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MulletMan
09-24-2008, 03:39 PM
Interesting. Linky (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/marquise)

I still remember the first thread on DBR about OJ Mayo's web page when he was an 8th grader. Not sure what I think of this kid's dad....

zingit
09-24-2008, 08:49 PM
Yeah, I saw that and was a little conflicted about the dad too. On the one hand, it's great that he has high hopes for his kid, and as the video points out, he grew up without a dad, so he knows how much it means to be spending time with his son and helping him grow. That's all great, but on the other hand, if college is really the main goal, he doesn't need a media campaign for that. He doesn't need to be tracking down NBA players for that. THe kid doesn't even need to play sports for that. Maybe the dad is also spending time reading with Marquise and helping him learn his times tables, but the video doesn't show them doing that. I hope it turns out for the best. The kid is cute and maybe he really could become a great basketball player someday. I just hope that the media attention and pressure don't mess with him, and that he can be happy if he does end up with a DII scholarship and not the NBA.

jlear
09-24-2008, 09:18 PM
As the parent of two, I am completely offended by this crap. In my opinion, it will be very difficult for Marquise to grow up without a warped values about himself and others. His father reminds me of the pageant moms that are often vilified in the press.

How does the dad’s thought process go? Maybe -
I am exploiting my kid now so that is 18 years he can get into college. I do not think he will qualified for college and he will not be a good enough player on his own to get into college, but if he stands by an NBA player that confirms that Marquise is for real and some college coaches will start paying attention now.

Give me a break I think this clown does not care about his kid at all, he is exploiting his kid for his own warped sense of celebrity.

I hope for Marquise’s sake that he is too young for this to have a big impact and I hope that people start ignoring this type of blatant exploitation.

Admittedly my opinion is might be harsh, but I don’t think so…. :)

wolfpackdevil
09-24-2008, 11:07 PM
As the parent of two, I am completely offended by this crap. In my opinion, it will be very difficult for Marquise to grow up without a warped values about himself and others. His father reminds me of the pageant moms that are often vilified in the press.

How does the dad’s thought process go? Maybe -
I am exploiting my kid now so that is 18 years he can get into college. I do not think he will qualified for college and he will not be a good enough player on his own to get into college, but if he stands by an NBA player that confirms that Marquise is for real and some college coaches will start paying attention now.

Give me a break I think this clown does not care about his kid at all, he is exploiting his kid for his own warped sense of celebrity.

I hope for Marquise’s sake that he is too young for this to have a big impact and I hope that people start ignoring this type of blatant exploitation.

Admittedly my opinion is might be harsh, but I don’t think so…. :)

You are definately taking this way out of hand. First of all you are in no place to be saying that this dad does not care about his son. I have no problem with a dad trying to get his son exposure as a great basketball player. I am a basketball player in high school, and some of the 2-ball dribbling drills this kindergartner is doing, we just starting doing in the 8th grade. This kid has amazing skills and potential.

If I was Marquise's age again, and had that skill, I would have loved to have that much exposure and be able to play that much basketball as a really young kid. Im in high school, and I did not play much as a young kid. This Marquise Bryant is amazing at such a young age.

If I was Marquise I would want my dad to be getting me all this attention.

And another thing, you might think that standing a 5 year old kid next to an NBA player for attention is a load of crap, but now a days its what you have to do to get noticed.

Now this kid might just fade away and be another youtube phenomenon and go no where with his life. Or he could be a great player and end up playing in the pros.

But in general you, or anybody have no right to judge this kid's father, and parental guidence, non at all.

jlear
09-24-2008, 11:33 PM
And another thing, you might think that standing a 5 year old kid next to an NBA player for attention is a load of crap, but now a days its what you have to do to get noticed.

Why does a kindergarten kid need to get noticed? and noticed by who? is it a cool story that a kindergarten kid has crazy skills for his age? sure just as cool as the elementary school kid doing anything far beyond his age group - doing math, reading, and playing chess at a high level would be cool as well. But none of that has anything to do with getting in college. Getting noticed now is 100% worthless in my opinion. If it was a human interest story about an amazing kid by a network I wouldn't have a big problem with it, but it was a story about a father exposing his kid to the world under the BS banner of getting him into college in 2026.


But in general you, or anybody have no right to judge this kid's father, and parental guidence, non at all.

When the father posted the You Tube video he gave everyone the right to judge him, just as I gave you the right to judge my opinion when I posted my opinion in the public domain.

Bob Green
09-25-2008, 01:02 AM
As the parent of two, I am completely offended by this crap. In my opinion, it will be very difficult for Marquise to grow up without a warped values about himself and others. His father reminds me of the pageant moms that are often vilified in the press.



How is this any different than Tiger Woods hitting golf balls on the Johnny Carson Show when he was 3 years old?

slower
09-25-2008, 07:32 AM
"Using his friendship with...Jamal Tinsley..."

Uh-oh! Not the best guy to have as your friend.

jlear
09-25-2008, 07:56 AM
How is this any different than Tiger Woods hitting golf balls on the Johnny Carson Show when he was 3 years old?

I do think it is similar, but being on the Johnny Carson show is a little more one and done. This kid's dad wants to keep him in the public eye for his entire childhood. Was Tiger successful because he was on Carson at 3?

I guess my biggest problem is that the dad says I am doing this to help my son get into college. I think that is BS. If he said I am doing it for my son to show off his gift then maybe it isn't as bad.

I think it is easy to send your kids the wrong message if you over emphasize any single thing in their lives. I wanted my kids to be well rounded and success in a number of different areas. Did we have opportunities to exploit our 3 year old (now a 20yr old), absolutely, in fact we had to pool her out of a pre-school because they were starting that process for us. Being talented at a young age is a tough thing and I have seen way to many child entertainers, and child athletes fail apart, give up their gift, commit suicide, or just generally be unhappy with their lives. I think if we put our children on too high a pedestal too early it can have a bad effect and for me a responsible parent does not do it intentionally and do it continuously like this guy is doing. I am sure he cares for his son very much and thinks this is great for both of them....now that I am 10 miles off topic here I will shut up about it. It will be interesting to check in on Marquise in 15-20 years to see how he is doing.

But I do miss the Carson show...

SilkyJ
09-25-2008, 02:21 PM
Why does a kindergarten kid need to get noticed? and noticed by who? is it a cool story that a kindergarten kid has crazy skills for his age? sure just as cool as the elementary school kid doing anything far beyond his age group - doing math, reading, and playing chess at a high level would be cool as well. But none of that has anything to do with getting in college. Getting noticed now is 100% worthless in my opinion. If it was a human interest story about an amazing kid by a network I wouldn't have a big problem with it, but it was a story about a father exposing his kid to the world under the BS banner of getting him into college in 2026.

When the father posted the You Tube video he gave everyone the right to judge him, just as I gave you the right to judge my opinion when I posted my opinion in the public domain.

I don't think his banner of getting him into college is BS at all, in fact I believe him thoroughly, and I can understand why you would think that its BS but you have ZERO evidence to support your theory.

And if he is trying to get him into college, then you're just flat out wrong with the statement that "getting noticed now is 100% worthless." 8th graders are getting scholarship offers these days, and with the way things are trending 6th graders could be getting offers in a few years. Well guess what, Marquise will be in 6th grade in a few years, and people will know about him and all it will take is ONE college to give him an offer and his dad will have given him a tremendous opportunity.

Marquise's dad grew up without a father, and while the piece did not focus on his past as much, it would be no surprise to me if he understood how hard life can be and how much an education can do for you.

wolfpackdevil
09-25-2008, 06:09 PM
I don't think his banner of getting him into college is BS at all, in fact I believe him thoroughly, and I can understand why you would think that its BS but you have ZERO evidence to support your theory.

And if he is trying to get him into college, then you're just flat out wrong with the statement that "getting noticed now is 100% worthless." 8th graders are getting scholarship offers these days, and with the way things are trending 6th graders could be getting offers in a few years. Well guess what, Marquise will be in 6th grade in a few years, and people will know about him and all it will take is ONE college to give him an offer and his dad will have given him a tremendous opportunity.

Marquise's dad grew up without a father, and while the piece did not focus on his past as much, it would be no surprise to me if he understood how hard life can be and how much an education can do for you.



Thank you, you are exactly right

taiw93
09-25-2008, 07:42 PM
I understand that nowadays, exposure at a young age is important, considering kids yet to graduate middle school are now being offered scholarships. However, I think its safe to say that if you're preparing your son to play college ball before he even knows why its important to go to college, you're pushing him too hard. The example the video mentioned of the possible repercussions of this exposure is one among thousands. Look at just about every child actor when they grow up; the exposure obviously goes to their heads. Remember when Lindsay Lohan was a cute little kid, and then became an alchoholic before she even reached the legal drinking age? And even if the pressure doesn't bother him, there's such a thing as burnout. If basketball has been nothing but a "business" for this kid since like age four, then I bet he'll lose his love for the game before he reaches age 18. And the fact that when asked about why he wanted to play in the NBA, he answered "to make money," instead of a typical answer like "I like basketball" disgusts me. He's a 5-year-old kid for goodness sake, and he should not be worrying about making money yet. That family needs to get their values in order, for the sake of the kid.