Light at the end of the tunnel

After watching Austin Rivers put the finishing touches on his best game as a collegiate player last night, I was left wondering if this was the turning point in Rivers young career. Take a second and think about what type of player and person we are talking about. Rivers, son of former NBA player and current Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. He was born with the pedigree, and also wealth that most would kill for. He was born with the gift and the work ethic to be one of the best of his age group. He’s seen his older brother play college ball but not live up to what Poppa Doc did. As a senior he carried Winter Park, a Florida based high school to national rankings. He brought media coverage, Youtube highlights, college and pro scouts. He can shoot like Steve Nash, he has the quickness of Derrick Rose, the explosiveness of Brandon Jennings and the competitive nature of Kobe Bryant. He is an absolute star in the making, but still a project.

Similar to many stars, Rivers is used to being the man and carrying the team. He sees no limits to his game. This is a gift and a curse. No one questions Rivers scoring ability, it is his decision making that worries scouts and his coaches. If you have watched Duke at all this season, you are familiar with the terms “That’s a bad shot,” “He needs to get the rim,” “He is quite a talent but he needs to stay another year,” “Too much one on one ball.” Austin knows he needs to work on having a better understanding of how basketball is a team game. He knows his defense needs a lot of work. He also knows his greatest strength is scoring in one on one situations. This is why he came to Duke. “I think somewhere else they would just let me do what I want to do. But not here.” He later went on to say, “In high school, AAU, you do what you kind of want. Here, this is Duke University, man. And at the end of the day, it’s going to make me better. I wanted that. I wanted to be able handle situations like this. That’s why I chose Duke." He clearly had no desire to play somewhere that would let him do as he pleased.

That decision will ultimately be the difference in his career. His game is more suited for the NBA, which is more isolation based and spread out, so I know he will be a star but it is important that he has been humbled at Duke. His up and down games have led many to believe that the once top recruit in the country needs another year of college basketball. Last night we saw a player determined to win and with a game winning shot of that magnitude, he may have turned the corner.

Rivers once said he wants to destroy Lebron James one day. If last nights game was a sign of what’s to come, he may get his chance sooner than we think.