"A-TRAIN" TO TITLETOWNBy: Jeff McMenamin Standing at 7'0" tall and 285 pounds it is safe to say that the Los Angeles Lakers starting center Andrew Bynum is not your typical everyday basketball player. There are only a handful of players in the NBA that are part of the seven feet tall club, and Andrew is becoming one of the most talked about members. Now in his fourth season in the NBA, Bynum is showing the type of force he can be on the basketball court as the Lakers are off to one of their best starts in franchise history. At (27-5) the Lakers hold a six game lead atop the Western Conference and with their recent win against the "NBA's best", the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, you'd have to credit some of that success to the play Andrew Bynum has given the team this season. Last season the Lakers were (24-11) before Bynum went down with a season-ending knee injury that halted his great start to the season with averages of 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. With his quick start,Bynum was generating talks of getting the most improved player of the year award in 2007-08. When I asked about how he reacted when he heard the bad news last season Bynum responded, "When I got the bad news it was tough man it was like falling off the top of the world. I was doing great, starting every game, averaging a double-double, but then it just ended and it took a long time to get back and to find that comfort level that I was in before the injury." Bynum only started in 25 of those 35 contests played, which could have been the difference in the team's record at that point last season. This season Bynum has started in all 30 games and the Lakers are off to a great start because of it. Bynum is averaging slightly less with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game, but that is after having to rehab back from a tough knee injury. Bynum explained the painful part of rehabbing, "To rehab and get back, you know it was tough because you have to sit out really. The stuff I was doing to rehab wasn't that difficult, but at the same time you'd have to sit there and watch your team play every night and that part of it was very difficult." This statement really shows you the type of player that Bynum is. For those of you who don't know, Andrew Bynum grew up in Plainsboro, New Jersey and was a tri-sport athlete growing up. "I played basketball, football, and ran track. Also where I'm from there were a lot of kids so there was always something to do and someone to hang out with." Due to his athletic abilities, Bynum moved around a lot during his HS years in order to find the right fit for him as far as scouting was concerned. "It (high school) was actually kind of tough because I'd have to make new friends everywhere I went. It also kind of messes up your schedule when you move around that much, but I had to go for basketball and I love playing the game of basketball and St. Joseph's (Metuchen, N.J.) gave me a great opportunity in that aspect." Bynum not only wanted a great opportunity to get his name out to the basketball realm, but to the academic realm as well. "It was fun to go to class everyday and in terms of basketball it was important and it kind of put me in a better position to start thinking about colleges because that's one thing the school was known for was sending guys off to college. So I took advantage of that." During his senior year of high school, the "A-Train" a nickname he earned at St. Joseph's, averaged 22 points,16 boards and 5 swats per game and was named a 2005 McDonald's High School All-American. As a result of those impressive hoops resume, Bynum was offered a scholarship to play at the University of Connecticut for Jim Calhoun, but after a lot of research and deliberation, Bynum decided to opt out of the offer and enter the NBA Draft. When asked why he opted out Bynum explained, "Just the situation of the lottery pick and me going 10th overall to the Lakers. Also nothing's better then to come to the NBA. One for the money, two just because I get to play with Kobe and be coached by Phil Jackson as well as have Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as my mentor so I didn't really miss anything by not going (to UConn)." Bynum really didn't miss much from an education standpoint either by skipping college. Currently he is attending Loyola Marymount where he is seeking a degree in Business Management during the off-season. Bynum was part of the 2005 NBA draft class, a class that will go down in history as the last year where players were allowed to jump straight out of high school to the NBA. League rules now stipulate that you must play one year in college before entering the draft and Bynum is not a fan of the rule change. "I don't understand that rule. I mean you look at the NBA now and most of the top guys came out of HS you've got Kobe, KG, Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, and the list goes on and no so I don't know why. I mean you can get a year in the NBA compared to a year in college and you just gain the whole NBA experience of being on the road and being a part of a professional basketball team and you get more from that than going to college." If Bynum continues to improve and certainly if he helps Kobe and Phil Jackson secure their 4th NBA Championship, don't be surprised to hear Bynum's name mentioned in that elite list of players who came straight out of high school to make a huge impact on the League.
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