North Carolina State University Athletics
Haynes' World: Draft Dodger
6/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
Telephone at his side, Damon Thornton settled in for the evening. He couldn't help but think that this was the night he had dreamed about all of his life. On the tube was the 2001 NBA Draft. Armed with positive feedback that he'd been given by a handful of teams, the former NC State forward was confident that his time would come, the time when his name would be called at some point during the night.
But the name was never called and the phone never rang.
Such is the cruel reality of professional sports. Just one day before the draft, Thornton had confidently told a few sportswriters that he would definitely be drafted. Even his former coaches at NC State were led to believe the same thing.
But then again, Arizona center Loren Woods figured that he would be a first round pick. He wasn't. And Alvin Jones, the Georgia Tech big man who had shown such dramatic improvement in his senior year, was nowhere to be found in the opening round of 28 picks. By the end of the night, Woods had slipped all the way down to 46th while Jones was the next to last selection in the draft at No. 57.
Picked ahead of them were such household names as Raul Lopez, Mehmet Okur and Vladimir Radmanovic. North Carolina's Brendan Haywood, who also fell further than expected, was chosen 20th by Cleveland before eventually being traded to Orlando. Is Haywood really that much better than Woods and Jones? Who knows, but isn't that the point? It would be pointless for any of us to try to figure out what some of these coaches and general managers are thinking when they hand their picks over to NBA Commissioner David Stern. Hey, the Chicago Bulls traded their best player (Elton Brand) to the L.A. Clippers for a high school kid (Tyson Chandler).
But perhaps being passed over in the draft will work in Thornton's favor. After impressing several clubs with his play at the pre-draft camps, the 6-8, 240 pound forward now has the luxury of marketing himself as a free agent. Teams like Vancouver and Orlando, who had marveled at Thornton's quickness and athleticism, still have the option of bringing him in.
I was so certain that Thornton would be selected that I actually stayed up and watched the entire draft, something I would have never thought of doing in previous years. Overall, the show provided only brief spurts of entertainment. It's a good thing Charles Barkley was around. Barkley is perhaps the most honest person on the face of the earth. If something is on his mind, Charles will say it. Things like, "Alabama hasn't been any good since they got caught paying players." Sir Charles, of course, played his college ball at Auburn.
The question of the night belonged to TNT interviewer Craig Sager, who asked Haywood if there was still a rivalry between North Carolina and Duke.
Huh?
The moment was almost too painful to watch. But then again, it's doubtful any of us can identify with the pain Damon Thornton must have felt as he watched and waited.
Unfortunately, the name was never called and the phone never rang.
