Report: Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton To Declare For NBA Draft
by Evan Pfaff on Apr 8, 2011 6:27 PM CDT
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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PrintThe day after I post that Tristan Thompson and Jordan Hamilton will be Texas Longhorns next season - based on comments from the two players - Barking Carnival is now reporting that both the swingman and power forward will declare for the draft.
According to Barking Carnival's unnamed sources, the two players are virtually out the door. To quote the article's unnamed source
"If Jordan is 100% gone then Tristan is 97% out the door as well. When you're a top 15 prospect you have to go."
This leaves Texas in a lurch. Austinites were doing backflips when it was first reported that the two would remain on campus, but with this latest development, the Horns are taken from a national champion contender to good, but not great Big 12 squad.
To me it makes sense for the two to go. In my opinion Hamilton was the big 12 Player of the Year this season, and while his shooting percentage is something to be questioned, as well as his slump towards the end of the season, his stock might never be higher. Take the money and run, Jordan.
As for Tristan. He was the conference's rookie of the year. His decision I question a little more, not because his stock isn't high, but because he played big man for Texas this year, and will be a PF in the NBA. I feel he needs another year under his belt in the PF position to fully round out his skill set.
But again, if you can almost be assured of top dollar, take it.
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Might be a little off topic but I really fail to see how a case can be made for Hamilton
over Pullen or Marcus Morris for Big 12 POY.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
Rock Chalk Talk
I can see a case over Pullen
with how Pullen started the Big 12 season, granted the middle part and end part of season he was fantastic.
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I'm still convinced
That Marcus and Markieff are the same person. Never seen both in the same room at the same time. With that said, you can’t give an MVP to a guy who can commit 10 fouls per game…
When Hamilton was nails, UT was rolling. he slipped a bit and UT started losing. He still put up points, and going squarely off memory, during those losing streaks he got a lot of insignificant points (points after the outcome was decided). While that might add strength to your Morris/Pullen theory, it tells me that he was the guiding force behind the second place team in conference.
And to agree with Joe below. Pullen was nails at the start and end of the season, had he even kept it up 75% during the middle he’d have been MVP.
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I was really hoping these two would stay. The talent level has been down the past few years but with some big time players staying, there could be some great teams next year. Texas could have been one of them if these two (or even just TT) had stayed.
However, I have to agree with your assessment. If you are going to be a lottery pick, it’s pretty silly not to go get your money.
Not necessarily
There are some instances where a player can actually improve his draft stock with another year. IIRC, Blake Griffin was projected as a mid- to late lottery pick had he entered the draft after his freshman year. After coming back for his sophomore year he went #1. That’s a difference of probably $3 or 4 million in salary.
Both Hamilton and Thompson are projected as mid-first round picks right now. In Hamilton’s case, he probably can’t help his draft stock with another year in college and can only hurt it. So going to the NBA makes sense. On the other hand, I could see Thompson’s stock going up a bit with another year.
Personally
Would love to see the NBA make staying in college more profitable for players along the lines of different rookie scales for players who stay in college longer (i.e. a max for players who enter draft after first year vs. players who graduate). Could be like a backloaded contract. Wouldn’t help the players in the most dire financial positions but would probably make sense for the rest (who could not only improve their draft stock and possible longevity in the nba, but would also essentially be “repaid” for not going earlier).
It probably won’t happen, but I think both the college and pro games would benefit greatly from a system like this. Additionally, I think the NCAA needs to look deeper into its policies on allowed sources of income, but that’s a totally different question.
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by Matt Patton on Apr 11, 2011 12:27 AM CDT up reply actions
WOW
I like the idea, but cant see it happening. there’d be too much collusion between the NBA and college (if I used that word correctly, any lawyers, or people who get sued a lot out there?).
I’m still in favor of the baseball rule. Either go pro out of HS or stay a minimum of three years. That way Derrick Rose etc wouldn’t have to fake it for a semester, and wouldn’t need to. It also helps programs know who they have and what they need to recruit.
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1 Problem
I think that hurts NBA (not that I care that much) just because the NBA doesn’t have a legitimate farm system (the D-League, really?), so the League would miss out on a lot of guys that need one or two years more of training to be ready. Given, this change might force the NBA to invest some money into the D-League but then I think NCAA basketball takes a hit (not sure how much of one, but more players definitely start declaring). It’s a sort of sticky situation to be sure, but currently neither system is being helped much.
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by Matt Patton on Apr 12, 2011 12:23 AM CDT up reply actions
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