5 reasons Darius Morris is making the right decision to leave Michigan for the NBA
Good analysis/opinion on D-Mo's draft status and reasons....check it out
I suppose that author has a point with a few of those things, but I still feel strongly that this is a mistake. Unfortunately, Darius did not solicit my opinion during his process.
As unhappy as I am about it, he made the "safe" choice. The Manny Harris effect shows that. Sure there's a chance his stock goes up next year but there's a bigger chance that it drops with a loaded draft class and the danger of an average season. I don't think we could have expected that much more production from him other than the occasional jumper. His stats wouldn't have lived up to the expectation of another huge improvement. The jump makes sense for him.
Or, he could bust (like many in his situation do) and then he is out of basketball and out of a college degree. Doesn't sound too safe to me.
It's not like he's forbidden from ever attending college again. He can come back to finish his degree if he wants. He would have to pay tuition, yes, but he'll probably have a decent amount of money in his pocket to do so. He's good enough to at least make a European roster, and I'd bet that he will make an NBA team next year. The only door he closed was to playing college basketball again.
six figures playing Euro ball. Not a bad salary.
I would have liked to see what a loaded roster could have done next year.
Who runs point now, Stu?
But I am still hesitant about this decision. Morris was named 3rd team all Big 10...third team! That means (at best) he was viewed as the 3rd best guard in the conference...how that translates to "leave and enter the NBA now" blows my mind. Also, the author's point about Sullinger and other very successful underclassmen returning to their respective schools works against his other arguments for Morris entering the draft. Those players also had the $ signs in their eyes and the looming threat of a career ending injury next season but they chose to stay in school.
I believe Morris has top tier talent if it is carefully developed and I am willing to bet that Beilein is much more concerned about Morris' future than NBA coaches and owners are....Morris leaving is a huge mistake, I just hope I am wrong for his sake.
First, the all-conference teams are invaribly slanted towards upperclassmen. Two months ago, the consensus was that Morris got screwed in the Big Ten vote.
Second, it's a vote of how the player did in college, not his pro potential. Talor Battle got placed higher than Morris, but absolutely no one would consider him a better pro prospect.
People are constantly harping on Morris's deficiencies, without acknowledging his strengths. He has terrific size, can defend either guard position, has phenomenal floor vision, can drain the midrange J and finishes very well around the basket (he shot 53% on 2-point attempts this past season). And it's clear he's a very hard worker. I'm as disappointed as anyone that we won't have the privilege of seeing him in a Michigan uniform, but let's not go overboard.
has no bearing on draft status as well as NBA career.
DMo is making the decision he thinks is best for him. I am not in his shoes so therefore don't feel like I'm in a position to judge. Next season would have been great for Michigan if he stayed, but Beilein will make due with the team that he has.
Good luck Darius, we wish you all the best. You are a lifelong Wolverine!
He is probably making the right decision and I wish him the best.
Doesn't mean I have to like it.
He is probably making the right decision and I wish him the best.
Doesn't mean I have to like it.
Darius has the same weaknesses that Manny Harris had which led to MH going undrafted. Therefore, DM is smart to go pro now. Brilliant.
Morris is a vastly better ballhandler and distributor than Harris. Their games aren't similar at all.
I wasn't offering my opinion. I was referencing the analysis in the article:
"During Harris’ junior year scouts saw that Harris couldn’t shoot and struggled to go left — coincidentally, the same things people note about Morris’ game — and it hurt him."
Maybe I'm blinded by self-interest. But I just don't see it for Darius. A good player. Excellent potential. But never during the season did I think "Wow, next stop, NBA." And the scouts all seem to agree that he's a year a way, at least -- much as they felt about Donovan Warren and Manny Harris. Granted, Harris made it with the Cavs. But that team is terrible, and I'm not sure he's ticketed for a long and big NBA career.
What's going on here? I don't see many OSU or MSU players making such quick (perhaps too quick) leaps.
Among other things, the author overstates Morris probable draft position and likely amount of money he'll make. Then, he doesn't mention the possibility of an NBA lockout for a portion of next season which will cut Morris's salary even more. And the supposition that Manny Harris would have been a first round pick after his sophomore year is absurd. As if the NBA scouts were blind to the weaknesses in his game then, and all of a sudden discovered them after his junior year which led to him being undrafted. C'mon.
The author however missed the probable reason why this was the right decision for Morris: he was just tired of being a college student and wanted to concentrate all his time on basketball. It's likely that college life was just not what he wanted any more. So be it. Hopefully he has a Plan B in case basketball doesn't work out well. Time will tell.
OPTIONS: If you quit your present job right now and go to your dream job I'll give you 1 million dollars...guaranteed. Or you can stay where you are and in one year you can apply for your dream job which would pay you 5 million dollars and you'd have a 50-50 chance of being successful (ie: getting the 5 million), which would you opt for?
I'd take the guaranteed 1 million...
Flawed logic. he's not guaranteed anything this year
<br>
<br>It's more like quitting your job this year for a 70% chance of $1M, 20% chance of $500k and 10% chance making minimum wage
<br>
<br>Versus staying a year and having 20% chance of $5M, 60% chance of $1m or 20% chance of $500k
<br>
<br>Numbers made up, but you get the idea. Nothing is guaranteed, only probabilities of certain outcomes.
but there were also many who thought DW should have entered the draft and not only that, thought he would be a first or second round pick....we all know how that worked out.
I don't know how this will work out for him, unfortunately I don't see any scenario where he goes in the first round. As fans of DM we just have to hope for the best for the kid in the future, no matter how this pans out.
Good luck DM.
When NBA GMs draft on "upside," they mean athleticism and star potential. Not likely here.
Yes he could get hurt.
The minutes thing is absurd.
A weak draft class just means more kids from this draft class will never get a contract or a second contract. The NBA chews you up and spits you out, especially when you're not an elite athlete.
People are comparing him to Andre Miller and Steve Blake. Both those guys came out of school highly polished after 4 years of play to make up for their lack of speed.
Good god this kid has 4 year college player who comes out of school with a lot of experience to have a decent NBA career written all over him WHY IS THIS SO HARD DAMN YOU LOCKOUT AND SUBSEQUENT WEAK DRAFT CLASS.
What can you say. Thousands of spartans are pumping their fists right now, making plans to get with their sisters and breed some more spartans. Darius doesn't owe us anything. That doesn't make it suck any less. Darius has got to look out for himself. We go from expecting to sweep MSU again and making a tourney run to hoping for a split and a tournament birth. I really hope Darius can contribute on an NBA team. At the same time...
It sucks. Another symptom of one of the favorite authors of my youth's favorite phraise:
The world has moved on.
If those who are suddenly saying, within the last week, that he will go in the first round are correct, then this article will be correct. If he doesn't, though, there could end up being up to 2 million reasons why he should have stayed.
I hope the "sunshine and roses" crowd is correct, but there is a really good chance they aren't.