the influence Steve had on Micah’s departure.
“I know for sure it wasn’t because of his dad,” Wright said.
Ronnie Chalmers, director of men’s basketball operations and the father of freshman guard Mario Chalmers, said players thought independently when choosing a college. Downs was no exception. Ronnie said that in the few times he spoke with Steve, he never got the impression that Steve dictated Micah’s decision of choosing college or the pros. Mario said he agreed with his father.
“I met Steve once. I thought he was funny,” Mario said. “I never came across an instance where a dad was picking the school.”
Mario didn’t speculate on why Micah left. He said Micah just didn’t seem comfortable at Kansas.
“When we went out, he didn’t ever go with us. He kept to himself,” Mario said.
Mario and Wright played in last year’s McDonald’s All-American game. The best basketball talents in the nation crammed into one building to display their talents. Neither came across a player who said his dad made the decision for him.
Ronnie Chalmers spent a lot of time with the families and fathers of those highly recruited players. He said he never heard a father making all or most his son’s decisions. Using himself as an example, he explained the role he played in Mario’s recruitment.
“I would do the research on the program, all the schools that recruited Mario, and the availability of scholarships,” Ronnie said. “I told him, ‘Wherever you go, it is your decision. It’s you who is going to love it or hate it.’”
He went further to say that Mario was first interested in Kansas. When Self called Mario to recruit him, Kansas became a quick favorite.
It doesn’t always work that smoothly, though.
There was an instance just this Wednesday — NCAA football signing day — in which Vidal Hazelton, rivals.com seventh-ranked football player and second-rated wide receiver, signed a letter of intent to play at the University Southern California. Hazelton’s father did not sign the letter, saying he wanted his son to play at Penn State. Hazelton cannot play football anywhere until his father signs.
— Edited by Frank Tankard
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