In NBA, Prep Stars Go From Boys to Men

Martell Webster says he never second-guessed his decision, not even when he became the highest draft pick ever sent down to the D-League. "If I could make the decision again, I would do it the same exact way," (Darren Hauck - AP)

Beulah Walker wanted Martell Webster to go to college. But when she saw the determined look in his eyes and heard the desire in his voice as Webster told her he wanted to go to the NBA straight from high school, she knew there was no use trying to stand in his way. So Walker, his 83-year-old great-aunt and lifelong guardian, relented and offered just one bit of advice.

"You're still my boy," she said she told him, "but you're fixin' to step in men's shoes now. So you got to wear them."

"I'll wear them, grandma," Webster replied.

About six months after the Portland Trail Blazers chose Webster with the sixth pick in the NBA draft, however, they decided to send Webster to their NBA Development League team in Fort Worth, believing the young talent needed more seasoning. Initially, Webster wasn't pleased at the demotion, so he called Walker seeking sympathy. She gave him the truth.

"I said, 'You don't have no choice,' " Walker recalled. "What did I tell you?"

"You told me I stepped in men's shoes," Webster shot back.

"Well, get on out there and walk in them then," she said.

Webster, 19, has walked in those shoes through what he called an "average" rookie campaign. "I set high standards for myself," he said.

Looking back, Webster actually sees his three-week stint in the D-League in January as the highlight of his rookie year. "It really boosted my confidence when I came back to the NBA. . . . I'll probably look at it, two or three years from now, when I'll be a franchise player -- which I feel I will be -- and laugh about it."

The latest collective bargaining agreement established an age minimum of 19 that prohibited high school players from entering the NBA, beginning with this year's draft. It also allowed teams to send players with less than two years of NBA experience to the developmental league, establishing a true minor league system for the league. "Baseball's done it for 1,000 years," Portland General Manager John Nash said. "I think it's going to be a part of our culture. I think a lot of teams will recognize the value of doing that."

Five of the eight players who made the final leap from high school to the NBA were assigned to D-League duty this season. Center Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis and Philadelphia guard Louis Williams were the only members of the class who spent the entire season with the team that drafted them. None of them has been able to avoid a slow start to his career. "Really only a select few players can do stuff like that, like LeBron James," Webster said in a recent phone interview.

Following the immediate impacts James and Dwight Howard had on the league, the last class has made a minimal impression this season. To some, it has supported NBA Commissioner David Stern's decision to shut the doors on high school players just 10 years after Kevin Garnett opened the floodgates in 1995. "I don't think it's fair to see how well a kid does or doesn't to support a rule," Stern said. "We just think that the opportunity to see those skills develop another year outside of the NBA will help our teams make wiser decisions about them. From the business perspective, it's better for our teams to be able to see a player after he has played against broader competition, which would be the collegiate ranks."