Of all the idiotic phrases thrown around in sports these days -- Johnny Miller, Bill Walton, and Cris Collinsworth being the worst volume offenders of sound-bite stupidity -- there's on phrase heard about this time of year that drives me positively insane.

"You can't coach height."

Riiiigggghhhht.

Just like you "you can't game-plan speed." Or "you can't scout heart."

Whatever. You can't "blank" a lot of "blanks" in sports.

When an NBA team decides to take a big man over another player in the draft -- even though there are legitimate doubts that said big man is really worth such a pick - you hear that moronic phrase come up.

It might be the most disastrous piece of illogical draft "logic" in any sport.

Charles Barkley was listed at 6 feet, 6-inches, but was actually closer to 6-4. He dominated inside his whole career. He could rebound with ferocity and score with his back to the basket.

Alonzo Mourning is only 6-9, but plays like he's 7-2 with a chip on his shoulder. Intimidated by nobody, ‘Zo remains a viable inside force despite age and a kidney disorder that nearly ended his career.

Size, size, size. You can't coach size. Whatever. You also can't take somebody who is soft, and turn them into somebody who is hard. This is why Brendan Haywood will never be anything more than he is now - a perennial post tease. A guy who has upside that never comes.

I don't think the Portland Trailblazers have reprised the Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan fiasco that will go down in draft infamy by selecting Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.

But if you are a Portland fan, you should be a little worried that a potential Dwyane Wade/Kevin Garnett/Scottie Pippen hybrid like Durant doesn't start lighting up the league from the word "go."

The NBA has way too many examples of guys who were picked too high based solely on what the tape measure said and the faint promise that someday they could turn into Shaq.

Take a guy like Darko Milicic; the Orlando Magic have now decided the Darko Dream is not worth pursuing, withdrawing their restricted free agent tender, making him available to the highest bidder.

Darko's agent is looking for a long term deal in the $8 million --$10 million range. Don't expect a stampede for that. Not for a mere eight points / five rebounds guy with a soft disposition in the post who was taken ahead of the following players in the LeBron James draft of 2003:

Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and Kirk Hinrich.

Look at that list. Good... God!

Why didn't the Pistons, coming off an Eastern Championship, just say: "Holy cow, look how lucky we are! We'll take the stud swingman from Syracuse who just won a National Championship!"

No, the Pistons, like many NBA teams, started "thinking." The "thinking" was that they "needed" an inside player more than a wing guy. The "thinking" was that even though Darko was "raw" he had time with a great team already in place, to develop. The "thinking" was that drafting Carmelo might impede the development of Tayshaun Prince at that position.

Memo to NBA teams: STOP over-thinking this stuff.

When you see a stud, draft a stud. Forget everything else. If a Tim Duncan or a Shaq comes along - and he's an obvious STUD big man - then draft him.

Otherwise, stop reaching.

Michael Olowokandi was taken No. 1 overall by the Clippers in 1998. He was from a small school, in a weak conference, and, as a foreign born, a recent convert to basketball.

But he was tall. "We'll take him."

And don't say "that's just the Clippers" because other teams were going to do the same thing.

Oh yeah, that draft featured: Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Larry Hughes, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, and Bonzi Wells.

Nice work.

What do the following names have in common: Spencer Hawes, Patrick O'Bryant, Chris Kaman, DeSagana Diop, Chris Mihm, and Joel Pryzbilla?

They are all big men who were taken in the Top-10 in the draft in the last 10 years, who had no business going that high.

Hawes we'll have to wait on, but here's an update on the rest.

O'Bryant is in the D-League.

Kaman is actually serviceable - if not weird looking - for the Clips.

Diop has career averages of 1.9 and 3.7. (I am NOT making those numbers up!)

Mihm has never averaged more than 6 boards a game, and missed all of last year with ankle surgery. The Lakers don't even want to give him the mid-level exception.

And Joel Pryzbilla? Great nickname, I'll give him that: "The Vanilla Gorilla." Too bad he can't play dead in a Western. Averaging 3.8 points and 5.4 rebounds for his career, Joel will continue to earn a paycheck for years to come in this league.

Why?

"You can't coach height."