I don't see it even if we do keep ours at #14/13. I think he goes top 5 no matter what. Top 8 only if a couple of the other bigs have head turning Tourneys. Bigs are too valuable a commodity.
One guy doesn't make a draft class strong.....2013 is widely regarded as being a weak draft class. Hell, if Noel can rehab AD-style, he might even be able to claw his way back into the top 5.
You guys think he'll still enter the draft? I don't see him returning to Kentucky either way it goes. For one, Calipari's already secured his replacement. He's counting on Noel, Poythress and Goodwin (maybe even Cauley-Stein) to go pro to make room for next year's recruits. I think he should not enter this year's draft, focus on rehab, shake the rust off in the D-League, and then enter in 2014. He'd be a top 2 pick, at worst. Wiggins is his only competition. I don't think he goes #2 this year, so it'd be worth it, IMO.
I'm not sure about the d-league part, but I think you're on to something otherwise. Definitely shouldn't go back to Kentucky. I like the take a year off and rehab approach, with some way of showcasing skill set towards draft time next year...
Injuries involving photographers behind the baseline, whether directly or indirectly, seem to happen a lot.
This is why I hate the bs age rule. Kid should have been able to go straight to the pros if teams are willing to draft and pay him. Instead he has to expose himself to injury risk so a school can make $$ off of him.
yeah athletes in europe are allowed to forgo school altogether pretty much.. the whole argument that there is no fallback in case of injury is pretty pointless. athletes with degrees.. come on, they aren't really going to get a job in said field. if athletes in america were just allowed to be athletes and not forced into the awkward position of being a premier student-athlete I think we'd see the overall quality of the game increase. European soccer players go to soccer academies In america the top athletes go to a lot of the same schools which are in essence sports academies.. but they aren't referred to as basketball academies. They're just disguised as prep academies. Might as well let the top talents focus on sports like they're professionals from a young age. This is done in America with AAU and top youth camps, but its all very fragmented and the athlete still has to pass useless things like standardized test scores and pretend to be a student
Especially when they're only in school for a year. They should let you jump or force a minimuim 3 year commitment.
the commitment thing is awkward too.. there should be no requirements whatsoever.. theres no point in trying to provide a safety route for athletes who cant go pro all of a sudden because of injury.. they'll find work in their sport eventually. We need to foster an attitude among athletes that is basically like Europe. you live eat breathe, and **** the sport that youre going to go professional in. America half asses it in this respect a LOT. If more kids decided from a young age that theyre going to eat, sleep, breathe, and **** basketball you would see the game EXPLODE the 1 year rule is for money reasons and money reasons only (for the programs and TV channels and ****)
I doubt he's top 3. It's not like he was consensus star of the draft. I think he's probably lower lotto now but I'd still enter the draft in his place. I say OKC gets him with the Raptors pick.
