Why Was Jared Sullinger Medically Red Flagged?

The 2012 NBA Draft is only a couple weeks away and teams are having prospects come in for personal workouts. Teams want to see the player workout in person, but they also do a lot of medical tests by their team doctor. If a negative results comes from the workout or physical exam, a player could drop a lot in the draft. It is something that usually sticks until they have a breakout game in the NBA.

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger has been going through a rotating door of NBA Lottery teams. He has visited New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors, and Portland Trail Blazers with upcoming visits to Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Detroit Pistons.

ESPN is reporting that numerous team doctors have found something in Sullinger's physical examination. What is alleged problem? Could this be the reason for Sullinger's poor play against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
Sources are telling ESPN that multiple team doctor have reported that Sullinger's back could shorten his NBA career. Some team doctors have even advised their team to not draft him in the first round (First round draft picks have guaranteed contracts unlike Second round picks).

The specific injury appears to be a set of bulging discs in Sullinger's back. His agent, David Falk, didn't comment on ESPN's article. His father Satch Sullinger told ESPN that the bulging area was due to his hamstring and quads being so tight. He says that it pulled on his hip flexor, but his son has been taking care of it with yoga and deep tissue massage.

DeJuan Blair had a lot of negative buzz going into the 2009 NBA Draft because of his lack of ACLs in both knees. He wasn't picked until the beginning of the second round because every team was scared to give him a guaranteed contract. Blair went on to have a good rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs and has been a solid player in the NBA.

I have been a fan of Sullinger's since I saw him play his freshman year. He had some explosion going to the hoop and I was expecting big things from him. My opinion started to become less favorable towards the end of his freshman year and throughout his entire sophomore season at Ohio State. He was playing below the rim and did not seem to have a vertical jump of more than 12 inches. The explosion wasn't there and I suspected a nagging injury to be the problem. He had less than stellar reviews from his predraft agility tests. I hope this is an issue that can be resolved and we see the player who was lights out during the first half of his freshman year.

In my NBA mock draft, I have Sullinger drafted #12 by the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee has yet to have him in for a workout and with this news, he could free fall out of the first round. I don't believe that will happen, but he may drop out of the Lottery. If a team is serious about drafting him, they will make sure to get a second opinion and even a third.

I believe that Sullinger's "ceiling" is a more offensively gifted Anthony Mason. If his becomes and issue and he has weight issues in the NBA, his basement is Sean May.

I'm hoping the Phoenix Suns draft him and their training staff can work another miracle.

2009-10 NBA Preview: Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks basically had a fire sale this off-season and the team is without Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, and Ramon Sessions. They did end up drafting Brandon Jennings, who couldn't get into a college because of low SAT scores, so he played a mediocre year in Europe. Can you really put your franchise in the hands of a guy that couldn't handle simple word problems on the SAT? It's going to be a long season in Milwaukee and this team appears to be a few years ago from contending for anything but a lottery pick. Here is my 2009-10 NBA Preview for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Additions/Subtractions - Let's start off with the people who aren't on the Bucks this year. Ramon Sessions, Richard Jefferson, and Charlie Villanueva are all on better teams and the Bucks will miss them severely. Sessions was a huge surprise last year, but you can't ignore his scoring ability. The additions on this team aren't exactly huge names, but they did do well with the draft. They picked Brandon Jennings, who is flashy and Milwaukee needs some sort of identity and he can help this team in that department. Jodie Meeks was a big-time scorer at Kentucky and could end up becoming a Ramon Sessions typer of player for the Bucks. In a "I didn't forget to mention" section, they also acquired Hakim Warrick, Amir Johnson, and Kurt Thomas, take what you will from this, it doesn't mean much.

2009-10 Expectations - They over-achieved a little bit last season by winning 36 games. They have to expect a season around their 2007-08 season when they only won 26 games. They are in a rebuilding mode since they lost nearly half of their scoring by either trading or not re-signing Jefferson, Sessions, and Villanueva. You know your team is in trouble when you have Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Amir Johnson as your starting forwards. If the Bucks can get another lottery pick next year to help out at SF/PF, this team could be good in a couple years.

2009-10 Prediction - Michael Redd will be traded this season for more youth. They need to move him, he hasn't been the same since his injury two seasons ago. Brandon Jennings, if he can get enough playing time, could end up being a Rookie Of The Year contender, but Luke Ridnour is currently scheduled in as the starter. The Bucks aren't very good defensively and they will be in the bottom 5 in the Points Against category. Scott Skiles, a fellow Indiana white boy, will be on the hot seat and could end up being fired if he doesn't get more than 25 wins out of this team. It isn't fair that they drained this team of talent, but he will be the fall guy if this team becomes laughable.

2009-10 Win Total - 23-59