By Fernando Avila

The word "potential" is totally overused when analyzing players. The "P" word is given to those who are not fully developed. They don't have quite enough of an understanding of basketball as other players. They don't have the refined skills that other players possess. They are simply players who get by thanks to athletic ability - and they show flashes of greatness. But how do you judge when a player has reached his potential and simply isn't going to get any better than he currently is?

We all recognize Kevin Garnett. We see him on And1 commercials, we hear about his team making under-the-table deals to acquire players, we hear about his contract, etc. What most recognize him as, though, is one of, if not the, most successful stories of players coming out of high school. He's a freakish athlete. He's seven feet and can play five positions on the court and he post big numbers. Some say he needs to step it up in the times when his team needs him the most and some say that he is fine how he is. What I hear from both sides on occasion, though, is that he still has some untapped "potential." Can someone please tell me how someone who has played seven seasons in the NBA still have untapped potential? Exactly when will his time run-out to prove himself worthy of being a fully developed player? Playing seven years in the league, being the main man on the team, having a contract that says he's the main man on the team, and being on several all-NBA teams is more than enough evidence that his evolution of being a player with raw skills to a player with NBA skills has reached it's end. Maybe you agree and maybe you disagree, but let's go more in depth and look at the word "potential" and it's meaning.

A lot of people may have the word "potential" confused with learning about the game of basketball. Well, sorry to break it to you folks, but that is not potential. Every player on every team can never run out of things to learn about basketball. There are things to be picked up everyday. If potential is learning about the game then every single player in the NBA has unlimited potential. What potential is, is the amount of growth physically, mentally, and skills wise that a player has left. That is why high schoolers and early college entries in the draft are called potential players because they have all the physical gifts they need, but they need to acquire the mental toughness it takes to survive. They also need to develop their game into something more than it already is. They need to learn the fundamentals that can make or break a player. That is why KG is near the end, or at the end, of his potential to be greater than he is. He has been in the league seven years. He has gone through highs and lows, yet he has not exploded into a fury with the media because he has developed all the mental skills. He already has developed his game into one of the most versatile games in the league. Great passer, dribbler, rebounder, and to an extent, scorer. There is not much growing he has left in himself because he has all aspects of the game covered. His potential has been used up. It will only be a matter of time before everybody realizes this, but until then we're all going to have to live with the ranting and raving of people when they talk about KG and the so called "potential" that he has left.