The deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft came and went Monday at 5PM. Plenty of underclassmen had already made decisions to not even test the waters (Willie Warren, Oklahoma) or previously decided to return (Patrick Patterson, Kentucky). Still, plenty of others never looked back by hiring an agent right away (Earl Clark, Louisville).The focus is strictly on the players that took it up until this weekend or even right under the wire Monday afternoon. Before getting to the programs that "won" and "lost" with the decisions to stay or go there are two teams that have counter-intuitive situations.
LOSER THAT ACTUALLY WINS
Kentucky. Losing a Jodie Meeks-caliber player is not a good thing for most teams. It does, however free up shots, which is something the Wildcats will need. While Meeks took a huge leap in productivity last season and was reportedly a great teammate, he also averaged over 15 shots per game. Patrick Patterson returning to join a class that includes DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and Jon Hood gives the Wildcats' offense huge potential. The additional bonus is that it takes a smidgen of pressure off of preseason hype for Kentucky and coach John Calipari.
WINNER THAT ACTUALLY LOSES
UConn. The Huskies are facing an NCAA investigation into the recruitment of Nate Miles and Ator Majok along with the UConn coaches' relationship with a former student manager, former personal assistant to Rip Hamilton and wannabe agent in Josh Nochisom. Miles never played a minute for UConn and has hired an agent to pursue his career far away from NCAA investigators. Majok, though, is remaining a student-athlete and will be required to answer questions from the NCAA (assuming they get around to asking before he declares once more). The potential is there for Majok never to get a minute with the Huskies plus the harm to UConn's program is very real.
WINNERS
Notre Dame -- Luke Harangody returns for his senior year with a great chance to finish as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. This is good news for a team that will be in need of giving fans a reason to watch in a rebuilding season following a season of disappointment.
Maryland -- The decision by Greivis Vasquez to come back was mildly surprising. Not that he was likely to be drafted, but the rumors were swirling that Vasquez just wanted to go pro, whether it was in the NBA, Europe or in South America.
South Carolina -- Second-year coach Darrin Horn gets a nice present as Devan Downey decides to return for his final year. He had to sit out a year after transferring from Cincinnati, so this is a bonus. Dominique Archie returning was less of a surprise, but important to the Gamecocks hopes in 2009.
LSU -- The return of Tasmin Mitchell should not have been a surprise, but he took his time coming to his senses.
Tennessee -- The SEC seems to be jumping from joke back to power in just one season. It's not just Calipari to Kentucky, the conference has now has some depth. Tyler Smith's return will help keep Tennessee from slipping further.
Villanova -- The return of Scottie Reynolds does not make the team more of a threat in terms of talent. There is plenty of that in the Wildcats backcourt. Reynolds, though, provides serious leadership and a guy you want to take the last shot in a game.
Arizona -- This was quite the turnaround from the end of the season, when the coaching search seemed to be a mess. No recruits coming in, and plenty of early departures. Nic Wise deciding he would return, though, provides a senior leader for coach Sean Miller.
Texas -- Damion James' return was a real surprise. He seemed determined to go pro after seeing D.J. Augustin leave early and A.J. Abrams graduate. James provides stability on the wing and should benefit from Florida transfer Jai Lucas running the point with McDonald's All-American shooting guard, Avery Bradley helping to spread the floor.
Georgia Tech -- Paul Hewitt is well respected. He has a Final Four appearance. He is a tremendous recruiter. But he also has had little success the last few years. That could change. Gani Lawal could not get a first-round guarantee, so the sophomore returns.
LOSERS
St. Mary's -- Patty Mills' decision to stay in the draft should not have been a surprise. If he had not missed a good chunk of the season injured, there would have been no doubt. The longer he took to decide, though, created hope that he might come back and lead the Gaels to dethroning Gonzaga. Gonzaga -- Every scout and GM, armchair and real, has been aware at how soft and thin Austin Daye is. They practically marvel over it. He is the personification of the terms "project" and "potential upside." He will get drafted somewhere at the end of the first round or the beginning of the second and disappear for a few years maybe to re-emerge down the road. Gonzaga, meanwhile loses a big plug in the middle, and may actually be vulnerable in the WCC.
USC -- No one expected DeMar DeRozan, Daniel Hackett or Taj Gibson to return, it only became more obvious after Tim Floyd's sudden loss of energy to coach.
Wake Forest -- Not really a surprise Jeff Teague decided to make it official. He and James Johnson had started looking to the NBA Draft sometime in February.
Texas A&M -- As nice, and unsurprising, as it was to get Donald Sloan and Bryan Davis back for their senior year, it was a big blow to lose the blossoming big man Chinemelu Elonu. Especially after sportswriters in Texas had finally learned to spell his name without double checking the Aggie media guide.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
How could you not put Memphis in the losers list. They are losing Tyreke Evans (who thought about coming back until Calipari left), Shawn Taggart, their best center last year, as well as their coach and basically the entire recruiting class that Kentucky has coming in plus Kansas's best recruit for next year.
Because Memphis, like Florida, UCLA, Duke and Xavier had their underclassmen decide to go far earlier. OR like Mississippi State, BYU and Miami go the opposite in the week or two before the deadline.
This was about the players and programs that had decisions reached in the final weekend of the deadline to withdraw or remain, as noted at the beginning of the post.