McCullough to the NBA

[ToTheHole]

quite possible he grew tired of listening to JB publicly bash him every chance he got. words hurt.

Post of the thread so far, although that isn't saying much. Wasn't it you that did the "Nostrildamus" also? I think you deserve poster of the month for those alone. Well played, and seriously true on this one.

 

[OrangeDW]

At this point I wish we would just stop recruiting guys who are going to go to the pros early. Stick to guys who are going to be here 3 or 4 years. I would rather have a team full of players like Christmas or Cooney then I would with guys who are going to leave after a year or two.

Now get OFF my lawn!

I don't mind recruiting the guys who are going to leave early, if they're actually going to be really good players for us first.

We haven't had an early entrant who came close to reaching his potential as a college basketball player before leaving since Jonny Flynn.

 

[Alsacs]

I never rip kids for leaving early as they have a right to get paid. With that said McCollough's decision is probably the dumbest I have ever seen from a college kid. In his last 8 games before getting hurt he was averaging 5ppg and 5rpg. Obviously, this kid has talent, but whomever advised him to leave better have explained he isn't going to get picked in the first round and second round kids have to earn their place on the roster. Upside and potential is good when your healthy and get picked in the first round.

I get he didn't want to stay but it was in his best interest long term to rehab and come back next January and show he is healthy. This is no Jermai Grant situation where he fell because of a concerns about his position and whether he could shoot well enough to be a SF. McCollough will get next year guaranteed as he rehabs and then I doubt very few teams will give him a second guaranteed year. McCollough is a textbook cause for why the one and done sucks. Last year Brandon Ashley broke his leg at Arizona he wanted to declare after that year instead he came back and had a good year and is going to go now. I don't get the advice that McCollough took as Waiters has reported his academic standing is good.

 

[Alsacs]

I defended in the kid in December when JB was completely wrong for criticizing Chad Ford for where he put McCollough. If he didn't get hurt this decision is obvious.

 

[djcon57]

He's 1 year closer to his 2nd contract, and had been playing pretty damn well. And why can't he get better in the NBA when your full time job is to play basketball, hire personal strength coaches, and whatever else you need to improve your game. He's been playing 20+ minutes a game in the NBA, you don't think he's getting better playing in the pros?

Nah, Grant clearly would've been better coming back to a team that couldn't even go to the tourney. That would've helped his exposure a ton.

 

[OrangeDW]

I never rip kids for leaving early as they have a right to get paid. With that said McCollough's decision is probably the dumbest I have ever seen from a college kid. In his last 8 games before getting hurt he was averaging 5ppg and 5rpg. Obviously, this kid has talent, but whomever advised him to leave better have explained he isn't going to get picked in the first round and second round kids have to earn their place on the roster. Upside and potential is good when your healthy and get picked in the first round.

I get he didn't want to stay but it was in his best interest long term to rehab and come back next January and show he is healthy. This is no Jermai Grant situation where he fell because of a concerns about his position and whether he could shoot well enough to be a SF. McCollough will get next year guaranteed as he rehabs and then I doubt very few teams will give him a second guaranteed year. McCollough is a textbook cause for why the one and done sucks. Last year Brandon Ashley broke his leg at Arizona he wanted to declare after that year instead he came back and had a good year and is going to go now. I don't get the advice that McCollough took as Waiters has reported his academic standing is good.

It really makes little sense on the surface. He can't work out for anyone to help his draft stock. He won't be able to play Summer League to help get ready for the reason. He'll almost surely be a D-League guy next year, and those guys aren't exactly scrubs. What would someone like Onuaku do to him in the post? Score at will and possibly break him in half. He's a young guy who needs to PLAY to be ready to compete even at that level, and with his injury he won't be able to do that for awhile.

He better hope there are some teams that really like him and are willing to use a draft pick on him and expect nothing from him for a year.

I loved his potential(still do), and thought he could be a great player for us and I think he could be a good NBA player. But it would seem like he could easily get lost in the shuffle by jumping now.

 

[SUFan44]

And McCollough is still projected to go in the same spot as Grant did, so what's the difference? To these kids it's not about getting to college, it's about getting to the league, and getting paid. If we're looking from a fan perspective sure he should come back, but if we are looking from the players perspective i'm gone.

We'll see if he gets drafted where he's projected.

And if you were in the same position as McCullough is and you decided to leave, it would remain a pretty dumb decision.

If he doesn't make a roster - which he won't because he's still going to be hurt - he's going to have to go to Europe. And no European team is going to sign him until he's ready to play.

DeAndre Daniels left UConn after his junior year, had more success than McCullough at the collegiate level and was ranked just about as high as he was coming out of high school. He was picked 37th overall and didn't make a roster. He is now in Perth, Australia - probably making $150K-$200K for the year.

Good money, no doubt. But you don't think having another year in college, getting healthy and playing your way into the first round would be worth it? And if he decides to go to the D-League, he's going to be making a fraction of that.

Sorry, but I disagree wholeheartedly.

 

[cuseguy]

If the rules didn't change this kid never would have stepped on campus. This was a 1 year deal from the moment we started recruiting him. He knew it, and the staff knew it. The injury didn't change a thing. It has nothing to do with being ready. It's about getting paid. I just don't get how people continue to be surprised by this stuff. You said the same thing about Jerami Grant last year. He went on to get picked in the 2nd round, but signed a 3 year contract worth 2.7m. Ya what a mistake he made.

All true. Can't hold them back. But it's ruined the game.

 

[Briancuse]

I was critical of tyler leaving last year, but at least he had a very good shot at being a first round pick. There is no upside to Chris leaving early, he has two things going against him the injury, and the the poor performance. Donte Green had a better body of work than Chris did. Nothing about this move makes sense.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

I was critical of tyler leaving last year, but at least he had a very good shot at being a first round pick. There is no upside to Chris leaving early, he has two things going against him the injury, and the the poor performance. Donte Green had a better body of work than Chris did. Nothing about this move makes sense.

To me the move makes sense if you look at the downside. On the positive side if he stays healthy and plays well the difference is between good NBA money and insane money.

But on the downside, what do you think his earning power would be if he stayed and hurt his knee a second time?

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Nah, Grant clearly would've been better coming back to a team that couldn't even go to the tourney. That would've helped his exposure a ton.

No one believes we would have fallen on our sword if we had a decent team. That's silly. If Grant was on this team, I think we would have never self-imposed the ban. No way.

 

[CuseTG2003]

Well, some would say its always been out.

Wrong hand.

 

[ToTheHole]

Is this board always so judgmental? I can understand being upset, but like was said of Ennis, none of us are in CM's shoes.

In a society where a lot of kids grow up without their fathers, here we have a young man who looks like he is putting value on his girlfriend and their expected child, when others make much different decisions.

We even have folks mocking what Chris was wearing for the family portrait, and others assuming his decisions are because he "comes from nothing". Does it always get this low on here?

Also, we have no idea if Boeheim gave him a "soft-sale" nudge with whatever advice he gave him, or didn't give him. We'll read a few standardized statements from each side, but at this point much about this is simply speculation.

May Chris change his mind in the future about the decision like Devo said he did? Maybe, but he is doing what he feels is right for himself and those close to him. I'm a bit upset that he is leaving, but I'm not in his shoes and have no hard feelings, especially since he was expected to be a one and done anyhow. I wish his career had been better at SU, and I wish him and his family the best. I'm less fond about how college hoops has changed than some, but I'm not going to harbor hostility at one individual because of it.

 

[Briancuse]

To me the move makes sense if you look at the downside. On the positive side if he stays healthy and plays well the difference is between good NBA money and insane money.

But on the downside, what do you think his earning power would be if he stayed and hurt his knee a second time?

Honestly what are the odds of him hurting his knee a second time? Not that nbadraft.net is everything, but they have him as a top five pick in the 2016 draft. That just goes to show you what he has to gain by coming back and proving he is healthy.

 

[Orange2389]

the difference between SU and Kentucky is that Kentucky reloads and SU is struggling to get a recruit 90 miles away. i'm orange till the day I die but some of us need to realize that SU isn't at the level some of us think we are.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

What I don't understand is signing with an agent right away. Why not go through the process and meet with teams to see where you stand? I just don't get it.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

the difference between SU and Kentucky is that Kentucky reloads and SU is struggling to get a recruit 90 miles away. i'm orange till the day I die but some of us need to realize that SU isn't at the level some of us think we are.

How many of those kids playing in the Mickey Ds game last night are just waiting until they see how many Kentucky kids declare before the commit to KY? It's sad, but true.

 

[Briancuse]

What I don't understand is signing with an agent right away. Why not go through the process and meet with teams to see where you stand? I just don't get it.

I just don't get it either, he must be desperate for some quick cash.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I just don't get it either, he must be desperate for some quick cash.

Didn't they change the dates and process this year to allow kids this very opportunity?

 

[Quazzum69]

Honestly what are the odds of him hurting his knee a second time? Not that nbadraft.net is everything, but they have him as a top five pick in the 2016 draft. That just goes to show you what he has to gain by coming back and proving he is healthy.

If he's a top-five pick in 2016 after 2 years of college, that would imply the NBA peeps are assuming he would get better next year.

So why can't he just leave now and get better outside of college where he'll have more time to practice, maybe even make a roster in some professional league?

 

[Orange2389]

How many of those kids playing in the Mickey Ds game last night are just waiting until they see how many Kentucky kids declare before the commit to KY? It's sad, but true.

as it stands today with recruits:

Kentucky gets their first choice with recruits
Duke, Kansas, UNC get the recruits after Kentucky gets theirs
Arizona, SU, lousville, Michigan state etc get the last picks between the elite recruits

all other division 1 teams get the scraps..

cheers to getting decent recruits! lol

 

[CuseFaninVT]

If he's a top-five pick in 2016 after 2 years of college, that would imply the NBA peeps are assuming he would get better next year.

So why can't he just leave now and get better outside of college where he'll have more time to practice, maybe even make a roster in some professional league?

And they get to foot the bill for his rehab. Risk is much much lower if he rehabs at SU and plays a year and shows he's good to go in the college ranks, don't you agree?

 

[kirbivore]

Chris McCullough to Yahoo Sports: 'This was a decision I felt that I needed to make' (PS: Ditota)

McCullough posted an Instagram photo three weeks ago that served as a sort of birth announcement for his first child, which his girlfriend is expecting some time this month. McCullough said today the impending birth played a part in his decision to leave school and enter the professional basketball ranks.

That is a smart girl. Trap a man before he turns pro

 

[kirbivore]

I never rip kids for leaving early as they have a right to get paid. With that said McCollough's decision is probably the dumbest I have ever seen from a college kid. In his last 8 games before getting hurt he was averaging 5ppg and 5rpg. Obviously, this kid has talent, but whomever advised him to leave better have explained he isn't going to get picked in the first round and second round kids have to earn their place on the roster. Upside and potential is good when your healthy and get picked in the first round.

I get he didn't want to stay but it was in his best interest long term to rehab and come back next January and show he is healthy. This is no Jermai Grant situation where he fell because of a concerns about his position and whether he could shoot well enough to be a SF. McCollough will get next year guaranteed as he rehabs and then I doubt very few teams will give him a second guaranteed year. McCollough is a textbook cause for why the one and done sucks. Last year Brandon Ashley broke his leg at Arizona he wanted to declare after that year instead he came back and had a good year and is going to go now. I don't get the advice that McCollough took as Waiters has reported his academic standing is good.

Leave when you still have potential. Maybe you can trick a team into drafting you. If he plays next year and doesn't look good, all that potential is shot.

 

[rrlbees]

When he didn't quite live up to expectations, and then got hurt, expectations changed.

Our expectations. Which has nothing to do with him being a one and done. I don't remember him setting a minimum expectation to declare.