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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.snoscythe wrote: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
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.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.
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.frdbtr wrote:Mika, like Plaisted has believed his own press and is over estimating his value in the NBA.
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.mormonrasta wrote: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.
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 wrote: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.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.
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 wrote: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.frdbtr wrote: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.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.
