Hoops

Dante Exum Leaning Toward Skipping College

Someone on this thread is SEVERELY lacking in the sarcasm detection process.

OMG!

@David, Pretty sure the only reason Odom is regretting not going to college now is that he could take as many drugs as he wanted without the scrutiny.
For every High School Success there is a High School Failure. Some of those failures mentioned before may never of made it out of college so they should be greatful they got there big pay check when they did.

I agree with the real Mick

Hey guys, if you are going to debates the merits from high school to pro, could you be please try and be a bit objective?

Yes there is Kobe Bryant and Lebron James but there is also Kwame Brown, Darius Miles, Sebastian Telfair, Jonathan Bender and Leon Smith.

Call me old, but I use to love NBA in 1990 -1996. Where drafts were deep and players were drafted because of talent not because of 'potential'. That's what wrong with the draft these days. Players are willing to sacrifice their development and be drafted on potential, then go to college and become possibly the next Larry Bird.

And for any of you critics that want to have go at me. I remember Jordan suggesting that NBA players should at least do two years of college ball before going pro.

Lamar Odom also suggested he regretted going pro so early. And wanted to develop his game in college more so he could become awesome in the NBA. Odom would of been much better if he waited and matured a little a bit more.

I don't think too may people would knock back going top 3. Big pay day coming his way.

What happens if he went to college now and got seriously injured? Too big a risk, straight to the NBA.

Are you guys suggesting that no one gets any skill work or one on one coaching outside of the college system?

Are you implying that when you get to the NBA you are left to coast along without any opportunity to improve your fundamental skills and that all development is done beforehand, at college...?

really!!?

Thank you Mick!!!!! Finally someone on this board who gives a damm, instead of just looking at the short-term $$$$.

Look NBA has never been as deep as in the nineties because players are skipping college and not learning the fundamentals. I don't care how good Dante Exum is if he played in college it could be good for him.

Remember Tayshaun Prince, Roy Hibbert, and Jammeer Nelson all completed four years in college. Actually Hibbert was laughed at for staying and he dropped his position. Now Hibbert is one of the best centres in the NBA with a Max contract. Who is laughing now?

In case anyone missed him on The Project last week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBpvwypNyJQ

I agree, many scribes suggest the NBA is about the right time and right place with the right hype as much as anything, so if now is the right time then good luck to the boy...

He should go strait to the NBA! Even if he gets injured in his first season and for some reason never returns he can still go and complete university anywhere in the world! He has an amazing opportunity and would be stupid not to take the chance and get drafted into the best and highest paying basketball league in the world!!!

It makes so much sense for him to skip college. His stock is sky high right now anyway and going to college would likely only hurt it. Sure it would help him develop his game but I see Exum very similar to someone like an Archie Goodwin. Goodwin went into Kentucky with huge raps and was tipped to go top 5 early on. Goodwin couldn't really fit in either guard position and just didn't fit the system well at Kentucky. Stock dropped so low that most mocks had him as a mid second rounder before Phoenix 'gambled' on him with the last pick in the first round. Draft stock CAN drop that much, why risk it?

Going to college = A lot of risks, very little reward.

Ok, so he is top 3 at the moment.

If all things go really well at college, he may be a number 1 pick in the 2015 draft.

But, there is so many variables.

He is potentially jeopardizing been a lottery pick/1st round pick, just to play a year of college so he can try to move 2 places up the draft.

He is ready.

I take it back to the Steve Adams argument. I think it makes just as much sense to go to the NBA early and develop there, then to develop at College.
The difference in the style is huge, which means if your going to be an NBA player, why spend what could be your rookie year in the NBA at college?

At the end of the day IMHO, I think its better to have a 19 year old developing in the NBA, rather than a 19 year old developing in college.

Otherwise, it's like making someone do science homework for their english exam.

If he is guaranteed a top 3 spot, he'd be mad to let it go. Who knows what happens in college? Could blow out his knee and never be the same again. This way he gets a guaranteed 3 or 4 year deal for 3 to 5 million a year.