OT: Mo Bamba Entering NBA Draft
Since he was on our radar screen, thought this would be of some interest. http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22847251/mohamed-bamba-texas-longhorns-says-entering-nba-draft
Appendices:
1. We didn't need him anyway.
2. Whereabouts of his brother, La, are unknown.
Houston Texas fans do.
I can confirm this. Texas fans think Texas is awesome and everyone else just got lucky...again, and again, and again, and well, this went on for 18 years, you get the picture.
They're gonna break him in half and run circles around him.
I'd like to see the refs call for that infraction.
A lot of bitter in this thread. Bamba went to Texas because stupid rules made him take a year between high school school and the nba and he had a good relationship with shaka. I bet he doesn't regret his decision just like I hope Gary doesn't regret his decision to go to michigan over clemson despite them having significantly more success.
I dont understand bitterness towards the players in these cases. Shit on the school not the kid being offered money to go to a school.
He's too skinny. He's not NBA rotation ready.
Do you think one year at Michigan changes that? No.
Not a good player by what metric? He is a true freshman averaging a double double in a major conference.
The guy averages 13 points a game on 60% 2 point shooting despite playing in a shitty offensive system. He shoots nearly 70% on free throws which is the best predictor for a players ability to develop a jump shot in the nba so there is reason to believe he will develop legitimate range. Oh and he also averages over 10 rebounds per game and almost 4 blocks per game. Of course he is a good player who also has a ton of potential to get much better. Like I said, lots of bitter in this thread.
Bamba had per game averages of 3.7 blocks and 2.5 fouls. That's wild!
March 21st, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
Post game is almost completely irrelvant for bigs in the NBA today. Teams just don't play through the post anymore. What bigs need to be able to do is protect the rim, be quick enough to survive when they get switched onto perimeter players, and show the capability to space the floor and rim run on offense. Bamba is almost a prototypical big in today's NBA.
Ouch, man. Hitting where it hurts.
Bamba may not be truly NBA ready but if that's his dream and some team is going to pay him a bunch of money more power to him.
There aren't many guys with that kind of talent who are interested in spending four years in college but it's certainly fun to think about what a talent like Bamba could do if he spent that time with a coach like coach Beliein.
Out of the two one and dones Michigan went after, I would have preferred Jaren Jackson Jr.
JJJ with Beilein coaching would have been a beautiful thing. Instead he spent the majority of his time on the bench in games that Beilein was in attendance for.
I like the kids we do get. They get it.
Yay for us.
At first I thought he was in foul trouble.
Nope. Just not being played. For . . . reasons.
AYE CARAMBA over MO BAMBA
I'm extremely ignorant about modern NBA contracts, so can someone enlighten me about how long a team controls a typical 1st round draft pick? Since so many modern day 1st round picks are on the developmental side ("upside"), I assume team control is a long enough duration to make it a worthwhile investment? Case in point - DJ Wilson. MIlwaukee obviously loves his potential, so it must be a worthwhile investment to let him bang around with the pros in practice and marinate on the bench during games - or get extended run in the G league - as part of the developmental process.
Thanks. Didn't realize 3 & 4 were team option years. So a player could be jettisoned if they aren't developing fast enough after Year 2. I'm sure another eam would take a flyer on a young player like DJ Wilson if they were let go after Year 2, but obviously at greatly reduced price.
I hate one and done.
What a waste of everyone's time in college basketball.
I'd much rather these guys not go into college basketball at all, than to blast in and out for a single year leaving a trail of empty promises and cocaine and perfume saturated $100 bills behind.
Be gone then.
No get, coach B.
Go Blue.
Everyone needs to do what is best for them. The writing was on the wall for Bamba a year ago. I do hate that all these kids with stars in their eyes are sold on the promise of being good enough right out of high school to go pro. And it rarely is true. Sure, there are some that are ready immediately. But for every Lebron James, there are a thousand kids who never sniff a starting position, let alone a starring role. There just aren't that many kids with the talent of Lebron, or MJ, or Kobe, or Steph Curry. Just because they can dribble and run circles around the competition they face doesn't mean they can do it successfully in the NBA.
I've actually been thinking about this with Mo Wagner. Of course, he should do whatever he wants to do. Try out the NBA, go to Europe, whatever. But if he is having fun, and continuing to develop, and money isn't an issue, it wouldn't be all bad for him to stick around. That sounds selfish as a Michigan fan. But I really wonder what his future is. He certainly can play professional basketball somewhere. But he won't be a lottery pick, and I really don't know what kind of guaranteed payday awaits him.
It brings up an interesting point . . . if you are not desperate for the money and your don't think the NBA money will be less for you a year later, which is more fun?
Another year in college, or the first year in the NBA?
College basketball can be a lifestyle grind, but you have the glory of the games themselves.
Sitting on a NBA bench or playing in a development league in front of 1,500 people can be depressing, but you have the killer NBA $$$ lifestyle.
To each his own. I suppose for a lot of guys it comes down to not wanting to leave their teammates, or not caring that much (or they are leaving too).
If it was me and I didn't think I would be losing big money doing it, I'd go back to college. It's an experience you will never be able to replicate ever again in your life.
March 21st, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
The financial consideration isn't the rookie contract, but getting into a second and third contract, which are much more lucrative for players, a year earlier, and extending your earning capability an extra year on the back end. The issue, of course, is showing enough potential and production to get those contracts by the 3rd/4th year in the NBA.
another one-and-done player who has to completely educate himself in the pro game without any real grounding in playing against developed players who are equal or better in size and far more advanced in skill. I know you can't teach height and rim protection at any level, but you get what you get. This is a smart kid, too. And I wish him well. Just saying that the NBA stockpiles young players and then spits them out after a bad night in Oklahoma City or Atlanta or the district.
I mean the Hornets aren't any better since picking up the best big men the Big Ten recently had to offer, and they mostly played out their college eligibility. Pro basketball is a completely different game. Just saying.
March 21st, 2018 at 10:34 AM ^
Bamba is actually REALLY good at basketball. Eespecially on the defensive end. He is an ELITE rim protector and is athletic enough to switch on pick and rolls at the next level. Those type of bigs are unicorns which is why he is being looked as a top five pick. He finishes at the rim and can be a capable spot up shooter so although his offense is behind his defense, he also isn't an offensive liability. His floor might be DeAndre Jordan. He is going to get stronger but his weight won't keep him off the floor.