AOL News has a new home! The Huffington Post.

Click here to visit the new home of AOL News!

Hot on HuffPost:

See More Stories

Problem Kids Like Michael Beasley Need More College

Aug 25, 2009 – 7:30 PM
Text Size
Jay Mariotti

Jay Mariotti %BloggerTitle%

Michael BeasleyAnd to think we debated, with considerable vigor, whether Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose had better character traits before last year's NBA Draft. Turns out the answer was "none of the above," which shouldn't shock anybody who knows how teenaged basketball phenoms are pampered, enabled and, in the end, used up like chew toys. Rose is the new poster child for academic fraud, having scandalized an SAT test and reduced Memphis' runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament to a vacated, forgotten rat hole.

As for Beasley, he is a troubled soul who needed help and was fortunate to find it this week. He has checked into a Houston rehabilitation facility and is receiving treatment for stress-related problems that apparently include drug and alcohol issues. This came after a photo on Beasley's Twitter account showed a small plastic bag that appeared to contain -- well, you know -- and included recent postings that didn't suggest a well-adjusted mind:

Filed under: NBA, NCAA Basketball, Sports

ON FACEBOOK