[arkjayback]

Yeah, this was arguably the greatest rookie class ever, but what are the odds of there being more like this? With American colleges doing as well as ever at recruiting players from other countries, and the younger generations of US Soccer players getting better and better, rookie classes are more likely to look like this one than the 2008 class(all games only include league games):

Steve Zakuani - #1 pick in the draft went on to feature all year long for Seattle. It'll take some time for him to have the option to switch from England to the US, but he is a speedster on the left flank that is learning a lot from Freddie Ljungberg; 29 games of experience.
Sam Cronin - #2 pick in the draft and earned his callup to the Gold Cup back in the summer. He was so good that he forced a very savvy veteran, Carl Robinson, out of the lineup; 27 games of experience.
Omar Gonzalez - #3 pick in the draft. He's a physical specimen and is learning from some of the best minds in US Soccer. He very well could be starting next to Gooch in 2014; 30 games of experience.
O'Brian White - #4 pick in the draft; he was guaranteed to be the #1 pick had he gone in 2008. Unfortunately, he got an ACL injury his senior year and recovery carried over into his rookie campaign. Regardless, he earned some playing time for a loaded attack with Toronto; 9 games of experience.
Peri Marosevic - #5 pick in the draft; he was able to earn playing time in other competitions, but it was hard for him to crack his way into the lineup behind Kenny Cooper, Ferreira who was one of the league's best newcomers, his U20 teammate Brek Shea, and Jeff Cunningham who only scored 18 goals this season.
Rodney Wallace - #6 pick in the draft; he also has the eligibility to declare for Costa Rica. The guy is solid with his left foot and made an impact from the very beginning; 28 games of experience.
Chris Pontius - #7 in the draft; the guy was a frontrunner for MLS Rookie of the Year from the very beginning. He is a dynamic player in the mold of Clint Dempsey. He also got 28 games of experience for DC United.
Matt Besler - #8 pick in te draft and one of the more consistent players for one of the league's more inconsistent teams. Still somewhat unkown and unheralded, he played in 28 games for the Kansas City Wizards.
Michael Lahoud - the #9 pick in the draft had a very tough time in breaking into the squad for one of the deepest teams in MLS that had to play more games than most. He ended up with 16 games of experience and didn't back down from anyone.
Kevin Alston - really should have gotten more attention for his performance and is a legit future prospect for the right back spot with the US national team. All he did was lock down a starting spot for a playoff team (New England) and get 26 games of experience.
Jeremy Hall - had the distinct displeasure of having to trod through one of the worst seasons in MLS history with New York. However, he was still one of the more consistent players for a really bad team. I wonder if he'll get more attention next year when they move into the jewel of soccer stadiums in America? It'll be hard to improve on his rookie season where he played in 24 games.
Stefan Frei - he miraculously dropped all the way to #13 in the draft and proceeded to take the starting spot away from Canada's emerging #1 goalkeeper. He started and played in 26 games and has the option to pick between the US and Sweden (or Switzerland, I can't remember).
George John - #14 was no slouch. He is 6'3" 200 lbs on a team that is poised to make some noise in 2010. He played in 16 games and is ready for more.
AJ DeLaGarza - what a revelation this guy was. He and his college teammate, Gonzalez, were incremental in the LA Galaxy's huge turnaround this season. He played in 22 games and the only reason he didn't get more is because last season's Rookie of the Year and fellow right back prospect, Ryan Franklin, returned from injury.
Graham Zusi - he didn't get as many chances as he may have wanted, but 13 games for a rookie is normally pretty good.
Darius Barnes - played 13 more minutes than Gonzalez for New England this season. Started and played all 30 games after sliding to the third round in the draft. Great find by Nicol and desered more attention, and would have gotten it if he hadn't been playing in New England.
Danny Cruz - was a Generation Adidas player and only played in 6 league games for Houston. But, because Houston played so many more games in the US Open Cup and Champions League, he got plenty of game experience. He turned in a decent performance for the U20s.
Nick Zimmerman - guy kinda came out of nowhere to be an impact player for New York. He played in 11 games and was one of the bright spots in a dark season for the Red Bulls.
Quincy Amarikwa - he played in 24 games even though he only started one match. He didn't start for one of the league's worst teams, but he showed plenty to be proud of.
Marcus Tracy - passed up on a chance in MLS to sign with Aalborg in Denmark. He proceeded to make an impact in the Danish league and showcased his amazing athletic ability. He recently scored another game-winner for the Danish giants and will soon be joined by Chris Rolfe. If he shows anywhere near the growth that Davies did in his 2 seasons in Sweden, then he will be an impact player for the US in the future.
Mike Grella - getting spot time for Leeds United in League One, who is much more than your average 3rd division side. He's bagged a few goals and has become a fan favorite at Leeds.
Cody Arnoux - Everton thought so much of him that they swooped him up for their reserve side. He's played in like 10 games and has even scored a couple goals. Hopefully Everton can do a lot with him over the next couple of years.
Alejandro Bedoya - most unknown player in the group because he headed to Sweden. He has locked down a starting spot with Orebro SK and is (gulp) a left winger. This might be a guy to look for in January.

Just think how insanely good this class looks if MLS is able to get Tracy and/or Grella, and if Ike Opara had declared for the draft.

Believe me, I'll be as excited as everyone else when a true academy system is feeding a ton of top players to the league. But anyone saying that the college ranks aren't helping MLS enough and that the players are "too old," is not paying attention.

[carnifex2005]

Imagine how much better they would be if they got proper training.

[Ganapper]

I continue to argue that NCAA doesn't do enough to develop PROFESSIONAL athletes.

I'm including NBA and NFL in this. MLB does a good job because of all the farm leagues they have.

NCAA is great at making amateur athletes. I think professional organizations benefit from using those athletes, but benefit more from developing players on their own as well.

[AL-MO]

Originally Posted by carnifex2005

Imagine how much better they would be if they got proper training.

Exactly why you need academies.

[Roehl Sybing]

Originally Posted by carnifex2005

Imagine how much better they would be if they got proper training.

So typical of Eurosnobs. Just ignore the well-written, comprehensive post and just imagine that the European way is automatically better. Your one-sentence rebuttal doesn't sway anyone in the least.

Even the poster after you makes a better argument. Put some effort into it already. Don't assume that Euro-magic doesn't need to be supported by some critical thinking.

[BoilerSpecial]

Originally Posted by Roehl Sybing

So typical of Eurosnobs. Just ignore the well-written, comprehensive post and just imagine that the European way is automatically better. Your one-sentence rebuttal doesn't sway anyone in the least.

Even the poster after you makes a better argument. Put some effort into it already. Don't assume that Euro-magic doesn't need to be supported by some critical thinking.

Well...Yeah!!! MLS hasn't produced a decent professional player due to not having relegation/promotion, single-table, and a winter calender!

[looknohands]

...OR MLS needs these Academies to try and discover those Marcus Tracys at an early enough age to where they can develop him to play "their" style of football and sign him to a decent contract. If nothing else, maybe they could have him from the age of 18 to 21/22 and actually make some money off of a transfer to a European side. As it is, the general thinking is that the "athletes" are able to make it overseas (Davies, Tracy, etc.) whereas the "technical" players have a hard time finding playing time (Zizzo, Robbie Rogers.) I believe MLS would benefit by hiring coaches from a variety of countries to head up the Academy teams to try and teach the various playing styles that can be found throughout the world.

[bobbydigital]

MLS would be better if it had all the american guys that are not in the big 5 leagues (la liga, epl, bundesliga, ligue 1, serie a) or getting regular PT in a league is considerably better than MLS. i think you make you name in mls first and then go to europe.

grella, tracy, beasley, goodson, parkhurst, freeman, perkins, califf, nguyen, e jonhson, ferarri, kamani hill etc. but i cant blame them for wanting to get paid. it also hurts the league when you lose "average" players leave like rolfe and movsisyan to denmark.

[mellon002]

The theory of the original post is based on the idea that the depth of this year's rookie class will become "normal" and that we will see these types of players on a year-to-year basis. That's a pretty big assumption.

Personally, I don't see it. Last year's draft class was an anomaly and while it would be great if the college ranks could produce talent like that on an annual basis, I'm not sure we will ever see such a talented group of players come from college.

Wait a few years to establish a trend, then discuss if Academies are really necessary.

[superdave]

Originally Posted by mellon002

The theory of the original post is based on the idea that the depth of this year's rookie class will become "normal" and that we will see these types of players on a year-to-year basis. That's a pretty big assumption.

Personally, I don't see it. Last year's draft class was an anomaly and while it would be great if the college ranks could produce talent like that on an annual basis, I'm not sure we will ever see such a talented group of players come from college.

arkjay's post was pretty strong, and a good example of contrarian thinking that's more than just contradicting for the sake of contradicting.

But mellon's got a good point too...this is about as good of a rookie class as MLS has ever had. Let's see 'em do it again.