ESPN's Thorpe say Burke could go #1
On TruHoopTV, David Thorpe makes the case for why Burke should go number 1 overall and then says that he thinks he will go number 1 if the team drafting first needs a point gaurd:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9163993&categoryid=2459788
Let's hope that he stays so we don't get to see if Thrope is right!
I would "upvote" you if I had enough points.
He should go # 1. He was better than everyone in college basketball this year.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:08 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 10:19 PM ^
You're thinking of Derrick Favors out of Georgia Tech, who went third behind John Wall and Evan Turner in 2010.
Derrick Williams of Arizona went #2 to Minnesota TWolves behind #1 pick Kyrie Irving in 2011.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:44 PM ^
April 13th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 11:22 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^
This is due to the NFL requiring three years of college whereas the NBA only recently started requiring one. This means for basketball, there pretty much ISN'T a body of work available to be considered. If the NFL didn't require those college years, you don't think NFL teams would draft someone like Clowney straight out of high school and just stash him on the bench for a couple years while developing him?
In my opinion the NFL has it right. Bump up the NBA rule to require two years minimum in college, maybe even three. It increases the quality of the college game, and gives NBA teams more to go off of instead of essentially just gambling.
But but but but these kids get treated like garbage, what with their third-world free tuition, premium housing, woodgrain locker rooms, first choice of classes and schedule, money for nothing, chicks for free, etc. etc. etc.
Pay them now, because they are just getting raped by the college system. God it must have sucked to have been Trey Burke or Mitch McGary this past year...
/BIG FUCKING SARCASM FOR YOU IDIOTS THAT DONT GET IT.
Obviously anyone who understands that player's are essentially forced into giving up a huge financial opportunity is cleary an idiot I guess. Burke and McGary both would have chosen to be here this year regardless of if they could have entered the draft, a guy like Shabazz Mouhamed didn't.
Shabazz would have gone top 3 last year, now he's struggling to stay in the top 10 AND lost a year of salary in the millions of dollars. But I'm sure he's really happy he got his one year of tuition at UCLA.
The one and done rule is a joke, the system should be closer to baseball's. Let guys enter straight out of highschool, or require two years of college.
Shabazz had the choice to get paid to play in Europe. Granted, he wouldn't have been paid as high as the NBA, but paid nonetheless.
I can understand the argument for football players, as there really is no other alternative in terms of making serious money for playing. Basketball players do have options though.
I actually agree the 1 and done rule is dumb, but is it not the NBA's choice to enact a rule like that?
The problem is guys who go to Europe don't get a ton of playing time because the system there is so different and teams are so comitted to playing guys with experience. Brandon Jennings didn't get to play a ton of minutes in Italy, teams didn't get much of a chance to really evaluate him. He lucked out in getting drafted relatively high still, but it's a HUGE risk as a prospect to go over to Europe.
For most guys, thanks to the one and done rule, the only real option is to go to college if they want to actually be evaluated properly. And yes it's the NBA rule, I'm not blaming the NCAA, I'm blaming the NBA.
At the end of the day, these elite players come to school and the value they receive in return is far, far below what they would if they were allowed to enter the draft. A lot of guys do get a great deal, the guys who get scholarships while they don't really produce money for the University, and those are the guys who should be thankful. But let's not act like we're doing Shabazz or Nerlens Noel or whomever any favors by forcing them to go to school for one or two or three years.
I think players who have no interest in pretending to be college students should be allowed to enter the draft straight out of high school. If the NBA doesn't think they're ready, why not let them spend their "1 and done" year with the Developmental League affiliate team of whichever team drafts them?
They can skip college and go to the NBDL. Latavious Williams did so. It didn't work out so well for him.
Players have to be 19 or one year removed from high school, whichever comes later, to be NBA draft eligible.
But a number of high schoolers are good enough to go make a NBA roster, a lot more than could go make a NFL roster. Sure, its a risk for NBA teams, but they're more than willing to take that risk, as it pays off often enough, so let them.
j.j reddick says he should have been a #1 pick then
The NBA's track record of drafting high schoolers is actually pretty impressive. Most of them have worked out.
There have been 42 high school players taken in the history of the NBA Draft.
Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudamire, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum and Josh Smith would all qualify as "stars."
That list also includes the 2 biggest superstars in the NBA today (Kobe and LeBron).
Darryl Dawkins, Al Harrington, DeShawn Stevenson, Travis Outlaw, Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson,Rashard Lewis, J.R. Smith, Dorell Wright, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles, Martell Webster, Amir Johnson, Louis Williams, and Andray Blatche have all been quality players to varying degrees, from borderline stars (Jefferson, Monta and J.R.) to solid rotation players (Stevenson, Harrington and Perkins).
So that is 25 of the 42.
Then there are guys like Darius Miles, and Shaun Livingston who were solid players whose careers were adversely impacted by injury.
Kwame, Eddy Curry, Desanga Diop, Sebastian Telfair, and Gerald Green might all be considered busts, but they've managed to hold down roster spots for a long time. I mean, people make fun of Kwame, but you're not a scrub if you get fairly consistent minutes in the NBA for over a decade. Curry might be a bust, but he averaged 19.5ppg and 7.0rpg in a single season and reeled off 5 or 6 quality years.
So depending on how you look at it, that's 32 of the 42 that have had some modicum of NBA success. Whether it be as a superstar, star, borderline star, starter, solid roation player, or just having a lengthy career.
We also can't forget guys like Moses Malone, and Brandon Jennings, who essentially came out of high school to play professionally and have been successful (Moses to the ABA, Jennings to Europe).
All in all there are probably more all star appearances between the high schoolers than there were high schoolers drafted. Kobe, KG, Moses, and LeBron alone have 51 combined all star appearances and have made a combined 39 All-NBA teams.
They've also won 4 of the last 9 (soon to be 5 of the last 10) MVP trophies.
TL;DR - The list of guys drafted out of high school who haven't made it in the NBA is much, much shorter than the list of guys who have.
Don't lump me in with "let's hope he stays." I don't hope that at all. I hope he goes to the NBA and gets paid lots and lots of money and has a long and successful career. Trey is by far my favorite student-athlete ever, and I wish nothing but the best for him in the pros.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
So if he stays, you'd actually be disappointed?
April 12th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 10:10 PM ^
Bingo. This is as high as Trey's stock is going to get.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:26 PM ^
You are looking at it only in terms of money and accomplishments. If he leaves, he can never again in his life be a college basketball player. He can go back and take classes later on, but he can never suit up for Michigan again. That's not a small consideration.
I understand why a lot of athletes go pro, but I will never criticize one for staying in school. You can't get your college experience back once it's gone. The pros pay well, but they're a business.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:44 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 11:26 PM ^
Actually, I have no idea how much it means to him. I'm not predicting he'll stay in school. I'm just saying that the opportunity cost of never again being a college athlete is a significant factor to consider. If a player leaves early and his rookie year doesn't go well, he can't ask for a do-over and decide to be BMOC again.
And every year you're in college is a year you won't play in the NBA. Let's not be naive, most basketball players consider the second to be the ultimate.
April 12th, 2013 at 11:09 PM ^
He knows exactly what it means. He's got Beilein and a bunch of other people advising him. Some people love college, and Trey might think it's worth it to continue to be the king of Ann Arbor for another year. He might really want a national championship. It might be a missed opportunity, but calling it a "foolish decision" is pretty shortsighted.
It's not about how good he was this year or deserving it. It's how good they think you could be in the NBA. If what you did in college mattered, Christian Laettner wouldn't be a punchline.
you do realize that Laettner had a 13 year NBA career, in which he made lots of money? And as for his success, he was an All star reserve in 1996. He may not have been a superstar, but he is no punchline
Shaq was a better college player than Laettner.
Laettner's teams were better and he was marketed more, but Shaq's sophomore year he averaged 27.6ppg on 62.8% shooting, 14.5rpg and 5bpg. His junior year he averaged 24.1 ppg on 61.5% shooting, 14rpg, and 5.23bpg. Shaq was the AP player of the year in 91, and should have won it over Laettner in 92.
Laettner never even came close to putting up those kinds of numbers. His senior year he averaged 21.5ppg on 57.5% shooting, 7.5rpg, and .91bpg.
Shaq was also 3 years younger than Laettner, despite being just one class behind him.
"... he was marketed more ..."
Truer words have never been said. The focus groups at ESPN, CBS, et al. obviously *loved* that guy. Why else would we have to see that @%#$ing shot of his every year for twenty years or so? There are at least a handful of other shots just as impressive and meaningful, but they weren't made by someone from America's College Basketball Team. Think I'm crazy? Look here (at the Duke map):
http://www.facebook.com/notes/sports-on-facebook/march-madness-fandom-o…
To be fair, the 1991-92 Duke team was one of the greatest of all-time. That team was ranked #1 wire to wire, went to the Final Four for the fourth straight year, and won its second straight national championship (the first repeat since Wooden's UCLA teams). And that game against Kentucky was a classic. That went back and forth in overtime in the Elite Eight before Laettner ended it with that shot.
As the best player on that team, of course he was going to get a ton of hype. But even so, the NBA scouts correctly recognized that Shaq and Mourning were better players.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:51 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 11:01 PM ^
LOL at Shaq who made $292,198,327!
I think if someone told Trey he could make Laettner money for his famiy, he would take it
(http://m.bkref.com/)
April 12th, 2013 at 11:12 PM ^
April 12th, 2013 at 10:40 PM ^
If what you did in college mattered, Christian Laettner wouldn't be a punchline.
I wouldn't call Laettner a punchline (he had a pretty decent NBA career) but anyway, Shaq and Mourning put up bigger numbers than he did in college. Compare their stats in 1991-92 with his.
Shaq averaged 24 ppg, 14 rpg and 5.2 blocks.
Mourning averaged 21 ppg, 11 rpg and 5 bpg.
Laettner averaged 21.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 0.9 blocks.
They were better in both college and the pros than he was. They just didn't have as much talent around them.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/shaquille-oneal-1.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/alonzo-mourning-1.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/christian-laettner-1.html
Damn, I didn't see that you beat me to this, but yeah, the idea that Laettner was a better college player than Shaq or Zo is incredibly false. He played on better teams and was marketed much more heavily (hmmm....I wonder why?) though.
I have to respond to this one, too, since it's also on-target. You wrote:
"I wonder why."
Exactly.
Focus groups ... focus groups.
Marcus Smart is going to be the 1st PG taken, with Trey right behind him. Carter-Williams will be third, I think.
April 13th, 2013 at 12:29 AM ^
That's what many people think, but it's far from guaranteed.
I hope he stays because I care more about Michigan basketball than the NBA. As long as Beilein isn't pleading for him to come back and he just decides to come back on his own, I'll be ecstatic.