Is Sebastian Telfair A Bust?
BassyWhen you graduate from high school having scored more points in your career than anyone else in the history of NYC basketball, you get a free pass if you don’t pan out right away in the League. That’s just how it works. But with Randy Foye coming around, Sebastian Telfair could end up seeing fewer minutes per game this season than he did as a rookie in Portland.
That’s got to hurt, especially after he had a career-best year in ‘07-08 – playing 32 minutes per night and tallying 9.3 points and about 6 assists – his numbers are now hovering around the lowest level they’ve ever been.
The crazy thing is that Bassy is 23 years old. Some young guys need a lot of time to learn how to succeed when they can’t simply blow past their man as a last resort as Telfair did at Lincoln. But his critics would argue that four-plus years is plenty of time to learn.
Last night against Detroit, Bassy looked like a rookie, getting ripped in the backcourt by Will Bynum who then spiked a one-handed dunk as Telfair waited to take the ball out. Bynum has bounced around Europe before making it to Detroit, and he’s precisely the type of guy that Telfair needs to abuse if he’s going to prove to anyone that it’s worth him getting some tick.
Right now, would you call Sebastian Telfair a “bust”?
November 24th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Kudabeen says:
I would, because One or Two years of college would have really helped him. A PG coming out of High School without size is a tough transition and it has never been attempted before. He made some dough, but long-term he may have cost himself millions in big contracts. I think he is way better than Mike Conley, but Conley is probably going to get much better opportunities to succeed in the L than Telfair. If Foye does start to get the hang of things and avg 35+ mins a game, Telfair may really get marked as ‘just’ a role player. That means no started money, no huge contracts (by nba standards).
It stinks, because he can play.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Andy G says:
His shot looks to have improved in the off-season…if that continues for the next two or three years, he’ll be a very capable starting point guard. If not, he’ll hover around the 9 & 6 numbers that he racked up with big minutes, in 07-08. Bassy always gives his best effort, though, so there’s good hope for more improvement. What this article doesn’t mention, is that Randy Foye has played terrible at the point–and pretty good at the two. Telfair is Minnesota’s only point guard option, other than spot minutes for veteran Kevin Ollie.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:45 am
MBE18 says:
He’s a BUST!!!
November 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
QQ says:
I guess he has skills, but he was maaaaaaaaaad OVERHYPED coming out of HS. Expectations were very high, so I guess the kid fizzled out because he played with so much pressure compared to rookies who can play without anybody caring. I still has hopes for this kid.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Chris says:
In what universe is this guy NOT a bust? Knucklehead off the court and a disappointment on it.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Kobeef says:
If by bust we mean he did not come close to meeting expectations I would say yes – but as QQ says, the main problem is that he was overhyped. His skill and athletic ability is only average by NBA standards.
He is better than some of the weak starting PG’s in the league -Chris Quinn, Steve Blake, Ray Felton, Rafer Alston…but none of those guys would start if the team had a better option.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:25 am
TJ says:
Yes.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:28 am
douglalr says:
BUST!
Maybe I just expect more from NYC products…
When Tinsley has his head right he’s a player…
same with Marbury…never saw Telefair play in high school but heard he was supposed to be better than both…anyone still think that?
November 24th, 2008 at 9:29 am
TJ says:
Kobeef,
No way is he better than Blake, Felton, or Alston (I’ll give you Quinn though, easy). Rafer and Blake start for playoff teams and Bassy warms the pine for the Wolves. That is enough evidence for me.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:30 am
andrew loves bball says:
He’s a super bust with a chance to still be a productive NBA player some day. Will he ever live up to the hype of his highschool days. Probably not. He was supposed to be an all star by now. But if he finds the right situation and improves his broke jumper then he can be a starter. Is’t he only 22? I think a few years in college would have done him some good just to develope his pg instincts.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:32 am
andrew loves bball says:
and i agree with tj. Bassy can’t hold blake’s, Felton’s or Alston’s jock strap. He probably gets torched by Randy Foye in practice on a daily basis
November 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am
SmittySmit says:
BUST!!! Has never done anything relevant in the league.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:44 am
UKnow says:
In what world is Bassy better than Raymond Felton, Skip or Steve Blake?
MAYBE at the Rucker. And even then Skip would break out the old And1 moves and shake the kid up.
Not a total bust, but an NBA role player/back-up at best.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Ross says:
Yeah, pretty much.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Me says:
I don’t see why Blake gets hate. He blew by derrick rose twice the other night. He also hits his jumpers and is deceptively quick on offense, and is a decent passer. There’s prolly 10 starting pgs out there that he’s better than.
Bassy will get his minutes once randy foye goes back to being randy foye.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:03 am
K Dizzle says:
I’m reservin judgement til dude is older. If he’d done his 4 years at Louisville or Memphis or wherever he was supposed to go, he’d be an NBA rookie. How long did Rafer take and he went to college. Telfair has shown that when he gets minutes, he produces. Problem is gettin those minutes…..Just needs the right situation like Rafer got in Miami and then the T-Dot
November 24th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Jayo says:
I would reserve judgement on Bassy. Remember people were saying the same thing about a kid named Chauncey Billups & look how that turned out.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Max says:
kobeef nailed it, though I don’t think Telfair is better than Blake or Alston…but the main point stands, even if he improves/gets his head together, the best he can hope for is to swim in the same pool of mediocrity.
In fairness to all these guys, there aren’t too many elite point guards, which seem more and more like an endangered species in the league with Nash and Kidd (and even Billups) starting to age. The real elite guys these days are just light years ahead of bow wows like Alston and head cases like Felton.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:22 am
PWeezy says:
telfair man hopefully he steps up in two years or he’s a bust
November 24th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Raj S says:
His basketball IQ is awful, and he isn’t very confident right now. For a PG, that’s not a good look.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
MSkittle says:
Hell yea!
November 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
MSkittle says:
He had his opportunity to ball last year and didnt’t take advantage of it.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Mr. K1X says:
he lost his swagger when he got to the league and never got it back because of being on the wrong teams and off court BS.
he has elite talent but he now thinks he is garbage becase the league treats him like garbage. it happens to 6 out of 10 player coming into the league.
certain players get the green light and certain players get swagger-jacked.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Gerard says:
dude is the anti-LeBron
November 24th, 2008 at 11:26 am
dapro says:
He will never live up to the hype he had entering the league
So by that def. yes he’s a bust
November 24th, 2008 at 11:35 am
dub says:
Bassy has improved enough since starting for the T-wolves last year. Even if his shooting % isin’t that spectacular, he can blow by his guys, handle the rock with a string and look to set his teammates up. He has a PG mentality that Foye dosen’t. Bassy was in the top 20 in assists per TO last year, and I see that as a sign of better things to come. Whether or not he was a bust or not, based on the hype he had, he’ll never live up to it. So let the kid play it out, a consistant 10/8 seems like a possibility.
November 24th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
control says:
There are several better guys than this who haven’t got as many chances as this kid. He’s getting a few more chances because of his high school record…which is absolutely bullshit. Kid thought he was ready when he entered the draft, so he should be judged based on his like 8 years in the league.
High school don’t mean shit, I remember a guy who once scored 4 touch downs in one game for Polk High…ain’t no one offer that poor guy a contract.
November 24th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
BEdger says:
I love it control, nice Bundy reference
November 24th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
dagwaller says:
Hard for me to consider him a bust when I never believed that he was good/was going to be good in the first place. Dime can hate on international players all they want, but before the rule changes, preps-to-pros were just as bad. Let’s see, they scored more points than anyone in high school? Congratulations. If everyone you played with in HS went to the NBA, you’d be the next Jordan.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Tim says:
At least Telfair can dunk…
http://www.squidoo.com/SebastianTelfair
November 24th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
KCL says:
yea Bassy is unfortunatly a bust, but it is not all his fault. He’s never been put in a system he could excell at like Phoenix or Memphis and was way overhyped. however he never commits to defense and hasn’t improved his broken jumper despite four years in the league. Should have gone to Louisville and carried them to a national championship. Kobeef, Blake is the one who took Bassy’s job in Portland and continues to work some of the “top” points guards in the league. Again its unfortunate because Bassy is a good kid and im still rooting for him, but he is a bust
November 24th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Jeffrey says:
It doesn’t help if you’ve been with 3 teams in four years and you’re a former lottery pick!!!!
VERDICT:BUST!
November 26th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
da bulls says:
I wouldnt say he is a bust cuz he was a pg comin str8 out of hs with no j and average height&athleticism and add that to him being on terrible teams isnt goin to help either. he has a pg mentality and can get assists at will so he will always have a job in the league especially once he gets a consistent j. and who knows, he could still be an all star…nash billups looked the farthest things from all stars and hall famers their first couple years in the league. telfair is only 23 so he still has time. only a select few of str8 out of hs players were stars or major producers quickly it took most time to develop. i have no idea why the twolves wont play him more over foye cuz he is hella inconsistent. let foye be 6th man and be a ben gordon type gunner….
December 27th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hellboundclic666 says:
Sorry,but you knew he was going to be average at best once he declared for the NBA Draft..He has a low b-ball I.Q and his whole game was to blow by everyone and pass when he felt like it..I put some of the blame on the Lincoln staff for that..Free reign and no teaching of the fundamentals..He just seemed set up for failure. I like the guy and i’m still rooting for him,but he was just another over-hyped product created by the media..
January 5th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
ali says:
how can you call a 23 year old nba point guard who put up 9 points and 6 assists a bust? whoever calls him that has no appreciation for what it’s like playing the most difficult position in the world’s best league.
if you know ball, you knew that a sub-6′ point man coming out of high school would need some deep seasoning, regardless of how he killed in prep ball. the leap he took is much more historic and monumental than any big man.
if he’s out of the league, without doing anything significant by the time he’s 28, then he’s a bona fide bust. but you can’t say that right now. he’s still a work in progress. let’s read the entire book before we shut it down.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:45 am
kwame nkrumah says:
I hate it when people immediately call someone a flop or a bust. Chauncey was considered a bust, look at him now. Kobe, at one point and time, was hated on, but look at him now. Boston Celtics were hated on, but look at them now. I don’t think that Sebastian will be any different from these stories. You just wait, Sebastian will come back one day and shut you guys up, cuz there’s no way someone who played bball to escape the projects, the crime and the hard-knock life of Coney Island and come up being known as a huge bball legend.
To Sebastian Telfair –
Ignore these haters, man. Go out there and play bball, being the best player you know you should be.
Bassy, keep doin’ ya thing.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Brandon Kies says:
WOW! Bassy is by far the best point guard in the nba right now! He may struggle a bit, but put good players around him and he can lead a team to the finals. Chris Paul and Deron Williams are getting way too much hype because their teams are in the playoffs. Put Bassy on the jazz and they will win the finals guaranteed. He is the missing piece the jazz need. I would trade Deron and Boozer for Sebastian and Al Jefferson anyday!
May 28th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Mike Parkinson says:
You guys make me laugh,Do you even know the reason while he went to the nba instead of high school,to get his family out of coney islands ghetto.For telfair money cam first not his own playing skill,Signing 6-10$ millions dollars telfair done that thanks to addida using him as there sponser.Now start saying stuff like yeah flop flop flop,dont judge when you dont even no reasons.And if your going to compare him to anyone in the nba it would be nate or stucky,both had college exsperience which made them tougher and both had a nice childhood with no finacial problems.