Great Expectations

Today may have been the end of a promising career that never reached its potential. The news out of Boston is that the Celtics have waived forward Darius Miles. It's not exactly shocking news but I was hoping it wouldn't happen. I don't know Miles personally, have never seen him play live, he's not from my hometown, nor has he ever played for my home team. Yet, it comes as a disappointment to me, as I had hoped he could catch on with an NBA team again. In actuality, Miles has worn out his welcome in every city he's played and most would feel no sympathy for a spoiled athlete who skips practice, criticizes his head coach, or fails a drug test. But in a way, I do.

Darius Miles, a former McDonald's All-American, was once Mr. Basketball in Illinois, a state that churns out top high school talent yearly. Miles was known as an explosive player who could throw down with the best of them. But he was more than that. He possessed a great mid-range jumper, a lost art in today's NBA, as well as the size to post up most at his position. Darius had undeniable physical tools and even his flaws coming out of high school seemed fixable: he was a hot-and-cold free throw shooter and despite his 6'9 frame, lacked the mass needed to make an immediate impact as an NBA forward. But most high school athletes aren't formally introduced to weight-training. And free throw shooting, as long as you don't have the heavy hands of Shaq, is very coachable.

While at East St. Louis High in East St. Louis, Illinois, Miles signed a letter of intent to attend St. John's University in New York. That was until he discovered his SAT scores weren't high enough to get into SJU. So while his options were suddenly limited, most believed he was NBA-ready anyway. On the fifth of May in 2000, Darius Miles declared for the NBA draft and about a month later was selected No. 3 overall, the highest a high school player had ever been drafted to that point, by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mr. Miles only played with the Clips for two seasons in which he quickly learned that high school ball and the NBA are two very different games. On his way to being named to the NBA's All-Rookie First Team in the 2000-2001 season, Miles averaged 9.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 1.5 bpg while starting in about a quarter of the eighty-one games he appeared. However, Darius failed to build off his freshman campaign in the '01-'02 season as his stats remained mediocre and his time in the starting lineup decreased.

After two lackluster seasons in L.A., Darius Miles moved on to Cleveland for a fresh start. Not much changed though. The '02-'03 season, Miles' first as a full-time starter, was slowed by injury and his inconsistent play showed how slow he was developing. Halfway through the following year Darius was dealt to the Portland Trailblazers, as Cleveland had grown tired of his average play, apparent laziness and lack of accountability.

Mo Cheeks and the Blazers saw some potential in Miles and liked the fact that he could run the floor so well. He appeared in 42 games, making 40 starts, over the second half of the '03-'04 season and was playing very well at season's end. Notwithstanding his hot play at the end of that season, Miles started about half as many games in the '04-'05 campaign. A big reason for this may have been because of a film session dispute between he and head coach Mo Cheeks. Regardless, Cheeks was fired following that season as the Blazers were among the worst in the NBA. The 2005-2006 season started off well for Miles as he was averaging 14 ppg and 32.2 mpg, both career highs, through 40 games. But on April 15, 2006, Miles severely injured his right knee and missed the remainder of that season and the two that followed.

The NBA and NBAPA jointly appointed an independent doctor to examine Miles' knee and it was discovered that the damage sustained was serious enough to deem the injury as career-ending. Although Miles was waived by the Blazers, he did attract some teams this past offseason and the defending champion Boston Celtics were one team willing to give the former high school star an opportunity to start fresh. Again. However, Miles is not the same player today that he was before his injury and probably never will be. Between his knee and his failed drug test earlier this year (it's unknown what substance he used, although I'm sure it was in the tree family), Boston obviously didn't feel like he was worth the time.

Since The Darius Miles Experiment, the NBA has created a rule that requires a player to be twenty years of age before entering his name in the draft. Some players (LeBron and Dwight Howard come to mind) have gone directly from high school and thrived in the pros. These two, in particular, have actually become big-name stars and have already become the face of the NBA. But for every LeBron and Howard, there are a handful of Darius Miles-type guys who were hyped in high school and failed to the make the transition to the pros. Imagine being told your whole life that you're the man. Imagine having these high expectations for yourself and having to deal with the stress that comes along with it. I'm sure Miles bought into the hype and believed everything people were saying. Wouldn't you?

This is why I believe the NBA has done the right thing in enforcing an age limit. Many young athletes are not physically, mentally or emotionally prepared to jump directly into the life that comes along with being a professional. Clearly, Darius Miles is one of those athletes. It's sort of a shame that he never panned out. Plus, no one should have their career end because of injury. I just hope the guy is doing the right thing with his fortune because right now, his chances of making an NBA roster again are looking slim.