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Message: [QUOTE="MonsterGame, post: 1015891, member: 1256"] To be Fair (pun slightly intended), one would have to compare CJ and Grant both at the end of their respective sophomore years, in terms of room for improvement. When one does that, I think the answer is, it's very difficult to say which one has larger upside. Here's the problem, how good a basketball player one becomes is not solely determined by one's athleticism. Sure, elite athleticism is real eye candy and gives one a potential higher ceiling, but basketball IQ and mental toughness/desire are just as important and difficult to gauge. Jason Kidd was never an elite athlete, but his BB IQ and mental toughness/desire are off the charts. Hence, great player. Hard to say after CJ's softomore year if CJ's BB IQ and mental toughness/desire had reached their ceilings. Sure, now it's much easier to say CJ has topped out, not then though. Bottom line is, I do not begrudge a kid for taking the money if it's being waved at them, even if the kid ends up out of the league in 2 or 3 years. (My opinion then is they just didn't have what it takes to stick and almost certainly never would have even if they had stayed in college more years. And if they hadn't taken the money then, maybe they would have lost the chance or lost having as much of it as they could have if jumping ship earlier.) Every kid has to decide what is best for them and I'm fine with that. Hell, a couple million isn't going to last forever but it's a way better start then most college grads or drop outs are going to get in their first couple years post-college. So if they choose to take it, I wish them well. Probably most on the board posting about it being best to stay in school do not have the kid's best interest at heart but rather their own desire to see SU have a better team next year. So be it. I'd rather see the kid do what is best for them and just wish them well. If they do well it reflects well on the SU program. In 15 years, when Donte Greene has long since hung them up, when asked if he made the right decision about leaving school after his freshman year he'll probably say, "I did what I did and I'm fine with that." So be it. One of the interesting cases when considering this staying or going thing is Roy Hibbert. He ended up staying 4 years at Georgetown and now he's probably a top 5 center in the NBA, certainly no worse then a top 10 center. One could say, it was because he stayed 4 years in school and honed his skills that he became successful at the next level. Problem is, he was drafted only at #17 and really wasn't that good his first two or three years in the NBA. Somehow, he managed to actually improve not only his skills, but changed his entire body type while sitting on an NBA roster. Who would say that Hibbert had elite athleticism when he left college? (Come on, he was pear-shaped back then.) Apparently Hibbert has what it takes to get better physical and stick in the NBA. (Quite frankly, when he was drafted I thought he would be out of the NBA in two to three years. So much for thinking.) That said, who knows, maybe the 4 years of college did help Hibbert become mentally more mature and prepared him to take the next step when he finally did get to the NBA. Impossible to know what the real truth is. [/QUOTE]

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