Whoever advised GR3 that he was NBA material was completely full of himself. I am shocked by this one - his father played in the NBA and probably should have known better that another year in college would have served him well as the man on this team - though I just think GR3's mental "it" factor is really low. He is about to be waived and probably become a D-leaguer or play abroad...he should have stayed! Stauskas seems to be doing lesser then average as well - but his ceiling was as high as it would have been. McGary is going to be awesome I think!
GR3...
- Thread starter tarun262
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If he would have come out after his first year, he would have been a first round pick. It would have been bad for us. He didn't improve much by his second year and his stock dropped to second round. He may have not been drafted if he stayed another year at UM. Ultimately, he is athletic but his shooting, ball handling and defense are not NBA quality. He will probably play in Europe and have a long career.
There was a perception by many on this board that he should go to the NBA because he was an "athletic freak" but the NBA is pretty much full of athletic freaks....and he wouldn't have been one of the top athletic freaks in the league. Heck, Detroit drafted Tony Mitchell in the second round two years ago and that guy was the epitome of an athletic freak but most experts don't believe he will ever amount to much of anything in the NBA. You have to be much more than an "athletic freak" in the NBA....unless you are a 7 footer. GR3 was a 6'5" wing that couldn't shoot very well and wasn't a very good ballhandler which doesn't translate to the NBA. I thought Minnesota would give him more time but they obviously didn't think he would ever become a contributor. I'm not saying he would ever develop into an NBA player but I did think it would have been beneficial for him to come back and be a go to player on the team this year. He most certainly could have worked his way into the first round by working hard on this ballhandling and shooting....and he would have been a year closer to obtaining his degree.
I agree with you BlueCoral. Hindsight is 20/20 but he would
have been better leaving after his frosh year because he could have gotten a 1st round contract.
I personally thought he should go because he wanted to go not because he couldn't improve in college but he would improve about the same amount in the NBA.
You are spot on...he wasn't probably going to get better but maybe even worse as you stated. I think he has 'talent' but that really isn't the problem. He just doesn't have the mental makeup to play at that level.
GR3 was a good player for UM and he would have helped this team out tremendously this year. He was a HUGE loss for this team. HUGE. Even with the losses on this team...you have GR3 and this team probably has a few more BT wins and is on the bubble.
Reality Man
P.S. It's amazing the amount of horse s..t that comes out of the NBA and these advisors. It's just a pile of crap so they can use these guys and toss them away once they don't make it. The NBA is an equivalent of some Porno operation that uses girls and then dumps them on the side of the road. Sorry for the analogy.
have been better leaving after his frosh year because he could have gotten a 1st round contract.
I personally thought he should go because he wanted to go not because he couldn't improve in college but he would improve about the same amount in the NBA.
You are spot on...he wasn't probably going to get better but maybe even worse as you stated. I think he has 'talent' but that really isn't the problem. He just doesn't have the mental makeup to play at that level.
GR3 was a good player for UM and he would have helped this team out tremendously this year. He was a HUGE loss for this team. HUGE. Even with the losses on this team...you have GR3 and this team probably has a few more BT wins and is on the bubble.
Reality Man
P.S. It's amazing the amount of horse s..t that comes out of the NBA and these advisors. It's just a pile of crap so they can use these guys and toss them away once they don't make it. The NBA is an equivalent of some Porno operation that uses girls and then dumps them on the side of the road. Sorry for the analogy.
RM, good point about his mental makeup which ultimately is probably the biggest reason he didn't succeed in Minnesota. I personally think players like GR3 are better off staying in college for 4 years, working on getting their degree, while developing their basketball skills. A degree is something that lasts a lifetime and a player like him is going to improve at his own pace anyways. Some said he should go to the NBA because he can work on his game full time but that didn't seem to workout well for him. Sometimes it's ok to be a good college player and get your degree which doesn't seem to be very popular these days.
Here is the dirty little truth about some of these kids...
they don't want to be in college. They see no value in education.
Let's be honest here. I appreciate education more than I did when I was 18 years old? It's called maturity and life experiences.
Many of these kids see their father (Big Dog) who succeeded without an education. Basketball is the vocational skill. GR3 is no different than Burke or Stauskas or most of these guys. Basketball is their life and that's all they want to do...play ball.
I understand. Not judging it. It doesn't matter if some of these guys get told A,B, C or D....they want either $$ or fame and college is just some pit stop to a better life.
Let me ask you this...if the NBA offered a developmental league with pay that had as good t.v. exposure as college...how many of these kids would bypass college who leave within 2 years? 90%?
Reality Man
they don't want to be in college. They see no value in education.
Let's be honest here. I appreciate education more than I did when I was 18 years old? It's called maturity and life experiences.
Many of these kids see their father (Big Dog) who succeeded without an education. Basketball is the vocational skill. GR3 is no different than Burke or Stauskas or most of these guys. Basketball is their life and that's all they want to do...play ball.
I understand. Not judging it. It doesn't matter if some of these guys get told A,B, C or D....they want either $$ or fame and college is just some pit stop to a better life.
Let me ask you this...if the NBA offered a developmental league with pay that had as good t.v. exposure as college...how many of these kids would bypass college who leave within 2 years? 90%?
Reality Man
There is no doubt you are correct, particularly when it comes to division 1 college football and basketball. I would guess close to half the D1 players don't have much interest to be in college for the academic aspects. I personally think it's kind of sad because only a very small percentage of these players go on to make enough money in professional sports to be set for life. It wasn't like I loved going to classes and studying when I was in college but I realized it would help my future so I went to class and did the work. Many of these athletes are not looking at the big picture where they are going to have to get a job someday and having a degree is very beneficial, particularly a degree from a school like Michigan which carries a lot of weight. The problem with college basketball today is that you are labeled as not having much talent if you stay in college 3-4 years, like there is something wrong with a player that doesn't declare early for the draft. Unfortunately it starts with the parents and some of these parents are encouraging them to leave to get some type of payment before many of these players are ready to play professionally.
