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Rickert's not ready
By Adam Czech
Published:
Thursday, April 17, 2003
The first time I saw Rick Rickert play basketball, I thought I was witnessing the second coming of Kevin McHale.
Only this version of McHale could dribble, shoot 3-pointers and do things many point guards could only dream of.
I saw Rickert play for the first time in the first round of the 2000 state basketball tournament at Halenbeck Hall. It takes a lot to impress me, especially when someone was as hyped as Rickert, but Rickert did more than impress me. He left me in awe.
Rickert's Duluth East teammates weren't much better than any 'B' league intramural team here at SCSU. In fact, that may be overly generous. Rickert won the game I saw by himself. He scored at least half of his team's points, dribbled the ball up the court against a press and allowed no one to score over him in the paint.
Sure, dominant players on bad teams come along every now and then. But these dominant players don't win games by themselves in the state tournament like I witnessed Rickert do. Winning games in the state tournament is supposed to take more than one hotshot, Division I recruit. At least, that's what I thought until I watched Rickert play.
Rickert was solid in his first season at the U of M. In winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, the 6-11 power forward averaged 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. He shot 36.9 percent from 3-point range and 50.5 percent from the field.
Everything looked to be in place for Rickert to have a dominant sophomore season in 2002-03. Many experts were penciling him as the Big Ten Player of the Year and writing the Gophers in as a lock to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
But much like a couple who gets married before they're ready, things didn't work out. The Gophers offense was a mess all season, often resembling a swarm of bees flying around instead of a polished basketball team.
Rickert's stats improved - 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds-per-game - but his field goal percentage tumbled to 44.2 and he wasn't the dominant player that someone of his size and athletic ability should be.
Often, he appeared to be a 'tweener,' a player that wasn't strong enough to be a force inside but not quick enough to dominate outside. To most people, it was obvious that Rickert wasn't ready for the NBA.
Rickert himself wasn't one of those people.
Rickert announced his intentions to enter this June's NBA draft at a press conference April 8. He also said that he wouldn't be hiring an agent and will pay his own way to NBA try-out camps, meaning he may return to school if he feels he won't be a high draft choice.
There's nothing wrong with a player leaving school early to enter the draft. After all, the point of going to college is to use your experience to one day land yourself a well-paying job that you enjoy. However, many college athletes, Rickert included, are missing the point.
Sure Rickert will make a lot of money if he is drafted late in the first round where many scouts predict he will fall. If he is drafted 24th, he will get a no-cut contract worth $752,800 the first year, $809,300 the second year, 865,800 the third year and then the club will have an option of keeping him the fourth year at a raise of 74.9 percent. Not bad for a 22-year-old kid.
But if Rickert does enter the draft now, the chances are high that he could be pumping gas in three years. Many scouts say he doesn't have the strength and weight to play in the NBA yet. Often, players like this struggle their first year, struggle more their second year, and become obsolete their third year.
At least one more year of school would not only improve Rickert's size, strength and basketball skills, but it could also make him richer. Say, for instance, that Rickert comes back for his junior season, added 15 pounds of muscle and demonstrated the ability to dominate inside.
If he was then drafted 10th overall, he would make $1,457,300 his first year, $1,566,600 his second year and $1,650,900 his third year with an option raise in the fourth year of 27.9 percent. Not only would he be making more money, but he would also be a better basketball player. Instead of disappearing, Rickert could go on to have a productive NBA career and make even more money.
I was impressed with Rickert's basketball skills the first time I saw him play. Now it's time for Rickert to impress me with decision making skills.
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