from Former Official Website
May 1997
Teen Dreames

Editor's Note: Though Pete Sampras will be in Europe for much of the next couple of months, he'll closely follow the progress of the NBA Playoffs, particularly his beloved Los Angeles Lakers. Earlier this year, Pete wrote the following article for Rip City Magazine, the official publication of the Portland Trail Blazers (the team the Lakers dispatched in the first round). It's Pete's thoughts on the controversy surrounding Blazers rookie Jermaine O'Neal and Lakers rookie Kobe Bryant, who entered the NBA rather than play college basketball.

I was amazed by the amount of attention surrounding Jermaine O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's decisions to turn pro this season straight out of high school. It seemed that every writer, every GM, every SportsCenter announcer had a take on the subject. When NBA commissioner David Stern sought to quell some of the criticism, he pointed to players in my sport, pro tennis. Said Stern: "Where was the outrage for Martina Hingis, for Chris Evert, for Jimmy Connors?"

I'm glad he left me off his hit list. After all, I turned pro at age 16 following my junior year in high school. Though the media at large could have cared less when I made my jump to the pros, my parents, coach and I had to endure our own share of criticism and verbal jabs within the tennis community.

So I feel for Jermaine. Though we've never met, I'm sure he has the same teen dreams that I did when I was his age. I grew up with dreams of winning Wimbledon; Jermaine aspires to win an NBA championship. I decided my best chance to accomplish this goal was to turn pro as soon as I was physically and mentally ready.

How can you blame him for making the same decision? Perhaps he could have used a year or two of seasoning in college, but no one can be certain it would have made him a better NBA player, which is his chosen profession. In Portland, he's learning what it takes to be an NBA player, what you need to do to succeed at that level.

Look at Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, who made the leap last season. He's a legitimate threat in the NBA this season. There's no doubt that he's a better basketball player now than he would have been if he had gone to college for a season. If you feel you're ready, and you can compare yourself with and practice well against the pros, why not give it a shot?

My decision to turn pro at age 16 wasn't even one of my more controversial moves. As a junior player, I endured more criticism for playing "up" in age groups. That is, I played in the 16-and-under tournaments when I was 14, and in the 18-and-unders when I was 15. I rarely won a major junior event. Most "experts" thought I should only play in higher age groups after dominating my own. They also accused me of avoiding pressure by not competing against my own so-called peers.

My coach and I didn't agree. My long-term goal was to win Grand Slam tournaments like Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, not to win junior Wimbledon or the U.S. Open junior tournament. While several of my "peers" were bringing home all the trophies, my coach felt I needed to play against stronger and older players-and occasionally get beat by them-in order to properly develop my all-around game.

That's what Jermaine is doing now. He may be overwhelmed at times, he may get pushed around, he may not be getting the PT. However, he's hopefully learning and setting long-term goals for himself. In a few years, he'll be the one that's older, stronger AND wiser. And maybe his dreams, like mine, will someday come true.

-----Pete Sampras

This article appears courtesy of Rip City Magazine, the official publication of the Portland Trail Blazers.