Woj nails it (NBA draft age requirements)

Jordan won six pretty much all by himself.

"Migraine" (1.6 Seconds) Pippen was one of the most overrated players of all time (coming full circle from his first couple of seasons in the league, when he was highly UNDERrated. See also Rodman). There were 20 other players in the league who could have been interchanged with him, and the Bulls still would have won.

 

Players coming out early forces teams to draft more on potential than results. So there are going to be more goofs, because guys aren't playing at the highest pre-NBA level for very long. And different people will react in different ways when they have to sit on an NBA bench instead of starting in college.

 

Actual facts?
You mean draft projections"?
Like the projections that once had Chris Taft as the No. 8 in the draft?
You mean those actual facts?

 

It is a fact that Hibbert's draft stock has taken a giant thud since he decided to come back to school for his senior year. And he'll be making considerably less money next year than he would've been if he'd entered the draft a year earlier. The fourth year of college did not "add to his value as a professional prospect", it subtracted. That's obviously not what you wanna believe, but it is factually true.

 

My problem with this thread is this.

If you want to say that you believe players staying in college prepares them better to compete in the NBA, then fine. I may actually agree with you.
But it's your blind loyalty to that argument, that gets me.
You can't even go so far as to say maybe there's some exceptions (i.e. Moses Malone, Kobe Bryant) who have been integral parts to championship teams. You just cut them out of the equation because they don't fit.
THAT'S what I think aggravates everyone the most.

You downgrading Bryant's accomplishments as a Laker (93Devil, you've completely ignored those playoff stats I posted earlier) is just mind boggling and totally deflates any argument you have on this thread.

 

I am pretty much convinced that people who downplay Kobe's role on those Laker teams and think that Shaq won all those playoff games by himself did not actually watch those games in real time, and they only read about them after the fact, or saw highlights. A Cliff Notes version, if you will.

It's like arguing about The Great Gatsby with someone in your English Lit class, and you can tell that person clearly has not read the book, but he just goes on and on, ignoring your points, until all you can do is throw your hands up in frustration, stuff your book in your backpack, and march over to the food court to get a burrito.

 

It's factually true because you say it is?
Wow.
Is that all it takes? OK. I'm the coolest, handsomest, smartest man on the planet.
That feels good!

 

TB, Hibbert was projected by ESPN as a top 10 pick last season before he announced he would return to Georgetown. As of right now, he's not a lottery pick in ESPN's latest projections.

His stock took a big hit this year.

 

Good god, put the childish sniping aside for a moment and answer a question: Are you honestly denying that Hibbert's pro stock has dropped this year? You really believe his disappointing senior year has "added value" to his pro stock? You're not that dumb.

It's not just my opinion, it's also the one shared by every pro scout, mock draft, GM and other credible basketball authority who's expressed an opinion on this matter. It's also patently obvious to anyone remotely knowledgeable who's paid attention this season. It's absurd that you're contesting this point.

 

Josh McRoberts was projected as a lottery pick by nearly everyone last April.
He wound up being taken like 42nd.
What hit his stock in those 2 1/2 months?
Or could it be that the projections were -- and I know this is hard to imagine -- wrong? Except for those in the days right before it is held, the mock drafts are so bad relative to what actually happens it's a joke anyone pays attention.
Hibbert's senior year was nearly a carbon copy of his junior year. Any scout who suggested he was a top-10 pick last year (and I know damn well he would not have gone top 10 if he'd stayed in because there wasn't a single guy in the top 12 he'd have gone ahead of) was a moron. \]

 

I want to pose a question to everyone here.

If "Mike" Jordan was a high school senior five years ago, would he have become "Michael" Jordan?

If Jordan went straight to the pros after high school, would he have become the greatest player that ever laced them up?

How much did Roy's and Dean's coaching help him?
How much did playing in the ACC for three seasons help him?
How much did playing the NCAA tourney help him?
Would he have been better off on an NBA roster when he was 19?

Sure, he would have been a rich man either way, but I do not think he would have risen as high skipping college.

Maybe "Michael" was inside of him all along, and he did not need UNC or college to bring it out?

Would one year of college been enough?

 

Maybe Dean and Roy's coaching held him back. Do you really think 45-43 games with UVA propelled "Mike" to become "Michael"?