The Leinart Lesson: An NBA Draft Preview

Hello Gainsville, is Joakim Noah available? Just wanted to make sure he saw the NFL Draft last week. In case he missed it, former Heisman Trophy winner, "can't miss prospect" and quarterback most ready to play in the NFL Matt Leinart fell to #10. Sure, playing for Arizona with Larry Fitzgerald and Edgerrin James is a better alternative than playing with the San Francisco 49ers offense (heck, he had more talent at USC than the 49ers have), but the signing bonus for a #10 pick certainly is not the same as for the #1 pick. 

I know ESPN's Dick Vitale waxes poetic about players staying in school, but Noah would be smart to learn from Leinart's lesson.

Matt Leinart would have been the unquestioned #1 pick in the NFL Draft last season. But by returning to enjoy college life and win another national championship (oops), scouts had more and more opportunites to nitpick and find things they did not like about his arm strength, past injuries, etc. Now, I think NFL teams make a colossal mistake when they get enamored with a player's combine performance, not his football performance, but it's their perogative.

Joakim Noah would be the #1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft , if he enters. Right now, all scouts remember is the scintillating performance in the Final Four as he dominated the floor and led the Florida Gators to the National Championship. NBA General Managers, Scouts and Head Coaches will watch him run and jump at the pre-draft camps, oohh and aahh, and pick him #1, thinking about his potential, overwhelmed by his athleticism and length.