PICAYUNE, Miss. -- Jonathan Bender is as gangly as a colt --
a scant 200 pounds stretched out for 6-feet, 11-inches across
matchstick legs and long, thin arms. His 18-year-old face still
reflects small-town boyhood, soft, open, trusting.
And he has that Southern habit of adding "ma'am" and "sir"
to his yes's and no's and the quiet confidence of being the big man
on campus.
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Despite his slender frame, Jonathan Bender says he is ready for the NBA. |
Bender, fresh out of Picayune High School in Mississippi, is
expected to be an NBA first-round draft pick on Wednesday, leading
to millions and millions of dollars.
"I'm nervous about it, but I'm not scared," Bender said. "I
know it will be hard, but I plan to just listen a lot. As good as
you can listen to someone, that's what I'm going to do to
everyone."
Bender averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots per
game as a senior center at Picayune. But it was his performance in
the March 25 McDonald's All-American Game that really caught the
attention of scouts. Bender scored 31 points, breaking the record
Michael Jordan set.
If Bender is a lottery selection as projected, and taken among
the top 13 picks in the draft, he could make about $9 million for
his first three seasons. If he goes between the 15th and 25th pick,
he would make from $1 million to $850,000 a year, plus bonuses.
"It's always a concern when anyone gets a lot of money like
that," said Thaddeus Fouchier, Bender's adviser and summer-league
coach. "It's a concern if you win the lottery, but we've got a lot
of good advisers around him."
Bender enters the draft at a time when more and more players are
jumping from high school straight to the NBA. Kevin Garnett,
drafted out of high school in 1995, ended up with a record $126
million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The next year, Kobe Bryant was drafted out of high school and he
now stars with the Los Angeles Lakers, labeled a possible successor
to Michael Jordan as the league's most exciting player.
So, the future is bright for Bender, although he's got a lot of
work to do -- starting with that skinny body.
"It's just a matter of time before his body catches up with his
talent," said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury, the coach
who thought Bender would be playing for him before he decided to
head to the NBA.
"I'm disappointed, of course, but I'm not resentful. Jonathan
is so nice. He's a remarkable young man with a lot of promise and I
look forward to seeing him realize it. But as good as he is as a
player, he's better as a person."
Bender is not expected to be an instant star in the NBA, where
he'll be playing against men from five to 20 years older,
established players who have more muscle, mass and savvy.
He's projected as a forward, although he's not yet strong enough
to be a power forward, and he's an accurate shooter with good
range, especially for a big man.
"I don't think he's ready for the contact and the physical
aspect of the league at this point," said Dick Van Arsdale, vice
president of player personnel for the Phoenix Suns. "He hasn't
developed the strength he needs yet. But he has all that natural
ability and shoots so well. If a team has the time and money to
make an investment for the future -- Jonathan is it."
That investment looks better under the terms of the new NBA
contract that gives teams an optional fourth year on first-round
draft picks rather than the old deal of three years. Teams also
have the right of first refusal in the fifth year, when Bender
would be 23, young and no doubt wider and stronger.
Those who know him say his work ethic should help him as he
strives to succeed as a professional.
"He has amazing dedication for someone so young," said Mackie
Shillstone, clinical director for the LSU Center for Sports
Performance and Wellness, where Bender began working out as a high
school junior. "He is very, very hard working, very dedicated and
very respectful."
And despite Bender's size, Shillstone said the NBA veterans who
worked with the teen-ager couldn't contain him.
"Jonathan's balance and running ability was such that they
couldn't get to him," Shillstone said. "I think he's going to
find that same thing when he's in the league."
Bender gets much of his drive from his mother.
His father died when he was 13, so Willie Mae Bender raised four
children, including a stepson, alone. She also worked at WalMart at
night and attended college during the day, getting a bachelor's
degree at age 44 as a community health educator.
"College was right for me," she said. "That was my choice.
But I raised my children to know that they had choices and should
make the right ones."
On his high school team, Bender was the biggest player and by
far the best. He acknowledges that he carried the team and realizes
that will soon change.
"I'm looking forward to not being the big star. I'm looking
forward to what I can learn," he said.
While Bender interests many NBA teams because of his natural
talent and positive attitude, his youth and need to develop make
just as many wish he had decided to play at Mississippi State
before moving to the pros.
"He has tremendous potential. He's a very talented young man,"
Van Arsdale said. "But he would have benefited tremendously from
college, both as a person and a player."
All Bender is thinking about, however, is improving his body and
game.
"People are going to test me," he said. "But I'm ready for
it."