Smart players avoid road to Sioux City

? The fax machines at NBA headquarters in New York were buzzing as 5 p.m. approached Thursday. That was the deadline for entry into a different NBA draft lottery — the race for those applicants who don’t want to be this year’s Marcus Taylor.

You remember Taylor, don’t you?

He’s the former Michigan State guard who declared early for the draft last year following a so-so sophomore season and now is stumbling along in Sioux City … or is it Sioux Falls?

Taylor, a McDonald’s All-America at Lansing (Mich.) Waverly High, has gotten off to a White Castle start in pro basketball. He mistakenly bolted the Spartans after a decent sophomore campaign, confident that his NBA hopes would be better served by sitting at the end of a pro team’s bench for a couple of years.

But he didn’t even earn that distinction last season. Taylor was banished to the Continental Basketball Assn., becoming the poster child for discretion in this year’s draft.

Perhaps borderline college players finally are getting the message that rushing into the draft only ensures them a bus ticket with their name on it.

Chris Thomas got the message. He could have been Marcus Taylor.

Thomas, a high-profile recruit out of Indianapolis two years ago, had a big sophomore season at Notre Dame, leading the Irish to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. A talented 6-foot-1 point guard, he just might have an excellent future in the NBA.

With Thomas running the show, the Irish were projected as a top-10 pick next season.

And then Thomas declared for the draft.

He kept his options open and didn’t sign with an agent, but many people thought he would fall into the same trap that snared Taylor — listening more to family and friends than to NBA scouts.

But after several workouts, Thomas realized his game needed more substance, and he withdrew his name from draft consideration this week.

He’s not alone. Texas Tech guard Andre Emmett pulled out of the draft Thursday and returned to the Red Raiders despite his run-ins with coach Bob Knight last season. St. Joseph’s junior Jameer Nelson came to his senses and will return for his senior season.

Michigan State’s Erazem Lorbek removed his name from draft consideration, but he will opt for a six-figure salary in Europe next season rather than return to East Lansing, Mich.

High school star Charlie Villanueva, a 6-foot-10 power forward who reminds some of NBA rookie of the year Amare Stoudemire, another prepster who bolted for the draft, has decided to attend the University of Connecticut — if only for a year.

Some are returning to college despite the reality that the NBA now is familiar with the flaws in their games, a memory that won’t easily evaporate. They returned because they realized they’re better off maturing against Division One competition than clinging to a dream along the Waffle House basketball circuit.

“I just wasn’t comfortable with it being up in the air,” Thomas told the South Bend Tribune. “There wasn’t a team that guaranteed me, but at the same time, they never said that I would go in the second round. … I saw what the NBA teams wanted in a player. I’m going to take that and apply it to my game.”

The Pistons’ Tayshaun Prince might have been a top-15 player had he remained in the draft after his junior season despite the faults in his overall game. He returned to Kentucky, further matured and was ignored until the Pistons took him with the 23rd selection last year. Considering how well he performed when pressed into service early in the playoffs, he might go down as draft-night larceny.

Thomas is glad he followed Notre Dame coach Mike Brey’s advice and didn’t sign with an agent, yet some college coaches want the NCAA to waive the penalty against signing with an agent. An underclassman can rescind his declaration for the draft provided he doesn’t sign with an agent and sacrifice his amateur status.

Changing that rule could lead down a dangerous path.

One big problem today is that there’s little accountability when someone makes a mistake. These kids only envision a reward without an acknowledgement of risk. As soon as the tiniest indication of talent emerges before their 13th birthday, they’re provided an array of escape hatches from leeches hoping to suck a prosperous livelihood out of them.

There’s a rationale for everything, whether it’s blowing off classes or blowing away anyone who dares challenge their perception of privilege.

Mistakes are always made, and the younger you are the more frequent they often become. But a mistake’s most redeeming value is the lesson learned.

What does an overly confident hotshot sophomore learn if he signs with an agent, only to realize the agent is of little use in Sioux Falls — or is it Sioux City?

These guys get enough of a free pass as it already is.