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In most American sports, as well as our very own AFL, a lot is made of the annual draft.
Each year, the best young prospects in their respective sport enter their names in the draft in hope to be picked up by a professional team.
This night is heavily scrutinised by pundits such as the ones you might find on The Roar, and can often be the turning point in a team’s fortunes if they land the right guy.
By the same token, a team that fails to capitalise on the luxury of a top pick in the draft can often be set back years, or even miss out on a possible championship altogether.
However, as heavily analysed and examined the draft is, a lot of the work of making a true professional player out of a young kid is done after the draft – a fact often ignored by analysts.
It’s no mistake that teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and the Hawthorn Hawks – also the two current champions of the NBA and AFL – manage to hit rather than miss on most draft picks.
It’s also no coincidence that teams dwelling around the bottom of the league, such as the Melbourne Demons and the Sacramento Kings, while often selecting a talented young kid, cannot seem to climb to the top of the ladder.
Don’t get me wrong; picking the right guy when you’re on the clock is important – very important. Draft strategies of either “best available” or “picking for need” are heavily debated, and player scouting, especially later in the draft, is essential.
However once that player’s name is called out, and he puts on the team’s cap, or holds up the team’s jersey, he ceases to become a pick and is now a player. It is the responsibility of the team to develop him, work with him, and support him with whatever it is he needs on his path to becoming a professional athlete.
A lot has to do with situation – obviously a player landing in a more favourable situation, where he is afforded an opportunity to play as much as he is comfortable with is important.
A lot also has to do with team personnel – this includes coaching and development staff, teammates, injury and rehab staff and personal attendance staff to makes sure that a kid living away from home in a completely foreign city for the first time is alright.
Young players coming straight out of the amateur game and straight into the professional game have a lot to learn and take in. In most situations, top picks are expected to come in and dominate straight away, or at least show visible signs of the ability to do so.
In reality, only the once in a generation players come in and do this straight away, and for the rest of their career – the rest either hit their ceiling quickly, taper off, or don’t dominate at all.
In the case of the majority, the work put into the players by the club is almost as important as the work put into the club by the players.
In the example of the NBA, the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George and the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler, both players have now eclipsed their rookie season statistics – George averages three times the points he did in back then – Butler averages 10 fold.
While this is a credit to both players’ incredible individual work on and off the court, it is also a credit to both their clubs – players don’t become elite on their own.
It’s also no surprise that Indiana and Chicago are two of the premier teams in the league – successful organisations, both with successful player development.
These things aren’t just coincidences.
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