Least successful....

Reminds me...

..of a discussion I was having just the other day with a black co-worker and good friend of mind. We were discussing how good some of these high school black athletes could be if chose to focus on baseball as opposed to football or basketball and track. Two particular kids we were discussing both played baseball in rec and middle school but gave it up in high school for whatever reason. They are:
Greg Little (Hillside High School)...currently a starting true freshman WR/RB/KR at UNC. 6' 3" 210 lbs. runs a 4.4 40 was ranked the #6 athlete in the country in high school, SuperPrep All-American and Gatorade POY. In high school played QB,RB,WR,LB,CB and safety. Trust me when I say you have never seen a better athlete. An absolute physical specimen.
Wesley Saunders (Riverside High School)...currently a starting true freshman tight end for Univ. of South Carolina. 6'5" 283 lbs. ranked the 18th best prospect in the country a eigth best in the state coming out of high school. Athletic, an absolute manchild as he led Riverside to the state championship game last year.
Now both of these young men might very well play in the NFL one day BUT my argument to my friend was...had either one of these guys focused on baseball and did the things that most of our kids on this board do i.e. play year round, showcase, get the best instruction/equipment etc.etc. there's no doubt in my mind that they could have very well been top 10 draft picks out of high school signing for millions. Now you tell me did they and their parents make the right decision with the direction of their careers? I don't know, you could make a good argument. I'm sure there are many other examples like this out there.

 

Maybe they enjoy hitting other people more than hitting a baseball. Play a sport/s that you enjoy doing and could do it everyday. Baseball may have been fun when they were younger but the passion for it ran out as they got older. Stuff like that happens but I wish them the best of luck.

 

Not a question...

...of whether or not they they enjoyed the sport. In fact they enjoyed it very much and were damn good at it. My point was, in conjunction with this thread, about inner city/underachieving programs and why minority youths tend to choose other sports rather than continue to play baseball. At some point for whatever reason they chose to put baseball aside and focus on the other sports. My friend who is black tends to think that minority youth are enamored by the the glamoritzation of the NBA and the NFL when we both agree they may be or could be better served sticking with baseball. For one, NFL careers are much shorter normally and much more detrimental to the body. I know if I was good enough to possibly persue both which one I would choose.

 

There was your question and I made a good arguement.

 

Average NFL career is under 3 years. I think it takes 4 to get in the pension but don't quote me on that.

 

f

on the other hand, I know a lot of kids that were outstanding football prospects that gave up the gridiron to play on the year-round baseball circuit.

 

How bout..........

getting back to the ORIGINAL topic, please?

 

duke university

I know, It's not a HS, but the logic is somewhat similar. Duke is a basketball school. Kids are a product of their environment. If baseball is not a top sport in the community then don't expect things to be different at the HS level. We have the opposite kind of problem on our end of the county. Our football team struggles (we get hammered) every year because we are predominantly a baseball school and have been for years. I know the football coaches grumble about the same things because we have had players quit playing football to concentrate solely on baseball. Lets just hope the kids have a positive experience playing whatever sport they choose whether it's baseball, football or table tennis. I always liked that table tennis.

 

Great example.

 

agreed!