Stephen A. Smith, fresh off signing his new $100 million contract with ESPN, tuned in to the Final Four on Saturday and probably learned Clayton’s name for the first time.
“This brother is the real deal,” Smith tweeted as Clayton became the first player to post consecutive 30-point games in the Elite Eight and Final Four since Larry Bird. “Reminds me of @DetroitPistons big-time guard Wade Cunningham.”
Many were quick to point out that “C” and “W” are too far away from one another on a keyboard for this to have been a run-of-the-mill typo. Others wondered aloud whether Smith knows something about retired IndyCar driver Wade Cunningham of New Zealand that we do not.
ESPN has several reporters on the college hoops beat, and they cover the sport well, but none of those guys has one-tenth the reach that Smith has. And this goof isn’t remotely important enough to make it onto the eventual “controversies” section of Smith’s Wikipedia page, but it does personify the common gripe about the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader: lots of embracing debate, not enough grinding the tape.
Because let’s be honest: Clayton is a great college basketball player. He is no Cade Cunningham — and that’s not meant as a slight to him. Cunningham has at least three inches and 25 pounds on Clayton, for starters, so we aren’t working with similar builds. Clayton is a 3-point bomber, which is hardly Cunningham’s game. Cunningham has Clayton beat basically everywhere else — from court vision to the pick and roll to rebounding.
That’s the part that sticks in my craw more than Cade vs. Wade. Some national TV guys do a bang-up job, and some are out here pulling names out of thin air, connecting dots that don’t connect.
Recently, Charles Barkley accused ESPN’s talking heads of not covering NBA topics beyond the Lakers and Knicks — a bit rich coming from the star of “Inside the NBA”’s popular segment, “Who He Play For?”
But it’s true that Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have gotten stiffed by the national media this year, even as they’ve qualified for their first postseason in forever. Shaquille O’Neal called him “Cade Dillingham” not that long ago. What does this poor guy need to do to earn a little respect?
To wrap up, let’s come up with three more insane NBA comps Stephen A. can use Monday night when Florida faces Houston.
Florida big man Alex Condon reminds me of Kirk Nowitzki. Houston guard LJ Cryer? None other than Trail Blazers rising star Jaden Sharpe. And Houston forward J’Wan Roberts gets a lot of rebounds — like that guy on the Cavaliers, Kevin Mobley.
