Friday Night Lies: The story of Guerdwich Montimere

Sports are fun. I like sports, you like sports, Obama likes sports ... most everyone likes sports. We like to play sports and we like to talk about sports. We like to watch sports in person, and we like to watch sports on TV. We like to play sports video games. Most of us would play sports in a box, with a fox, in a boat ... well, you get the idea. The point is, lots of people really like sports. My friends and family might suggest that I am obsessed with sports, and it would be hard for me to argue with them. But I can guarantee you that no one likes sports as much as this dude:

Meet Jerry Joseph ... err, Guerdwich Montimere.

Montimere is a 22 year old (illegal) Haitian immigrant who played high school basketball at Fort Lauderdale's Dillard High School. After leading Dillard to the 2007 Florida class 5A semifinals, he graduates and signs a basketball scholarship with Highland Community College in Freeport, Ill. Montimere then moves to Illinois, attends school for about two seconds, and promptly drops out.

So, college life was not for him. Fine, right? No big deal. If college life is not for Montimere, then he can choose to do something else with his life. Most people would agree with that. The thing is, he didn't decide to quit school altogether. Oh, no. He thought it might be a good idea to get a fresh start and wipe the slate clean after his brief tenure at Highland, so he transfers to a small school in Texas. Okay, that's cool. There are several good community colleges in Texas that he could attend. So which one did he choose? If you guessed Nimitz Junior High in Odessa, then you would be correct!

Nimitz Junior High. Not junior college, junior high. It turns out that Montimere's buddy from Dillard High School, Jabari Caldwell, was enrolled at the University of Texas-Permian Basin at the time. So, Montimere moves into the dorm with Caldwell (whom he claimed was his half-brother) and enrolls at Nimitz Junior High, posing as a 15 year old Haitian immigrant named Jerry Joseph. His Haitian birth certificate (FYI, even real Haitian birth certificates are about as legitimate as the paper inside a fortune cookie at your local China Dragon) shows that he is 15 years old, so Nimitz accepts Montimere.

A few months later, Caldwell moves back to Florida and Montimere needs a place to stay. It was the summer before Montimere's "sophomore" year at Permian High School, the famous football powerhouse that inspired the book/movie/TV series Friday Night Lights. In need of a home and family structure, the Permian basketball coach, Danny Wright, takes Montimere into his home and welcomes him into his family. This part of the story is very Blindside-esque -- you know, the story of how the Tuohy family took Michael Oher (tackle for the Baltimore Ravens) off the streets of Memphis and into their home and helped turn his life around -- except, in this case, the loving family was Blindsided by some 22 year old poser who's got basketball Jones and wants to chase some high school tail. Oh, yes, he went down that path. He not only starred on the basketball court; Montimere apparently gave a 15 year old classmate the "full Monty" at her dad's house one summer afternoon. The family is now pressing charges.

So, to make a long story short, Montimere became a basketball star during his sophomore year at Permian, he was voted District 2-5A Newcomer of the Year by area coaches, he lived and attended church with the basketball coach and his family, and then, out of the blue, he was identified by a couple of his former AAU coaches from Florida at an AAU tournament in Arkansas. They insisted that he was not "Jerry Joseph," but he was, in fact, a much older young man named Guerdwich Montimere. After several weeks of piecing together the puzzle that was Montimere's identity, authorities finally identified "Joseph" as Montimere. Believe it or not, he could have avoided jail time had he chosen to simply not have sex with a 15 year old classmate, but heck, he'd come this far, right? Since he decided to move "all in," Montimere now faces more than 30 years in prison if convicted of all the crap he's stirred up for himself.

On the surface, this story is beyond ridiculous, but I'd like to think we can learn some valuable lessons from Monty's escapades. In fact, let's see if we can do a top 10 list.

The top 10 things we can learn from Guerdwich Montimere:

10. If you are Jonesing for some hoops and don't want to attend college, just go to the Y.

9. If you're a black dude and need a fake birth certificate, definitely manufacture a Haitian one. No one will ever know the difference.

8. If you want to pretend to be a 15 year old, when you're actually 22, and star on a HS basketball team, then go to Texas and choose a sports-crazed school like Permian (how cool would it have been if Monty had chosen the name "Boobie Miles" instead of "Jerry Joseph?").

7. If you want to have sex with a classmate, then, for heaven's sake, choose an 18 year old senior.

6. If your coach asks you if you want to play on an AAU team and travel to tournaments where you might run into your old coaches from Florida, just say "no thanks."

5. If your buddy decides to move back to Florida, then move back with him. Don't move in with your HS basketball coach and his family, especially if you're 22.

4. If you want to pose as a teenage kid, then why don't you start out in high school, rather than middle school?

3. If you are an illegal immigrant like Monty and end up in a similar predicament, simply notify the mass media that Arizona police officers captured you while you were going out for ice cream and made you do it as part of their grand scheme to put a black eye on all "illegal immigrant-patriot-victims" such as yourself.

2. When someone tells you to "stay in school for as long as you can," don't take it literally.

1. Illegal immigration is NOT a problem (haha, I almost typed that with a straight face).

So, boys and girls, I hope you learned as much as I did from our friend, Guerdwich Montimere. Remember, if you agree to play a college sport, then follow through with the commitment rather than dropping out and going back to junior high. And if you drop out of college and go back to high school, please don't have sex with the girls. If you do, then it'll cost you 30-plus.

All right, Monty; it was nice talking about you. We'll see you when you're 55.

Kentucky finally finds its forward

With only four days left in the late signing period, Kentucky finally reels in its power forward for the 2010-2011 basketball season. Eloy Vargas, originally a Florida Gator, transferred to Miami-Dade Community College (the same JUCO school that produced Darnell Dodson), and he has now decided to bring his 25 points and 15 rebounds per game to Lexington. While Coach Cal would certainly still like to pick up Terrence Jones (the elite PF who is waffling on his UW verbal commitment), Vargas is not a bad consolation prize. Vargas, who was ranked #26 overall in the 2008 Rivals 150, will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Now that Kentucky has a legit power forward option for next season, I think we can finally predict a depth chart:

PG: Brandon Knight (FR), (Doron Lamb), Jarrod Polson (FR walk-on)

SG: Doron Lamb (FR), Jon Hood (SO), Stacey Poole (FR)

SF: Darius Miller (JR), DeAndre Liggins (JR), Darnell Dodson (JR)

PF: Eloy Vargas (JR)

C: Enes Kanter (FR), Josh Harrellson (SR)

Not bad. While this group doesn't appear to have a John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins-type talent, this is a solid group with a couple of future lottery picks in Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter. Doron Lamb might surprise people with his Rip Hamilton-esque mid range game, and he is probably a future first round pick. I think the addition of Vargas assures a preseason top 15 ranking for Kentucky, and I think anything short of a Sweet 16 appearance would be disappointing. Furthermore, the addition of Vargas should catapult Kentucky past Memphis, North Carolina, and Ohio State in the recruiting rankings, giving the Wildcats the top class in the country for two years in a row. It's a great time to be a Cat!

NBA point guards: A look at playoff performances and draft value

If you're like me, then you've been spending quite a bit of time watching the NBA playoffs lately. And if you've spent a lot of time watching the NBA playoffs, then you've probably noticed the high quality of point guard play during 2010's version of the tournament. Although not every good point guard performer has advanced past the first or second round, it was often the case that their teams would have been in far worse trouble had it not been for their efforts in keeping them afloat. Point guards typically don't garner the same level of attention as the elite wings and big men, a la Kobe, LeBron, Shaq, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, etc., but I might argue that the point guards of the 2010 playoffs have been the main story thus far.

It all started with Derrick Rose averaging 26.8 pts, 7.2 ast, and 3.4 reb in a five game series against LeBron and the Cavs. Unfortunately for Rose, the Bulls' second best player is Joakim Noah, so an early exit to the top seed was pretty much inevitable. Then, Russell Westbrook introduced himself to casual basketball fans with his impressive six game series against the Lakers, averaging 20.5 pts, 6 ast, and 6 reb and often picking up the slack for Kevin Durant when his shot wasn't falling. Westbrook's numbers are good, but his energy and propensity for big plays can't be fully explained in the box score. Deron Williams helped the Jazz take care of the Nuggets in the first round, but he didn't have enough help to overcome the Lakers. Nevertheless, his playoff averages of 24.3 pts, 10.3 ast, and 2.7 reb are ridiculously good, and he did it against veteran point guards who are known for being ruthless in the playoffs -- Chauncey Billups and Derek Fisher.

Those three guys were terrific, but most people would agree that the two best playoff point guards so far have been Steve Nash and Rajon Rondo. Nash is a straight killer. He led the Suns to a herky-jerky series win over the Blazers before ripping the heart out of the Spurs. The funny thing is that he looks so harmless. He's listed at 6'-3", 178 lbs, but he looks more like 6'-1", 165 lbs. The guy has a very strict diet and conditioning routine that enables him to run around for 34 minutes per game without losing any steam. He's averaging 17.8 pts, 9 ast, and 3.1 reb after 10 playoff games so far, which is fantastic, but like Westbrook, his impact on the game goes well beyond the box score. Nash has been a master of dictating the team's pace and energy level while also flawlessly executing fast breaks, pick-and-rolls, and everything in between. His combination of top-notch ball handling, body control, and shiftiness allows him to penetrate the lane pretty much at will, and for a 36 year old, that is simply amazing. I hope he plays until he's 50; the guy is just so much fun to watch.

As for Rondo, I've known about his potential for quite some time, being that I'm a Kentucky homer ... err, fan. It's neat to see someone who was considered "raw" or a "project" coming out of college transform his game into that of a mature, composed, veteran point guard. Rondo is really one of a kind. It's pretty tough to find an active NBA player to whom you can compare Rondo. Some might say he has a little bit of Mookie Blaylock in him. Personally, I think the best comparison might be, coincidentally, Kentucky guard, John Wall. Wall is a little taller and is a better leaper, but both are super fast with the ball in their hands, both have incredible court vision and awareness (and the passing skills to take advantage of it), both prefer to drive or pull up for a short jumper or floater, rather than take long jumpers, and both have more than a little bit of showman in them -- a certain bit of flair (this and this, but not this). Oh, and both have really long arms, which gives them a distinct advantage on defense and with rebounding. While Wall is certainly the more talented prospect of the two and has the higher ceiling, Rondo is tearing it up against elite competition. A couple of nights ago, he absolutely went off to the tune of 29 pts, 13 ast, and 18 reb in a critical game four against the Cavs. He is averaging 17.9 pts, 11.4 ast, and 7.1 reb in nine playoff games so far.

As you might know, Nash and Rondo were not lottery picks. Nash was the 15th pick in the 1996 draft, and Rondo was the 21st pick in the 2006 draft. That might seem high if we were discussing NFL or MLB draft picks, but in the NBA, a non-lottery pick is not expected to ever develop into an all-star caliber player. Obviously, some do, but it is not a realistic expectation. In fact, a late first round pick might never play significant minutes, even off the bench. For that reason, I think it is interesting that the two most dominant point guards of the 2010 playoffs were both selected in the bottom half of the first round. You could say that the Celtics and Suns (although, Nash played for the Mavericks for six years in between two stints with the Suns) are receiving very good value on those selections. This piqued my curiosity, and so I proceeded to take a look at the NBA's 30 top point guards (I selected the top 30 leaders in assists per game among PG's) for 2010 and created a simple formula for calculating their value in relation to their draft slot. I did two separate tables: one for 2010 stats, and another for their career stats. I simply added their points per game and their assists per game, and then added a number based on their draft slot. This is hardly scientific, and you could easily argue for different numeric values for the draft slots, but I decided on this: 1 point for a top 5 pick, 2 points for picks 6-14, 3 points for picks 15-30, and 4 points for a second rounder or undrafted free agent (the Raptors' Jose Calderon was the only one). The higher the sum of the three numbers, the better the value. Therefore, if a player is selected in the top five and averages 10 pts and 10 ast, then he scores a 21. If a player drafted in the second round averages 10 pts and 8 ast, then his score is 22. The second-rounder is the better value, despite the fact that he averages two fewer assists per game. Like I said, the values are up for debate, and we could also look at this from a salary point of view, but it's interesting to look at and talk about, nonetheless. Here are the results:

2009-2010 PG Value Chart:

Not surprisingly, Nash, Chris Paul, and Williams are the top three and have nearly identical numbers. While Paul and Williams have a slightly higher scoring average than Nash, he gains a little bit of ground value-wise by being a lower draft pick. The Rockets' young scoring point guard, Aaron Brooks jumps into the ranks of the elite due to his three points for being a late first round pick. Even though players like Brooks and Nash get extra value points for being low draft picks, six of the top ten only received one draft point, since they were top five picks. The highest ranked player with four draft points is the Raptors' undrafted Spaniard, Jose Calderon at number 19. The lowest ranked player for 2009-2010 with one draft point is the Hawks' Mike Bibby at number 29. Bibby, however, is past his prime and is not a bust by any means. He is simply not capable of putting up the scoring totals that he did in his days with the Kings. The next lowest high profile draft picks are Raymond Felton and Mike Conley at numbers 22 and 23, respectively. Both are still relatively young, but their teams are certainly growing impatient as they wait for them to live up to their lofty draft status, which comes with a higher salary.

Career PG Value Chart:

The career chart shows most of the same names at the top, with the addition of Tyreke Evans. Evans benefits from a rookie of the year campaign during which he put up fantastic stats, so he has the advantage of not having to include any poor statistical seasons in his average. The same goes for Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings, so it will be interesting to see if they can improve on their rookie numbers next year or if they will experience sophomore slumps. If they improve, then all three will be considered elite NBA point guards in only their second year. As for right now, it is a bit too early to label them as surefire, top notch point guards, even though they are certainly on the right track.

Similarly to the first chart, the career chart shows only three players in the top ten who were not top five draft picks: Nash, Curry, and Andre Miller. While Nash, Brooks, and Rondo were the highest rated "low" draft picks in the first chart, Nash separates himself from the other two in the career chart, and Darren Collison, propelled by the fact that he is a rookie who had a nice year, jumps past Brooks and Rondo to stake the claim as the highest ranked player who was drafted in the twenties or below. Interestingly, only three of the bottom 15 point guards have a draft point of one, so over the span of their careers, it looks like the overwhelming majority of the elite point guards are high draft picks, even though the lower picks benefit from a couple of extra draft points. Clearly, we would expect higher draft picks to perform better than those picked outside the lottery, but it is a bit surprising to see the degree to which they out-perform the lower picks, especially since the point system gives the them a slight advantage. If you want to talk busts, then the conversation should obviously start with Mike Conley, who is ranked 25th. Conley was the fourth overall pick in 2007, and he is the lowest ranked player who was picked in the top five of his draft. The only other high draft pick who is close to Conley is Devin Harris at number 23. Harris, however, has had a couple of very solid years, a claim that Conley cannot make at this point in his career.

So, what did we learn? I think this means that teams should not necessarily try to look for the next Nash or Rondo -- that is, an under the radar player who falls outside the lottery. While those players are wonderful to come by, it is probably not the most realistic way to find your point guard of the future. It might also be interesting to note that two high profile players who did not qualify this year due to missing too many games, Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas, are late first round and second round picks, respectively. They certainly would have shown well on the chart, but they are not your prototypical point guards, either. Arenas is obviously known more for his shooting ability, and Parker is not a true floor general type of point guard, either. Aaron Brooks and Rodney Stuckey are two guys on the chart who would tend to be described in a way other than "true" point guards, and they were also lower draft picks. One might gather that if you want a good, "true" point guard, then it will probably cost you a lottery pick -- probably one in the top five. But if your offense allows for a non-traditional point guard, then you might consider taking your chances with a lower pick and hope for the next Parker, Arenas, Brooks, or Stuckey to fall in your lap.

So, having said all of that, I hope you take the time to sit down and watch some of these great point guards do their thing. Most people want to see a Lakers-Cavs final so that they can see the Kobe vs LeBron matchup. But if that doesn't happen, maybe we can get Suns-Celtics and watch Nash vs Rondo. It might not get the hype of the Mamba vs the King, but at least the point guard match up would be way better than Derek Fisher vs Mo Williams.

Titans' running back wants new contract; should organization oblige?

If you follow the Tennessee Titans, or the NFL off-season in general, then you have probably heard about Chris Johnson's publicly-declared request for a new, lucrative contract after only two years in the league. The 24th selection in the 2008 NFL draft, Johnson is entering the third year of his original five year, 12 million dollar contract. One could easily argue that he is outplaying that contract, and Johnson and his agent, Joel Segal, are arguing just that. But should the Titans acquiesce to this request?

On one hand, the Titans would love to reward Johnson for his amazing play and keep him happily in a Titans uniform for about seven more years. Johnson brings a dimension to the Titans offense that has not been seen since the organization moved to Nashville in the late 90's. For the last decade, the Titans have been known for having good offensive and defensive lines, conservative quarterback play with a dual threat playing the position, a bruising running game designed to control the clock, and the occasional play-action pass to the tight end. The Titans had a year or two of "Air McNair" chucking the ball around to Derrick Mason, Drew Bennett, Justin McCareins, and Tyrone Calico, but those years were the exception, not the rule. The Titans have handed the ball to guys like Eddie George, Chris Brown, Travis Henry, and LenDale White for so long that it seems odd to have such an electric player with the ball in his hands so often in a Jeff Fisher offense. I would assume that the front office would like to hang on to such an offensive jewel for as long as possible, even if it costs a hefty price.

But on the other hand, the Titans would like to protect themselves from the unknown. What if Johnson goes down with an ACL tear next season after he signs a mega-contract? What if he takes a few too many shots and he becomes far less effective after two or three years, leaving the Titans on the hook for 30-40 million dollars over the last few years of his contract? NFL teams typically protect themselves from things like this by structuring the contract in a way that would allow them to release a highly-paid player three to four years into the deal. For instance, if the Titans agreed to pay Johnson 9 million dollars per year for 7 years, then they would probably like to structure the deal like this:

• 30 million dollar signing bonus (guaranteed)
• Year one salary: $1 million
• Year two salary: $2 million
• Year three salary: $3 million
• Year four salary: $4 million
• Year five salary: $6 million
• Year six salary: $7 million
• Year seven salary: $10 million

Now, contracts are more complicated than the way I laid it out, but the object remains the same: give the player a nice signing bonus up front to keep him happy, but escalate the yearly salaries each year, because the yearly salary does not count against the cap if the player is released. So, if the Titans decided to let Johnson go after three years, then he would make 36 million dollars, and the Titans would not be responsible for the remaining 27 million dollars.

That is a typical salary. Unfortunately, the Titans won't be able to have much freedom if they decided to restructure Johnson's deal because of the "30 percent rule" that teams must follow, since a new CBA is not yet in effect and 2010-2011 will be an uncapped year. The rule pretty much states that a player's yearly salary cannot increase by more than 30 percent from 2010 to 2011 in the event of a contract restructuring. This article by Andrew Brandt explains it very well: 30 percent rule explained. Since Johnson earned $385,000 in base salary last year, it can only increase by $115,000 this year, and so on. The rule can be circumvented if the team is willing to pay a small base salary with a massive signing bonus, but this risky practice should not be expected.

Another interesting factor to consider is the lack of immediate production from running backs drafted in the late first round or second round since the 2000 draft. Of the 38 players who fit this description (I included Frank Gore, who was the first pick of the third round in 2005), only 15 of them combined for 1,500 total rushing yards during their first two years in the league, and only six runners totaled at least 2,000 yards. In fact, only two running backs drafted in the second half of the first round or second round have had eye-popping statistics during their first two years in the league. One of them, obviously, is Chris Johnson. The other is Clinton Portis, who was the 51st pick in the 2002 draft. Take a look at the top five performers who fit the criteria:

1. Chris Johnson, 24th pick - Titans 3,234 rushing yards 26 TDs (total)
2. Clinton Portis, 51st pick - Broncos 3,099 rushing yards 31 TDs (total)
3. Frank Gore, 65th pick - 49ers 2,303 rushing yards 12 TDs (total)
4. Travis Henry, 58th pick - Bills 2,167 rushing yards 18 TDs (total)
5. Matt Forte, 44th pick - Bears 2,167 rushing yards 16 TDs (total)

As you can see, Johnson and Portis are in a class all by themselves -- at least since the turn of the century. This issue does not affect players drafted in the top of the first round, because they obtained substantial salaries from the start; there is no need for them to restructure.

So, what did Clinton Portis and his agent do after two years? Well, here is an excerpt from a 2004 ESPN.com article by Len Pasquarelli (you can read the entire article HERE):

As a rookie, Portis signed a four-year contract that included a $1.29 million signing bonus but only minimum annual base salaries. His scheduled base salaries for the last two years of the deal are $380,000 in 2004 and $455,000 for 2005. At the Pro Bowl two weeks ago, Portis suggested he might boycott training camp unless his contract was upgraded and his comments did not sit well with Broncos management.

Sounds kind of like the Chris Johnson situation, doesn't it? Here is how the story ends: Portis traded to Redskins for Champ Bailey. The Redskins were willing to do something that the Broncos were not -- pay a ton of money to a running back. It has become common knowledge that a running back's NFL life expectancy is significantly shorter than that of a quarterback, wide receiver, or pretty much any other position. Previously productive running backs who become free agents after the age of 28 are pretty much destined to receive less-than-flattering offers from teams, even if they desperately need running back help. It is much more cost-effective to draft a running back in one of the early rounds, rather than take the risk with a guy approaching his thirties who might blow out a tire and never again be the same.

Just take a look at the Thomas Jones - Shaun Greene situation this year with the Jets. Or how about the way the Colts handled Edgerrin James? They simply cut bait and drafted Joseph Addai (and later, Donald Brown). I don't have to even get into the Titans' handling of Eddie George being replaced by Chris Brown (this one, not this one). Sometimes these things can get ugly, but you can't always blame the organizations. This isn't Major League Baseball; the NFL has a salary cap. Money can't be wasted on washed-up running backs.

So, where does this leave the Titans and Chris Johnson this year? Personally, I think the Titans are avoiding a huge headache since the 30 percent rule is in effect. Even a big time agent like Joel Segal (here is a list of his organization's clients) is unlikely to challenge a team to offer a big time extension which would have to include a massive signing bonus with a paltry salary. Therefore, I think Chris Johnson will continue to skip OTA's, but he will report to mandatory training camp practices. OTA's are voluntary, but players are charged hefty fines for skipping training camp. Chris Johnson, despite the dreadlocks and shiny grill, is, by all accounts, a professional, and he will not want to cause too much of a stir and become a team cancer. If a new CBA were in effect, however, then I think this could have potentially gotten ugly. Potential debacles such as this might add fuel to the fire for those pushing for the NFL to adopt an NBA-like rookie salary scale, but that is another post for another day.