So, I'm watching TaJuan Porter right now, and the Ducks are up by 13 despite the fact that the little guy does nothing but jack up terrible shots. I know it's become chic to despoil stereotypes, and say things like: 'See, height doesn't matter in basketball! Just look at Nate Robinson and Allen Iverson!' But you know what? The more I watch shrimps like Porter, the more my faith in stereotypes grows. Height is very important in basketball.

The problem with these super-short guys isn't talent, they have more of it than anyone. A.I. is the toughest dude in the sport, and Nate Robinson might be the most explosive athlete in the NBA. Their primary problem is the chip on their shoulder. It drives them to play like complete idiots. Have you noticed that virtually all basketball players under 5'10" are tweeners? All these guys want to do is play offense. Their coaches keep pushing them to play the point, but they resist, and play half-heartedly, and eventually get moved back to the 2, and then all the pundits clap their hands because the 'coach is recognizing his players' talents'. No one pays attention to the fact that it isn't exactly good for a defense to have a back-court with an average height under 6'. How many teams have won anything with a sub-6-footer starting at the 2-guard?

If these guys committed themselves to the point, and lost their playground-pride, I'd be fine with them. Point guard is the least height-reliant position on the court, plenty of 6-footers win Championships at that position. But they don't change. They aren't winners. They're selfish and immature, and prideful to the detriment of everyone around them.

Jason Williams finally won a Championship because he grew up and listened to all of the people who told him that taking 3's from 10' beyond the line was a bad idea. But he's 6' tall, he wasn't on a crusade to give the middle finger to a bunch of imaginary people who told him that he can't play basketball because he's too short. He wasn't consumed by pride.

I don't want to get preachy, but this idiotic culture has begun to glorify pride. I'm an agnostic, but I recognize that there are some pretty damn good reasons that pride is one of the Seven Sins. It's a terrible vice, and we're just begging our children to possess it with all of our nonsense about 'self-esteem' and 'being true to yourself' and 'not letting anyone keep you down'. 

If TaJuan Porter makes it to the NBA (and I suspect that he won't, I think NBA teams are starting to figure these things out), he has to ask himself a question: do I care more about winning a Championship, or proving people wrong?

The problem with the latter is that choosing that path will only prove those people (like myself) 100% right.  I look forward to it.