Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

[snoscythe]

I don't put too much weight behind what he is saying -- if he wants invites to work out for teams and go to the combine, he needs to at least appear to be pro-focused or else teams will focus their resources on guys that are serious.

That said, this one is a bit of a kicker:

[frdbtr]

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

You are right, Mika has better numbers this year than Plaisted. Having said that, Mika is still soft for his position just like Plaisted. Mika and Plaisted are just about the same size, and both are athletic. Neither of them will be drafted in the 1st round after this years draft and if Mika leaves school will end up in Europe just like Plaisted.

[frdbtr]

Mika, like Plaisted has believed his own press and is over estimating his value in the NBA.

[BlueK]

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.

There isn't really any advantage to being taken in the second round. No guaranteed money and you're stuck with the team that drafted you whether it's a good situation for you or not. It's actually better to go undrafted and have several teams to negotiate with both in the NBA and in Europe. If you get taken in the second round they won't cut you until the very last minute, in which case your other options are gone and yo end up with a worse deal in the D-league and can't go back to college either.

[BlueK]

Mika, like Plaisted has believed his own press and is over estimating his value in the NBA.

That isn't why Plaisted left. He was already graduating even though he had a year left of playing eligibility. Remember, he redshirted as a freshman five games into it after getting injured. Why come back to college when the degree is in your pocket and you can start making money if not in the NBA, then in Europe. That's why he left. I don't think he necessarily thought he was a sure fire NBA lottery pick or something.

[BlueK]

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.

Good points. That said, baseball players get drafted before they're even enrolled in college, so before the NCAA has any say in it. The NCAA allows them to enroll after that because otherwise the kid goes to the minors. The reason they have stricter rules for football and basketball is because they hope that barrier keeps more players in college longer. They don't really have that leverage with HS kids drafted out of HS so they hold out the college option for them as long as they can. Not saying I agree, but that's why they do it.

[BlueK]

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.

Plaisted chose Europe over more college basketball. I think he knew that was the most likely scenario. He already had his college degree in hand, so why not go to work and start making money. Mika's situation isn't exactly the same.

[frdbtr]

Don't get me wrong. I hope for the best for Mika. I hope he has awesome workouts and ends up getting drafted in the 1st round. I just don't see it which is why I am being negative about this. If he tests the waters and comes back and plays really well, and dominates the WCC, and leads BYU far into the NCAA tourney, he will have much better draft stock next year. This is just a bad year all around for leaving.

[BlueK]

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.

The NBA doesn't value someone aging in the D-league any more than doing it in college. The NBA only cares about the D-league as a place to get someone on the plane overnight to fill in a 10 day contract when they need it, and not much more than that. You get older either way but the NBA seems to have even less respect for the D-league.

[hawkwing]

Mika may also be concerned on his own and/or getting feedback on how bigs fail to develop at BYU under this coaching staff and that any further time at BYU will just hurt him. I know that those were some very compelling arguments he was faced with when he returned from his mission, but his desire to play with his LP buddies overrode those arguments.