With Blake Griffin & Jodie Meeks announcing today that they are going to test the NBA waters, I figure we should educate America why (once again) the NCAA has messed this up, and why you can't blame them for jumping ship.
For starters, who could blame Blake Griffin for leaving Oklahoma? His brother is graduating & Blake is going to be the #1 pick in this year's draft. Add that to the fact that Oklahoma freshman Willie Warren may jump ship too, and it's a no brainer for Griffin to declare. I haven't seen whether or not he's hired an agent, but I'd imagine that the younger Griffin's name is in the NBA draft to stay -- and rightfully so!
Now, Jodie Meeks announced today that he is going to enter the NBA draft without an agent. This is an absolutely GREAT decision by Jodie, his family, & hopefully his "new" (former?) basketball coach John Calipari. Sure, it's somewhat disappointing for Cats' fans, but I think Jodie will be back in Lexington next season. As much as I love the guy, he simply has too many flaws in his game to make the jump at this point in his career; however, here is why it's a great decision by Meeks.
The NCAA (did I mention the NCAA is horribly run?) allows a "student"-athlete to declare for the NBA draft, not hire an agent, go through the draft evaluation process / workouts, then return to school if they so choose. So why wouldn't you? It's an easy decision for Jodie Meeks (and any other juniors) to make. Go test the draft waters, get an honest evalaution from NBA Scouts and see where you stand. Add to that the opportunity to play against other top talent and it's a no-brainer.
Jodie Meeks has done what EVERY single junior in the country SHOULD do. Declare for the NBA draft, go through the process and see where you stand....WITHOUT AN AGENT. Jodie is in a win-win situation here. If he plays well, he could potentially work his way up the draft board to a mid-1st round pick. If he doesn't play well, then he returns to school to refine his game under Coach Calipari.
Personally, I feel that Patrick Patterson should do the same. Everybody knows that Patterson has an eye on the NBA - and understandably so. I think that Patterson, if he stays in school, will look to make the jump to the NBA after his junior year. So "test" the waters this year, return to Lexington with an honest evaluation of where you stand, and improve your game. Additionally, this would make the fans in Lexington love him even more, as it'd give the impression that he chose Kentucky over the NBA. If he doesn't do it this year, he should definitely do it the next.
The bottom line is that anybody who is a year or two away from the NBA or a junior in college should test the NBA waters, if they can afford to do so without an agent. Obviously, not every athlete is going to be able to pay for the process themselves, which is the only potential downside to my argument.
I think that John Calipari agrees, which is one of the reasons why I'm glad he's in Lexington. He puts the players (and their NBA dreams) first, which is what makes him so attractive to the top-flight recruits. They know that he knows what it takes to get to the NBA, and they want to come play for him. I hope that Calipari advised Meeks on what to do, and I hope that he listened. I also hope that Meeks & Patterson are both back in Lexington next year winning an SEC title & a national championship.
Oh, by the way, Fuck North Carolina!
here, here.
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