Trey Burke Update
Well, a few hours ago Brian posted on Twitter according to a source that Trey was having a change of heart and also the Free Press shared the same story. Apparently in the last hour or so on twitter, pictures of Trey Burke's dorm room have been posted and unfortunately all his bags have been packed. I think it is safe to say he is gone.
Link to the picture: https://twitter.com/#!/nrothschild3/status/187762662606782465/photo/1
Why don't you sit this one out. Or, if not, calm the hell down.
In his defense, he is Mister Vociferous.
No matter what you think of his decision, he deserves his right to privacy. Taking pictures of the kid's room and posting on the internet is pretty wrong.
Best of luck to Trey. I'll be rooting for him wherever he goes.
How do we know that's really his room?
I lived in south but I had a couple good buddies over in west.... and a couple good nights over there too...
I don't care how cheesy it sounds but my four years at michigan were probably my favorite four years of my life... I like having kids and a family sure enough, but boy was college fun...
When Trey ends up out of basketball, or in Europe, by this time next year do you think he might possibly do a public service announcement with Manny, D-Mo, and D. Warren urging borderline draft prospects at M to stick around and maybe get an education? A Michigan degree could have definitely helped them, and it would definitely help Trey.
In all seriousness, does anybody think that Trey leaving may bring about a renaissance in THJ's game? I know he had some shooting problems, but part of me also blamed Burke somehow. It would have been foolish to complain about it given Burke's production at the time, but now that he is gone there might be a silver lining.
Yeah, I'm sure he would be a perennial all star in the NBA if he would have just stayed one more year in school and got those extra 30 games under his belt.
Yeah, because no one ever gets better by actually playing in games and playing against competition at your level. Kids should probably just go to the NBA straight out of middle school.
If he had pushed himself into the first round with another year (a virtual lock IMO), he would get a guaranteed 3-year ~$3 million+ contract. He lost at least $1.5 million leaving a year early.
I think his ceiling would have been in the top 15, so it's probably more like $2.5 million he lost, just for the chance to let the NBA chew him up and spit him out a year too early.
this is what everyone (especially trey and his family) need to realize. the key is getting drafted as high as possible in round 1; with a high-paying guaranteed contract. drop to round 2 and you lose big. trey has a much better shot at the big $ next year.
we went through the same thing the past 2 years with harris and Dmo. those guys have lost out on potential millions. i think both of those would have been first-rounders had they stayed one more year. sometimes these kids and their advisors can't see the forest through the trees.
There is also the possibility that Trey is striking while the iron is hot.
Maybe he sees that with all of the talent we are bringing next year, it will be difficult to improve upon the type of season he's had this year, so he's taking the leap now while he still can.
What happens if Trey stays, and Mitch McGary and GRIII are legit one and dones? I'm going to go out of a limb and say that those guys getting the majority of the attention, shots, and hype, would be detrimental to Trey's draft stock.
In last year's draft, Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight both went top 8 on Duke and Kentucky teams that had plenty of talented players on both rosters, check the draft board. I would think being a PG that Burke would want scorers to dish the rock to and grinders like McGary to snag boards and kick it back out so he can run his sets or start the break. He can average 13-15 points as a PG with good assist to turnover ratio, ect. and still go in the lottery or close to it and get his guaranteed contract. Burke should give it another year in my opinion, but good luck to him regardless.
Those two player's situations are not analogous to Burke's.
Also, that's assuming a lot. He could just go pro now, get picked in the first round and be playing in the league next year.
Someone like Burke can't raise their stock much higher than it is right now. He doesn't have the athletic ceiling to allow for a big boost up any draft boards. No matter how he performs in college he will always be a late first round to early second round pick.
Therefore it might behoove him to go now, when he knows he'll get drated at around that position. Rather than waiting a year, and who knows what might happen.
You're right, he may not come close to those numbers next year or in the first round. IMHO, it would be beneficial to Burke to add a little muscle and physically develop another year. I think he would go higher next year, being more physically developed, and it would be a better overall financial decision to stay, even for just one more year. Just my opinion though. Everybody's situation is a unique case.
Or, you know, acknowledge that you are only 5' 11" and that maybe THREE more years in college and a college degree might just, you know, make life a little better after basketball.
The issue is not solely out after one year or two. It is whether you should leave early at all. There are way too many kids leaving early who either have no chance in the NBA or only a modest chance. (I think Trey Burke is the latter, but still he is not Magic, LeBron, etc.)
Virtually none of the guys who leave early are making the right decision. There are a few, sure, but only a few.
You mean a near-irrelevent Bachelors of General Studies degree that his Academic Advisor would have probably steered him towards. If the NBA doesn't work out, there are at least 10 professional leagues in the world that pay former college All-Americans 6 figures+.
My cousin spent a decade playing basketball in Korea and the money he made has basically set him up for life - he'll go the rest of his life after the age of 33 living pretty comfortably and never working very hard.
The world values college degrees. I don't care how much help he would get to obtain it, it wouldn't be irrelevant. (Whether some degrees should be considered irrelevant is another thing.)
Nice about your cousin. A lot of these guys who are marginal in pro sports blow the money they get. (Some of the stars do too, but they have to blow a heck of a lot more money before they go broke.) Then they need to sell insurance, which probably requires an "irrelevant" college degree.
It's a bad decision. People like you create a culture that encourages kids to make those bad decisions.
Making 6 figures for 10 years does not set you up for life. Plus, he had to live in Korea for a decade, which is fine for some, but not for others. It's a lot harder to meet your wife and raise your kids living in a different country. I'm not saying it can't be done, just saying that it's not the lifestyle that most people project for themselves.
It provides you with enough cash that, when properly utilized, can set you up.
For instance, it can give you the money to purchase a few restaurants and hire good people to run them for you.
Also, it did not mean he had to live in Korea for a decade, it meant that he had to live in Korea for 5 months a year a for a decade. It also meant that he didn't spend a penny on expenses for 5 months a year for a decade.
...you're saying that restaurants are a good investment?
I live in Korea and feel pretty good about myself whenever I count all the zeros on my paycheck. Then again, by that logic I'm paying nearly half a million every month for my Umich loan. Wish I were good enough at any sport to have played for free.
x100, would seem to me to be the whole story here.
Maybe TB loves basketball and despises school. Maybe he'd rather live in Korea or Lithuania or wherever, playing basketball, maybe he'd even rather take up a trade than have any of the careers getting a degree would open up for him. I don't have any idea what he loves and hates, what his life is like, what his goals are, and my guess is that 99% of the people here that think they know what his decision should be don't either. It's not some rational-choice exercise where you calculate the future expected cash flows of the various options. It's a life.
Korea doesn't sounds like such a bad place to find a wife.... ;-)
i have a BGS and am doing very well, imo. like most things, it's what you do with it.
I agree with most of this.
Most top college players aren't there to cash in on their degree. They're there to cash in on the NBA. Which is why it's so infuriating to see them blow millions in projected earnings on a gamble that they will be picked 20th and not 35th* when next year they will solidify their draft positioning.
And it's not just that. If you are picked low, you get fewer minutes and are cut more quickly, and are less likely to ride your rookie contract's coattails into a re-up. Most college players want to play professionally and set themselves up for life. All college players want that to happen in the NBA.
* or, you know, not picked in that range at all because the NBA draft evaluators have only been wrong when it comes to Michigan guards in the last 3 years
There are 345 Division I schools that have college basketball programs, with most schools having I think 13 scholarship players on the roster. Around 4485 players for 60 draft spots, with international players also taking up slots. I don't have to throw percentages out there for you to see that if that is the plan of college basketball players, they should strongly reconsider their life strategy. I didn't account for players going to play overseas because you said they are at college to cash in on the NBA. Even players that are ranked in the Rivals150 are not likely to be drafted and go to the NBA. I think you take it one step at a time and if the situation is right and you are lucky enough to be in the position that it makes sense to declare, then go for it. If not, look at the big picture and take the degree. Life is a marathon and not a sprint, and they should look at their situation as unique case every time and only declare if it makes sense depending on the million or so variables involved.
1. Trey Burke is a legitimate draft prospect. He's probably in the top 60 one year removed from high school. For people like him, a life strategy of making money playing basketball is absolutely a good idea and I don't understand how you can dispute that. It's just a matter of how he plays his cards.
2. His draftability isn't going anywhere. At most, 1% of players would hurt their draft stock by staying in school another year. At least 50% would improve it. This is why a true freshman projected in the late 1st/early 2nd should stay. A 1st round contract is that important.
1. It's really creepy that someone is taking pictures of his (alleged) dorm room and spreading it over the internet.
2. This doesn't really counter the last second change of heart rumor. Maybe he packed earlier yesterday then changed his mind?
I still do not have my hopes up, but people are way out of control with their stalking of Trey Burke.
"I'll never tell a kid to stay in school and play for free, Trey Burke."
For free? Are you serious? Do people not realize how much that education is worth, especially if he doesn't pan out in the NBA...
I hate this argument. Is it such a bad thing that Trey has confidence he'll succeed? He can always come back to school. I hope he stays, but no one should begrudge a kid for taking his shot.
Juwan and Jalen disagree with you.
they actually had NBA CAREERS. The failures of the college kids that leave early FAR exceed the success stories. Every college team has at least one "star" ... what % of them actually have NBA careers ???? very , very few.
Go Blue!
What ^ said, plus Shaq, Vince Carter, etc. And those are just the ones that are publicized. If they don't return to school, that's on them.
He has his whole future for the NBA, you only in college once.
*you're only in college once.
it now.
He's from the 'hood. He should go. Done.
Its a shame Michigan had to take him with no other options. Its on the coach.
possibly mean this to come across as offensive--and dull-witted--as it does. A fatal twofer.
Your mad cause you want to pump your chest out when Michigan wins and you want to be a trash talking fan and it has nothing to do with Trey. So be angry with yourself for being that kind of fan.
Next time you have a shot to make more money please remember to pass it up because your stock maybe better later.
How are you so sure he will be in the d league?
Because he is too short to play in the NBA.
I know many NBA teams do not have a lot of 5'10 or 5'11 guards, but there are some, right?
Ty Lawson is about 6'0", as is Mario Chalmers. Both start.
Lawson is significantly more athletic than Burke.
Chalmers isn't, but he shoots 40%+ from three and has a reputation as a good defender. I think Burke, given a year or two, can match that shooting. The defense, I'm not sure about.
Isaiah Thomas is having a very good rookie year, and he's shorter than Burke.
Kemba Walker is 6'1", and was a high pick, but again, I think he's significantly more athletic than Burke.
I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.