First Round Draft pick

Announcer No. 1: Hello Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back. I’m Bob Johnson, with my co-host Dave Jacobs, and up next we have Ohio State University on the board.

Announcer No. 2: Now Bob, our top pick available is Kamari Stevens. Now Stevens wasn’t really a stat-stuffer at Sinclair, but he has a lot of upside.

No.1: It really just depends on if he wants it enough. He has all the tools, but does he have desire for greatness. We’ve seen him show glimpses but he hasn’t been able to sustain and with this being a higher level is it right of us to think he will be able to do it.

No.2: Alright Bob, it seems that OSU has chosen Stevens. One thing I will say is this is a good situation for him. He was raised in Dayton which is roughly an hour away from Columbus, so he will be able to maintain his support system.

No.1: It seems that we have the Buckeye available for a moment, let’s hear what he has to say.

Stevens: I’m extremely happy to be Buckeye. Yes, I’m excited and nervous, but I think I will be able to succeed at the next level.”

That’s what you usually hear from most high school recruits or college athletes who are getting drafted. Though I’m not receiving a free ride or a million-dollar contract for my scholastic abilities, the situations are comparable. And I think if I were one of the prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft – which is this Thursday – I would probably be most comparable to Daniel Orton. Orton is a 19-year-old, 6” 10’ prospect from the University of Kentucky. In his one and only season at UK he averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds per game. You don’t have to be fan of basketball to know that is not a lot, but Orton is still garnering tons of attention just because his potential. Not because of his actual input, because there are plenty of players in this year’s draft who have done much more and won’t have a chance at getting drafted. It’s because of what can be and in a league where a 6” 10’ guy can mean a lot championships, drafting Orton, no matter that he hasn’t really proven himself, can be worth it.

I say that, to say this. At Sinclair, I wasn’t the best student. In very few classes, did I work up the capacity of what I can do, but there’s always the chance that I can do that. And, if I were to really work up to my potential, maybe I could be something special.

Maybe.

My advisor at the Clarion, would always talk to me about my lack of enthusiasm or effort and she wasn’t the only one. And each time, I would hear what I would call the “Kamari get your sh*t together” talk, I would genuinely take it to heart. One of the things I fear most is letting people down, who have faith in me.

So, with my first class at OSU starting in less than 12 hours, I am ready to shed the attitude that I have had about school for the last eight or nine years. I’m finally at a big university and I’m ready to prove that I can excel at this level, regardless if my track record says otherwise.

I am excited and very nervous. This moment doesn’t seem real to me. I remember being an 11-year-old kid just waiting for when I would get to college, to show what I was really made of. And the time is here.

Hopefully, I won’t let 11-year-old Kamari down.