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Kenneth Azubuike reports to jail next week for perpetrating outrageous levels of fraud, but his son also will pay for those sins.
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| The Wildcats fell short in the regional final vs. Michigan State. (Getty Images) |
Thanks, Dad.
Kenneth Azubuike needs money. Kelenna Azubuike can get some quickly -- by signing with an agent, for starters. The agent can float Azubuike a loan based on his future earnings. There's plenty of money to be made overseas, which is where Azubuike will play next season.
Azubuike is a first-round pick only if the 2005 NBA Draft includes a height restriction. If the draft were open only to players 6-feet-5 and under, Azubuike might be drafted in the first round. Might be. Not sure.
The 6-5, 210-pound Azubuike is a nice young man -- a really, really nice young man -- who has an NBA body but lacks NBA intensity. He also lacks the ability to dribble from Point A to Point B. His jump shot, his best attribute, is pretty good for the SEC level ... and pretty bad for the NBA level. This is a nice kid who was a nice college player who will have to learn how to say "nice" in another language, because if his goal is to make money as a basketball player, he won't live again in the United States until he retires.
I don't blame Kelenna Azubuike. In fact, part of me applauds him. Talk about a good son -- look at what he's leaving behind, all for the sake of his father. He's a year from graduation. He's a year from perhaps, but only perhaps, playing his way into a guaranteed first-round contract in the 2006 NBA Draft. He has one last year of college life, and can life get much better than to be the leading scorer on the men's basketball team at Kentucky? Next season, with Azubuike, the Wildcats would have been among the leading Final Four candidates.
Kelenna Azubuike gave all that away.
Shame on you, Kenneth Azubuike.
In a statement announcing his decision to throw away his last year of college, Kelenna Azubuike tried -- nobly -- to take credit for this horrible decision.
"I know all the implications of signing with an agent," he said. "I believe I am ready and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get better before the draft. I want to make it clear that this is my decision, but my family is solidly behind me."
His family is solidly behind him, all right. Pushing with both hands.
Poor Kelenna. His rush to sign with an agent was basically a defense mechanism against anyone -- Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, NBA scouting guru Marty Blake, me -- telling him what a horrible, horrible decision he would be making by staying in the draft. By signing with an agent, see, Azubuike has no choice. He can't turn back now, even though he surely will learn in the coming weeks he has no chance to be drafted in the first round.
