Full article:
Pryor inherits pressure cooker from James
by Bill Livingston
Tuesday September 30, 2008, 7:30 AM
Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer
So far, Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor seems to be handling the hype surrounding him pretty well.
John Kuntz, Plain Dealer File Photograph
LeBron James has lived up to expectations since joining the Cavaliers right out of high school in 2003.
He was the most publicized basketball player in the world even before he was a Cavaliers rookie. Although there has been no NBA championship, LeBron James has done little but exceed expectations.
He was the most-publicized freshman football player in the country. With Ohio State, although there was a national championship, running back Maurice Clarett became someone who did little but spoil his own life and hurt those who believed in him. He is serving at least 3½ years in prison in Toledo for aggravated robbery.
He is the most-publicized freshman football player in the country. Although there will almost certainly be no national championship this year at Ohio State, quarterback Terrelle Pryor has to balance the hype that already surrounds him and the humility that inevitably will come.
Pryor might be the biggest prodigy in the state of Ohio since James, who was the biggest since Bob Feller in the 1930s.
Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry arrived two years into the James era. He, along with James and teammate Daniel "Boobie" Gibson, see Pryor as a lookalike and play-alike for former Texas quarterback Vince Young, who took the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship. He beat a Clarett-less OSU team along the way.
Gibson went to Houston's Dowling Middle School with Young. "Terrelle Pryor definitely reminds me of Vince the way he moves. Vince is a great athlete. He could dunk. He also threw full-court passes, like in football," Gibson said.
In Pryor's 6-5, 235-pound size, inside-out moves, and even his unorthodox throwing motion, he is another Young. But although Young had one of the greatest performances ever in the BCS Championship Game against USC, he has struggled in the NFL.
"Pryor is a very talented player. I hear he's a very good basketball player, too," said James, a former all-state wide receiver in high school who was friends with Clarett.
Pryor starts his third straight game Saturday night on national television when the Buckeyes play at Wisconsin. He goes into it with a chip on his shoulder resembling a lumber yard.
"People like Mark May [of ESPN] say 'Let's see how he plays on the big stage,' " Pryor said. "The media, ESPN people, sit there and talk stuff on our team and say we're dead. We'll find out this week coming up who's dead. We're out to show the world something, and we're going to."
James knows the attitude. "He doesn't have to be perfect, but he has to lead the team," James said. "I had a chip on my shoulder when I came into the NBA, and everybody said I couldn't do it in the NBA. I still have that chip."
In San Antonio, Ferry was only 75 miles from the Texas campus and in-Vince-ability. "It was even crazier there than here. You have to remember that you're building a team, not a celebrity. That goes for football and basketball," Ferry said.
Asked what he would tell Pryor, James said: "He needs good advice. In my group of friends, we call it not being yes men, which is not saying anything no matter what you do."
Ohio State might not have done the best job of mentoring Clarett, but he also had a me-first attitude. "The people around Clarett didn't have his best interests at heart," James said. "You've got have guys who can bring you back to level."
Link:
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2008/09/pryor_inherits_pressure_cooker.html
