Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMBB | LONG GONE: As Donte Greene prepares for Thursday's NBA Draft, he's eager to leave Syracuse behind
By Andy McCullough
Posted: 6/24/08, 12:29 AM EST Section: Sports
PHILADELPHIA - Don't try calling him.
That cell number you snagged, Donte Greene's number, the one you called him on to say he was a fool for leaving the Syracuse men's basketball team after his freshman season? To remind him that no one would want him when the NBA Draft rolls around Thursday?
Don't bother. Greene changed his cell number weeks ago. New digits for a new life, now that his college one is finished. He closed his Facebook wall too. Same thing with his MySpace account.
Greene wants to close this chapter of his life, to move on from Syracuse. But he still gets messages - he's gotten thousands at this point, he said - from Orange fans, ripping him for leaving too soon, for taking his shooting stroke and his 17.7 points a game and turning pro.
"I don't get no love from up there," he said. "That's crazy, man."
He's considered a first-round pick, if not a lottery selection in Thursday's draft. In the choppy waters of mock drafts, ESPN basketball analyst Chad Ford predicts the 6-foot-9, 221-pound forward will be selected 25th by the Houston Rockets. Greene had been the 15th pick in Ford's mock the week before. A lack of seasoning, Ford wrote, was the reason for Greene's fall in his virtual draft world.
Another site, Draftexpress.com, has the Golden State Warriors snatching him in the 14th slot.
Greene has heard talk like this from all over the place. He visited the Los Angeles Clippers, who own the seventh pick, on Monday and the Washington Wizards, who own the 18th pick, on Tuesday. His basketball friends from Baltimore, like Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony and three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell, have offered advice.
So who knows? Greene says he's sure of one thing.
"I'm getting drafted, I'm going lottery, trying to go down top 10," he said two weeks ago, as a trainer wrapped his knees following an audition for the Philadelphia 76ers and their 16th pick - just outside the lottery, but not outside the cocoon of the first round and millions of guaranteed dollars.
That cell number you snagged, Donte Greene's number, the one you called him on to say he was a fool for leaving the Syracuse men's basketball team after his freshman season? To remind him that no one would want him when the NBA Draft rolls around Thursday?
Don't bother. Greene changed his cell number weeks ago. New digits for a new life, now that his college one is finished. He closed his Facebook wall too. Same thing with his MySpace account.
Greene wants to close this chapter of his life, to move on from Syracuse. But he still gets messages - he's gotten thousands at this point, he said - from Orange fans, ripping him for leaving too soon, for taking his shooting stroke and his 17.7 points a game and turning pro.
"I don't get no love from up there," he said. "That's crazy, man."
He's considered a first-round pick, if not a lottery selection in Thursday's draft. In the choppy waters of mock drafts, ESPN basketball analyst Chad Ford predicts the 6-foot-9, 221-pound forward will be selected 25th by the Houston Rockets. Greene had been the 15th pick in Ford's mock the week before. A lack of seasoning, Ford wrote, was the reason for Greene's fall in his virtual draft world.
Another site, Draftexpress.com, has the Golden State Warriors snatching him in the 14th slot.
Greene has heard talk like this from all over the place. He visited the Los Angeles Clippers, who own the seventh pick, on Monday and the Washington Wizards, who own the 18th pick, on Tuesday. His basketball friends from Baltimore, like Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony and three-time NBA champion Sam Cassell, have offered advice.
So who knows? Greene says he's sure of one thing.
"I'm getting drafted, I'm going lottery, trying to go down top 10," he said two weeks ago, as a trainer wrapped his knees following an audition for the Philadelphia 76ers and their 16th pick - just outside the lottery, but not outside the cocoon of the first round and millions of guaranteed dollars.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Marc LeVine
posted 6/24/08 @ 10:37 AM EST
Ok. So who's the next big "thing" in SU Basketball? Carmelo left us AFTER a Championship. Donte left us BEFORE one. Before Carmelo there were Derricks, Shermans, and Rony's. (Continued…)
Helen
posted 6/24/08 @ 11:11 AM EST
SU should build a men's ice hockey team- the athletic dynamic is so much different and the game is exciting!!! They athletes stay with the program in vastly larger percentages and they aren't in it just to go pro and make a killing. (Continued…)
John C.
posted 6/24/08 @ 12:43 PM EST
I'm over Donte leaving, but why would he even think he'd get any "love" from us up at 'Cuse? It's not like he left any legacy behind. He ushered in an era of showboating, no defense, and mental lapses, things Syracuse basketball never stood for, until now. (Continued…)
MarkinMaryland
posted 6/24/08 @ 7:39 PM EST
I am sad to see him go so quickly. I see all the problems Melo had his first few years in the pros on a personal level. Now with the DWI, something tells me the guy needed more help maturing. (Continued…)
Michael Rybacki
posted 6/25/08 @ 11:56 AM EST
I don't think Donte will fail. He's a talented kid, and the author of this article is right, he's going to make millions regardless.
That being said, I think this was a really shortsighted decision. (Continued…)
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