Pool Party

Many of my prospects come with a warning label. Unfortunately the red flags aren't always apparent. With each passing year, my radar for sniffing out questionable characters has undoubtedly improved because I keep careful track of every player/prospect interaction. There was one prospect, Chester, who totally slipped detection early in my career. As I think about Chester, I don't believe there's any way I could have ever detected the extent of his issues.

Chester struck me as an ordinary 17 year old, entitled high school basketball star. Those types have a "peacock air" about them in the way they strut on and off a basketball court. They have an air of always being above the fray. For example, they react to their own mistakes by angrily gesturing towards teammates who had nothing to do with the error. This Teflon attitude is also reflected in the way they deal with authority on the court. Regardless of the call made by an official (an obvious foul, for example) they react angrily and allow frustration about the perceived slight to dictate their play thereafter.

I went to see Chester play because his Guidance Counselor told me that his shoddy academic profile may require that he attend a junior college. Chester was defined as being simultaneously able and aloof academically. While he could certainly do the work, Chester opted to do it on his own timeline and was often given lengthy extensions on short assignments. There was another important element that contributed to his uneven academic profile. He was the star point guard of the basketball team who came from a family of gifted athletes that were also prime time at the high school.

Chester was most definitely the best point guard in his league, but I had no need for him on my team. I already had a point guard who was much better than him, and I didn't see them being able to coexist. Despite being an elite player in his league, Chester's game had some serious flaws. He never displayed an ability to drive and finish with his left hand, or make a shot from any spot on the floor consistently. I figured he was in for a rude awakening in college.

By way of some family connection, he got into a 4-year college. As I expected, Chester didn't play much for his new coach. Soon enough, he quit the team even though he was just a Freshman. I asked one of the assistants on that staff what happened with Chester and was surprised to hear what went down.

Coach: He was a really weird kid. I'll tell you that much.
Me: How so?
Coach: He had an issue with girls. He got caught up a couple of times on campus being inappropriate. Eventually he got kicked out of the dorms.
Me: You really just never know with these kids.
Coach: That's not where it ended, though. He got in some serious trouble back in his town for lewd behavior.
Me: Lewd? Like what?
Coach: According to the police report, he whipped his stuff out and started stroking himself while he watched a woman and her young daughter swim...