CougarCorner

I expect he will get told that he a maybe a 2nd round pick.

Undersized rebounding centers aren't in super high demand.

Let me preface this by saying that I hope Mika returns.

That being said, if I were in this situation and I were given assurances by 3 or 4 teams that they would take me in the 2nd round I would take that and enter the draft. Yes, it means the money/contract isn't guaranteed, but Mika will be the same age now as college seniors entering the draft. Any improvements in his game will continue to be offset by his age.

He may never have higher stock than he does now.

This silly process just reminds me how much I hate the NCAA's insistence on preserving their notion of amateurism. "Gasp, Don't hire an agent otherwise you can never come back and play for your school!!!!"

If the NCAA was serious about working for the best interests of their athletes they would let the players hire agents and give them the option of coming back. They would let the players get drafted and let them come back to school if they don't like where they are drafted. You're not a pro unless you are playing games as a pro.

The NCAA lets baseball players get drafted and come back to school. Their double standard with football and basketball is ridiculous.

hawkwing wrote:Let me preface this by saying that I hope Mika returns.

That being said, if I were in this situation and I were given assurances by 3 or 4 teams that they would take me in the 2nd round I would take that and enter the draft. Yes, it means the money/contract isn't guaranteed, but Mika will be the same age now as college seniors entering the draft. Any improvements in his game will continue to be offset by his age.

He may never have higher stock than he does now.

I disagree. Going in the second round is basically getting nothing. He might as well leave school to play pro in Europe because that is where he will end up. You don't leave school unless you are guaranteed a contract to play in the NBA otherwise you get screwed. Trent Plaisted was every bit as good at Mika is right now and he left early and got drafted in the 2nd round in order to end up in Europe.

frdbtr wrote:Trent Plaisted was every bit as good at Mika is right now and he left early and got drafted in the 2nd round in order to end up in Europe.

Now things are just getting silly on here. Plaisted every bit as good as Mika???? Based on what?

I get that Plaisted was an athletic freak and could jump out of the gym, but he never lived up to his potential, and he never approached (in ANY of his four years--had a medical redshirt year plus three) what Mika achieved as a sophomore:

Number of years Plaisted averaged 20+ ppg? Zero (best was 15.6...his final season)
Number of years Plaisted averaged 9+ rpg? Zero (best was 7.7...his final season)
Number of years Plaisted averaged 1.5+ blocks? Zero (best was 1.4)
Plaisted's FT %? .547 .... (best season was .616 as frosh. Others were .542, .500, .492)

Erik Mika, as a sophomore coming back from a mission averaged 20 ppg, 9 rpg, and 1.9 blocks per game and shot .763 from the stripe (was .617 as a frosh).

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket ... /eric-mika
http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pla ... ted-1.html

frdbtr wrote:

hawkwing wrote:Let me preface this by saying that I hope Mika returns.

That being said, if I were in this situation and I were given assurances by 3 or 4 teams that they would take me in the 2nd round I would take that and enter the draft. Yes, it means the money/contract isn't guaranteed, but Mika will be the same age now as college seniors entering the draft. Any improvements in his game will continue to be offset by his age.

He may never have higher stock than he does now.

I disagree. Going in the second round is basically getting nothing. He might as well leave school to play pro in Europe because that is where he will end up. You don't leave school unless you are guaranteed a contract to play in the NBA otherwise you get screwed. Trent Plaisted was every bit as good at Mika is right now and he left early and got drafted in the 2nd round in order to end up in Europe.

So there's not much difference between getting drafted in the 2nd round and working to develop in the NBA or possible drop down to the D-League or coming back to BYU and hoping you can develop in ways that make your pro game more desirable, all the while you're getting older and older than all the other rookies in the NBA. A league that values youth almost as much as it does ability.

Sounds to me like there is an 80% chance Mika goes into the draft and does not return to BYU.