sports@michigondaily.com 734-764-8585 Monday, July 2, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 1 No Wolverines picked in NBA Draft once again By MARK GIANNOTTO Daily Sports Writer NEW YORK - Childhood dreams came true at the 2007 NBA Draft Thursday night. Sixty col- lege-aged basketball players were selected by NBA teams and offi- cially became professionals. Many of them became millionaires. But there is no happy ending for any members of the Michigan men's basketball team's 2007 grad- uating class - at least not yet. Lester Abram, Dion Harris, Brent Petway and Courtney Sims were not among those drafted at the Madison Square Garden The- ater. This marks the third-consec- utive year that no Wolverine was picked. Going undrafted isn't the end of the road in regards to NBA star- dom. For these four, it is likely just the beginning in a longer, harder journey. All four will now try to latch on to an NBA summer league team. Petway has already signed on with the Atlanta Hawks for sunmer league play, which begins July 6 in Las Vegas. The McDonough, Ga. native will now have a chance to play for his hometown team. "(Brent) chose to sign with the Hawks as a function of desire and opportunity," said Geoffrey Craig, Petway's agent. "We were in touch with every NBA team and felt this was the best situation for him." Prior to the draft, Petway worked out with the Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit Pistons, in addition to the Hawks. Accord-. ing to ESPN.com, Sims worked out for the Boston Celtics a few weeks ago. But reports indicate he was little more than a workout partner for former Florida forward Joakim Noah, who went ninth to the Chi- cago Bulls. Abram, Harris and Sims could not be reached for comment. Many sports agents actually prefer the scenario Petway and the other three graduated seniors must now go through. Going undrafted can sometimes be bet- ter than getting selected in the second round, where contracts are not guaranteed. "A lot of times a player is bet- ter off going undrafted than being the 59th or 60th pick in the draft because then as soon as the draft is over, you're a free agent," said agentBradAmes ofPrioritySports. "You've got 30 teams to negotiate with or to try and get interested in your client rather than the one that drafts you." Their omission from the NBA Draft couldn't have come as much of a shock for the four former Wol- verines. None were even listed amongst the 133 possible picks in the guide rsailed to members of the See BASKETBALL, Page 16 Brent Petway signed with the Atlanta Hawks after not being drafted, Amaker failed quartet in its pursuit of dream ollege helps most people pre- pare for success in their cho- sen professional field. If you want to be a lawyer, doc- tor or go into busi- ness, you're in pretty good shape at Michigan. And there are myriad other programs - at the Univer- H.JOSE sity that help you BOSCH become the best in your field once you The Bosch graduate. Wofch Sports aren't much different. While some players may not take college as seriously, the fact of the matter is clege sor is can help a player become iore seasoned befor e or she steps up to the profes- sional ranks, especially in the big rev- enue sports. It's sitple: The more time you spend playing a sport in college, the more experience you have to take with you to the pros. Unfortunately for Lester Abram, Dion Harris, Brent Petway and Court- ney Sims, former Michigan men's bas- ketball coach Tommy Amaker didn't do much to help develop them into legitimate professional prospects. The case of Harmris is especially sad consid- ering he had the most potential of the four coming into Michigan. The players didn't help themselves, eitlser. At times they seemed almost ;,sthitic when their season and, ulti- mately their basketball careers, were going down the drain. But regardless of who is more to blamne for the failure of the class of 2007, Amaker's inability to develop his players hurt not only the program, but also the players' chances of fulfilling the childhood dream of playing pro- fessional sports. College is a great experience and it's tlit time in a person'; life that will always live in his or her memo- ry. But it's just fleeting and without taking advantage of it, you'll have a hard time succeeding at something you love to do. There are exceptions. College isn't an immutable necessity for success and happiness either in sports or in life. But it can't hurt. The saddest thing about Thursday's NBA Draft isn't the lack of prestige that comes with pumping out profes- sional athletes each and every season. Or the pride of buying the professionam jersey ufa playery uswatelsed frossthe Maize Rage on a weekly basis every year while you were in school. It's that four childhood dreams weren't fulfilled. One coach couldn't celebrate like a proud parent. And the Michigan basketball pro- gram didn't uphold a tradition of u excellence that runs across every facet of the University. Hopefully new Michigan coach, John Beilein will never let this hap- pen again. - - --- ALLISON GHAMAN -Bosch can be reached at Former Michigan men's basketball coach Tommy Amaker may not has hectobostumich.edu done enough to ensure his players post-collegiate on-court success.