12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 7, 2003

NHL DRAF
Continued from Page 11
Take the hometown Pistons. Have you ever
seen Darko Milicic play before, besides those
grainly European scouting videos that look
like the Zapruder film? And now that the Pis-
tons have him, they think that one offseason
will get him ready for an American style of
hoops not seen on the playgrounds of Saraje-
vo. Wouldn't it make sense to have him play a
season in the NBA Developmental League,
just to get him ready for the American run-
and-gun, "What's a jump shot?"-style of play?
How about Anthony? Everyone fell in love
with his smile throughout the Big Dance, but
remember he only played one season. Is it
possible he could come right into Denver,
suit up in those awful Carolina blue jerseys
and make them a playoff contender? Of
course. Is it possible he was just a flash in
the pan, and throwing him into the starting
lineup prematurely will cause him to collapse
under the pressure and expectations? Of
course. Unfortunately for the Nuggets,
there's no guarantee on Anthony.
Now back to Tambellini. He finished last
season with a heartbreaking overtime loss in
the Frozen Four. That sure seems like a rea-
son to come back for at least one more year.
The drive to be even better than last year will
most likely cause him to work hard in the
offseason and be ready for a new season. In
the fall, most of the weight of Ann Arbor will
be on his shoulders, not to mention one of
the finer coaches in collegiate hockey, Red
Berenson, looking over his development the
entire time. Tambellini's development in the
next season will pay off for the Kings when
he does decide to play, and couldn't have
occurred had he prematurely jumped to the
NHL.

Let's not kid ourselves. All this boils down
to money. If the Kings offered Tambellini a
significant amount of money, it'd be hard to
turn it down. The same goes for NBA guys.
The money is what drives players turning
pro. Money talks - and even championships
are being turned down for the lucrative rook-
ie contracts.
But all the money can disappear once a
player goes down with an injury. Oftentimes
commentators and media folks say that a
player needs to declare this season because of
the risk of injury. Had James gone to college
and blown out his knee in his first game,
you'd never hear from him again. But NHL
clubs take that into consideration, and while it
is a concern for them, they know they have a
player's rights for as long as they want. The
advances in medical rehabilitation make
seemingly career-threating injuries into minor
setbacks.
Say both James and Tambellini suffered
knee injuries this offseason. James' stock in
the draft would have gone the way of Enron,
and while Tambellini's would have fallen as
well, NHL clubs might be willing to take a
risk. Tambellini would most likely then finish
his career at Michigan while continuing to
rehab the knee. James would be out of luck,
as he passed on his chance to go to college.
When it's all said and done, it would seem
that the NBA could stop its mass exodus of
underclassmen by implementing a system
similar to hockey. NHL clubs are making
serious long-term investments by doing their
homework while NBA teams are going with a
hot stock tip trying to get rich quick.
While ESPN is eager to hype the college
athletes and create big ratings by saying
they're ready, the scout in the Kings war
room looked at Tambellini's name and said,
"He'll be ready."

DAILY, BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMS
VICTIMS IN FATAL ACCIDENT
University alums Kelly on moving to Los Angeles to ieal Center where she had no
McKinnell and Kelly Pagel continue her work as a com- vital signs but was briefly resus-
w e r e mercial photographer. citated. This Business Schoo
- 1-- " -"KA',1f - ,6 --"'"- *- ~~A"** 4^5" .fo """ a

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KELLY MCINNELL/Dai)
Photographer McKinnell captured Michigan soccer players in a
game against Wright State in October, 1997.

I always love a good Me too! But I wish stores
"Grand Opening" sale! would have more of them, Wow.
There's always such like five times a year.
good deals!
Michigan Book EgaUPBoqk
De-CrandOP IWI I',
20% off all general merchandise
(excluding electronics and textbooks)
Plus extended hours July 16-19 1
Michigan Book and Supply open until 8pm 549 S. University
662-3201
Expires July 31,2003

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