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CougarCorner • Eric Mika declares for NBA draft - Page 3
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Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:16 pm
by hawkwing
BlueK wrote:
hawkwing wrote:
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.
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.
They don't value them, but they do pay them. The older you get the less likely you are to get a D league contract as a rookie.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 6:54 pm
by mormonrasta
BlueK wrote:
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.
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.
That's an interesting theory, but there are a couple of problems with that:

1. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett and many others were all drafted out of H.S. before the NCAA had any say in it. Yet, if any of them didn't like their draft position they still would not have been allowed to play college basketball.

2. College Juniors can also be drafted in baseball. If they don't reach a deal with their teams by mid August they can return back to school. College football and basketball players do not have that opportunity.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:37 pm
by Gunk
This is a good call for Mika. Sounds like he's serious about it. He'll end up having to decide whether to go in the 2nd round or stay another year. He isn't 1st round material. It's a big risk. Teams probably tell a half dozen players that they would take them in the 2nd round, but what happens in the 1st round often determines who teams pick up in the 2nd round.

If I am Mika, I put in the effort, and do everything I can to impress teams and make connections. BYU hardly turned heads this season and odds are we won't next season either, so it's a great chance to get out there and show teams what he can do. If he doesn't get any firm offers this year, he'll be on people's radar for next year.

I suspect we don't see him next season. The LP3 is pretty much all hype. He won't be missing out on anything at BYU and he knows it.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:44 pm
by Jarhead
This just adds to my concern with Coach Rose. Does Mika see the writing on the wall here?

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:53 pm
by Gunk
Jarhead wrote:This just adds to my concern with Coach Rose. Does Mika see the writing on the wall here?
Especially with Pope gone, I suspect Mika feels from a coaching perspective he's not going to get much more from BYU.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:11 am
by byufan4ever
Man, I can't believe how many of you are up on Rose and down on Mika. Totally opposite of my feelings. Mika is not that undersized. He's 6-10. Deandre Jordan is 6-11 and Tristan Thompson is 6-9 and they're just fine. Maybe Mika doesn't have the same wingspan, I don't know, but he his athletic, hard working, has great inside moves, has greatly improved his FTs, and his range has improved (and I believe it will continue to improve although he'll likely never be a 3PT threat).

Guess who was #1 in the nation in FTA? How do you call someone soft that gets to the line so much? There's a real lack of scoring big men so if anything that helps Mika because he just doesn't have much competition in that area.
Top Scoring Big Men.PNG
Top Scoring Big Men.PNG (6.39 KiB) Viewed 1322 times
Out of the top 100 scorers in the nation only 3 were 6-10 or taller. He's got a lot going for him.
ESPN's Chad Ford said, "His age is the biggest thing working against him."
So, not his defense, or toughness or range or any of his basketball skills. Basically, if he was 20 instead of 22 he'd be a first round lock.

Man, I hope he stays because we're screwed without him. But I don't blame him one bet for testing the waters and leaving if it's right for him.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:34 am
by hawkwing
Another thing to consider, both Mika and his wife served missions in Italy.

The prospect of earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to move back to the place they both love may be much more appealing than staying at BYU.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:47 pm
by nuk13
My concern is not what happens to him so much as what happens to the team. Chances of improvement without him are small.

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 5:14 pm
by YNot
On the bright side, if Mika is drafted and makes an NBA roster, it helps to show that you can make it from BYU to the NBA even when BYU has a down year.

I tend to think that Mika's NBA stock will improve dramatically if he remains and BYU has a great 2017-18 year.

But, isn't there a ton of risk in assuming that next year will see a big improvement for BYU basketball? Probably less risk in going for the NBA now...if it doesn't work out, getting paid decent money to play basketball and live in Europe with your wife, especially near their mission area, isn't a bad consolation!

Re: Eric Mika declares for NBA draft

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:16 pm
by BroncoBot
Gunk wrote:
Jarhead wrote:This just adds to my concern with Coach Rose. Does Mika see the writing on the wall here?
Especially with Pope gone, I suspect Mika feels from a coaching perspective he's not going to get much more from BYU.
Have to agree. This was a big vote of non-confidence in the coaching staff to improve draft stock next year. We'll see how it pans out.