Early Withdrawals: Winners and LosersBy: Kevin Duffy

2009 Early Entry List/Including Withdrawals

Pardon me for sounding like Dick Vitale, but the June 15th deadline to withdraw
from the NBA Draft was a great day for college basketball, baby!

I’m excited enough to reenact Rodney Dangerfield’s triple
lindy from the movie Back to School.

Most players who were on the fence opted to return to school, and only a few
genuinely made the mistake of declaring for the draft without being ready. Here’s
a breakdown of the deadline decisions – both good and bad:

Who Got It Right

Jodie Meeks, Kentucky – Stayed in
Draft

It’s not often that a projected second-round pick makes the correct decision
by remaining in the draft, but Meeks’ situation is unique. Meeks averaged
23.7 points per game, connected on 90.2 percent of his free throw attempts and
scored the fifth-most points in college basketball last season. Realistically,
Meeks’ draft stock can’t get much higher. If he returned to Kentucky
for his senior season, there’s a good chance he would have taken a backseat
to John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and the rest of the Wildcats’ dynamite
freshman class. Sure, Meeks would have competed for a National Championship,
but from an individual standpoint, especially considering this draft is significantly
weaker than the projected 2010 NBA Draft, he made the right decision. Despite
his lack of size (6-foot-4), you can’t argue with his production. Meeks
has a shot to get into the second round, but may ultimately wind up in Europe.

Damion James, Texas – Returned to
school

Athletically, the 6-foot-7, 222-pound James is more than ready for the NBA.
But his offensive skills could certainly use some polishing. Now that leading
scorer A.J. Abrams (16.3 points per game) has graduated, James will become the
Longhorns No. 1 option, which should increase his stock in 2010.

Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech – Returned
to school

Lawal had a breakout year as a sophomore as he more-than-doubled his scoring
average and nearly tripled his rebounding numbers. That still didn’t guarantee
him a spot in the first round, however. Returning for one (or maybe two) years
will pay off in the longrun for Lawal.

Jeff Teague, Wake Forest – Stayed in
draft

The 6-foot-2 Teague is seen by many as a lock for the lottery and a potential
top ten pick. Even if he came back to Wake Forest for another season, Teague’s
draft stock wouldn’t have significantly improved. This one was a no brainer
for him.

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland – Returned
to school

Vasquez, a 6-foot-6 point guard who averaged 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and
five assists per game, certainly has NBA potential. His combination of size
and play-making ability gives him a dimension that most college point guards
don’t have. Vasquez was unable to secure a first-round promise, however,
so pulling out of the draft was the correct decision. If he has another productive
season at Maryland, Vasquez has a good chance to improve his stock next year.

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame – Returned
to school

Harangody received some positive feedback after going through the pre-draft
process. He excelled at the NBA Draft combine and shot the ball well during
workouts, but ultimately, Harangody was still a second-round pick. Another year
at Notre Dame gives him the chance to break some Big East records, graduate
and continue to defy the physics of the game of basketball.

Ater Majok, UConn – Returned to school

Majok, the No. 13 recruit in 2008 (according to Rivals.com), made his name
available despite not playing a single game for the Huskies last season due
to eligibility issues. The 6-foot-10 forward is a talented face-up scorer, but
was likely to go undrafted. Majok was implicated in the late-March recruiting
scandal that involved former UConn guard Nate Miles, so he may go overseas instead
of returning to college. Either way, he was not ready for the NBA and was wise
to withdraw his name.

Austin Daye, Gonzaga – Stayed in draft

Many would likely have him on the other side of the fence, but Daye may never
be the player some still envision him becoming. His window of opportunity is
closing quickly, so this may be his one chance to get into the first round.
If Daye stayed at Gonzaga, he would have been playing 35 minutes per game and
handling the bulk of the offensive load for the Zags. If he struggled to step
into the role of team leader, it would have knocked him out of first round consideration.
Daye will be lucky to get 35 minutes all season in the NBA next year. The team
that drafts him – likely somewhere in late first, early second round – will immediately
send him to the weight room, where he will remain for at least two years. But
if he lands in the first round, he’ll have the last laugh.

Who Got It Wrong

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky –
Returned to school

It’s tough to fault a kid for returning to school. And Patterson obviously has
work left to do on his game, particularly adding range to his j. He goes back
to a great situation with John Wall running the team and a potential national
championship within reach. However, an insurance policy only covers a player
if their career ends. For an undersized power forward, Patterson might have
been best advised to take the money and run with a weak class of power forwards
(after Blake and Hill) in this year’s draft. Patterson dominated Hansbrough
when the two squared off and likely would have gone above him.

Chinemelu Elonu, Texas A&M –
Stayed in draft

This was perhaps the biggest shocker of the June 15 withdrawal deadline. Elonu,
an athletic 6-foot-10 center, is not nearly skilled enough for the NBA. Would
one more year at A&M have changed that? Probably not, but it would have
given him the opportunity to improve his game and earn a college degree for
free. Elonu, who averaged 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds last season, probably
has a future overseas. Maybe he gets drafted, but an additional year for this
late bloomer could have made all the difference in a potential NBA career.

Shawn Taggart, Memphis – Stayed in
draft

Taggart decided to jump ship amid all the turmoil and NCAA investigations surrounding
the Memphis program. Without John Calipari, Tyreke Evans, Robert Dozier, Antonio
Anderson and most of their recruits, the Tigers weren’t looking at a successful
2009-2010 campaign. Taggart will be lucky to be a late-second round pick if he’s
drafted at all. Returning to Memphis would have given him another year to work
on his game and body and increase his draft chances.

Dar Tucker, DePaul – Stayed in draft

Tucker is a bigtime athlete who regularly makes highlight worthy dunks. Unfortunately
his game is still too raw to contribute at the NBA level. He’s not polished
enough to be seen as a guy that can overcome his size disadvantage and would
have benefitted by continuing to progress at the college level. But as they
say, college isn’t for everyone. And this way, Tucker can start to get paid
to play the game he loves – likely in Europe.