This could explain a lot about Solomon
Posted by BillFromTampa
As we saw last night in the NBA draft, Solomon was surprisingly selected 50th in the draft by Dallas who traded him to Toronto not soon after picking him. Even the few mock drafts that had him going in the second round didn’t have him going that low and most had him late in the first round.
Now it comes out from the Tallahassee Democrat that Solomon was diagnosed with a rare medical condition (that is not life threatening thankfully) in the pre-draft physical exams which was shared with all NBA teams.
That obviously had an affect as to where he was drafted with teams shying away from him coupled with his leg injury two years ago. How much this condition affected his game we don’t know. It sure didn’t help.
So this helps to explain why he went so late. I can assure you that Leonard Hamilton and Stan Jones work very hard for their potential NBA players prior to the draft to get a good idea where players are likely to go in the draft. It was difficult to believe they could be so wrong.
Solomon just can’t catch a break. But here’s hoping he can stay on with Toronto or some other NBA team. He was confident he was going in the first round when he declared last April.
In other FSU basketball draft news, Ryan Reid was a surprise pick going 57th to Indiana (later traded to Oklahoma). Ryan as early as early April had workouts scheduled with NBA teams and obviously someone liked with what they saw with his physical play and his willingness to do the dirty work. Will he stick in the NBA, who knows? But I will tell you this, Ryan is going to be missed by FSU fans more than they know come next season.
On a side note, Ryan in his senior year in high school went head to head against Stanley Robinson of UConn. Ryan had his hands full in that game and Robinson did get the better of him with Ryan eventually fouling out. Robinson garnered a good deal of attention while at UConn. Certainly more than Ryan did in his college career. Turns out Robinson was selected 59th two slots behind Ryan. I consider that a small piece of payback for that game six years ago.
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Jdogg on 
Chauncy on 
Redman on 
I wonder what that “mystery ailiment” is. Could it be a leg problem? A heart problem? Usually those are the biggest red flags. I wonder if anything will come out of this.
I am seeing a trend however: Alabi, Alexander Johnson, and Wafer went early – all were drafted very low, although Wafer was a bit of a surprise. Toney Douglas and Al Thornton stayed and were 1st rounders.
Oh, and how many Dukies or Tarheels were drafted?
I HIGHLY doubt it was a heart problem. Nobody would have even touched him period. My guess it is some sort of degenerative condition affecting maybe the joints maybe even in the leg he had the rod inserted in. Teams would worry about that in terms of how many years can he play.
According to several online sources (take that with a grain of salt), Solomon caught Hepatitis B recently. That’s why he dropped like BP stock.
Ryan Reid for NBA Rookie of the Year!
You were right Jordi.
http://blogs.tampabay.com/semi.....y-tre.html
Quote:
“Solomon Alabi tested positive for the Hepatitis B virus. Contact with this virus is common in the African population. His condition is easily treated and in no way will affect his ability and performance as a professional basketball player. He can look forward to a long and successful basketball career.”
An initial report in the Tallahassee Democrat said his freefall was linked to a letter sent to every NBA club shortly before the draft that raised a red flag. The Democrat reported Alabi had a “rare medical condition.” While rare in the United States (about 1 million cases), Hepatitis B, an inflammation of the liver, is more common in Africa and Asia. It often can be managed by antiviral medication that lessens the infection and may decrease the chance for severe liver disease later in life.
The Raptors, however, had been one of the teams most interested in Alabi (it needs size, especially if Chris Bosh leaves) and the club has a former pro player as an assistant general manager, Masai Ujiri, who’s from Nigeria and figures to have a better understanding of Alabi’s medical condition.
Leave it to the Democrat to not get the story entirely right. And they are going to charge people for that.
Interesting fact, Alexander Johnson, Von Wafer, and Solomon Alabi are the only 3 FSU players ever to leave early under Coach Hamilton.
They probably all had the potential of being an Al Thornton or a Toney Douglas, but because they left early, they’ll never have that success. One year in college would have done more for them then they probably thought it would do.
Toney Douglas barely was a factor on the team his junior year, but he stayed for his senior year, and look how it turned out for him.
I wouldn’t say Toney was just barely a factor in his junior year. Al certainly was the man on the team. But I agree that staying for his senior year greatly improved his NBA chances.