The bad times continue for Arizona basketball. As most expected, Chase Budinger declared for the NBA draft.
He did not hire an agent and is therefore eligible to come back for his junior year. But that doesn't look likely. His trainer Trent Suzuki, who has been close to Chase since he was a kid, said Chase isn't coming back if he's projected to be in the top 20.
NBAdraft.net currently has him going 16th to Toronto and draftexpress.com has him at No. 14 to Denver. It's unlikely he'll drop any further down considering his elite athleticism and his potential in workouts.
To me, Chase is the next Mike Dunleavy, only chosen with a reasonable pick, so he won't have the pressure of Dunleavy who was picked third. The most disconcerting thing about Chase's game has been his free throw shooting this season. For someone who possesses a great shooting stroke to shoot just 70 percent from the charity stripe should be a warning sign for NBA teams about his mental makeup. Inconsistency crept into Chase's game, especially during his sophomore year. Sometimes, he just floated in games and failed to become a factor. Defensively he's soft, despite having good quickness and long arms. At the next level, only strong minded players make it.
Can Chase become a contributor or will he be the next Casey Jacobson? That's to be determined. What will be determined much sooner is whether Chase will begin his NBA career this season.
Had he come out his freshman season, he would have been a lottery pick. As people dissected his game and found his weaknesses, he dropped to the late lottery or mid teens. Staying another year allows the skeptics to dig even deeper, and there's a chance he drops even lower in the first round. With Arizona basketball in disarray as the coaching situation creates more turmoil, there's no reason for Chase to stay.
With Chase and Jerryd Bayless gone, Arizona will not make the NCAA Tournament. The duo accounted for 48% of Arizona's scoring. Brandon Jennings is a great player but he can't make up for two first round picks. Arizona's lineup will probably like this now:
PG: Brandon Jennings
SG: Nic Wise
SF: Jamelle Horne
PF: Jordan Hill
C: Jeff Withey
If Withey is as good as advertised, maybe the front court will finally be able to compete in the Pac-10. That's a big if for a freshman center, especially one who is still growing into his body. The back court is extremely small, but both are good shooters. Horne showed that he can be a role player this season, but can he take the next step and pick up the slack for the scoring left by Budinger and Bayless. A lot of questions, a lot of inexperience, and an old coach coming back into a difficult situation.
Should be an interesting year in Tucson.
Should he stay or should he go Part 2:
Bill Self just won the national championship. The game, by the way, made up for the two excuses for Final Four games we saw on Saturday.
Now the tough part begins. Self, an Oklahoma State alum will be offered the head coaching job in Stillwater. He'll also be offered a king's ransom by Boone Pickens, a billionaire who has donated almost $300 million dollars to OSU, 92 percent of which has gone to athletics.
It's not out of the question that Self could get around $5 million a year and potentially could become the highest paid coach in college basketball. That's a lot of money, even for a guy who's making about $1.25 million a season at Kansas.
I know Self is a good coach but is Pickens really willing to spend that much money for those boring pre game speeches that sound like bed time stories?
I understand Self is a good coach and an OSU alum but he needs to go to Dick Vitale speech class. Or just close the locker room. Shouldn't the players be excited before the game?
The bottom line is that Self can make Oklahoma State a good program, but he can be great at Kansas. If he wants to be great he'll stay at Kansas.
He did not hire an agent and is therefore eligible to come back for his junior year. But that doesn't look likely. His trainer Trent Suzuki, who has been close to Chase since he was a kid, said Chase isn't coming back if he's projected to be in the top 20.
"I think if he gets it confirmed that he can get something like" a top-20 pick, he would stay in the draft, Suzuki told the AZ Daily Star. "I don't really know what his thought process is. Obviously, if he's a lottery pick, he'll come out for sure."
NBAdraft.net currently has him going 16th to Toronto and draftexpress.com has him at No. 14 to Denver. It's unlikely he'll drop any further down considering his elite athleticism and his potential in workouts.
To me, Chase is the next Mike Dunleavy, only chosen with a reasonable pick, so he won't have the pressure of Dunleavy who was picked third. The most disconcerting thing about Chase's game has been his free throw shooting this season. For someone who possesses a great shooting stroke to shoot just 70 percent from the charity stripe should be a warning sign for NBA teams about his mental makeup. Inconsistency crept into Chase's game, especially during his sophomore year. Sometimes, he just floated in games and failed to become a factor. Defensively he's soft, despite having good quickness and long arms. At the next level, only strong minded players make it.
Can Chase become a contributor or will he be the next Casey Jacobson? That's to be determined. What will be determined much sooner is whether Chase will begin his NBA career this season.
Had he come out his freshman season, he would have been a lottery pick. As people dissected his game and found his weaknesses, he dropped to the late lottery or mid teens. Staying another year allows the skeptics to dig even deeper, and there's a chance he drops even lower in the first round. With Arizona basketball in disarray as the coaching situation creates more turmoil, there's no reason for Chase to stay.
With Chase and Jerryd Bayless gone, Arizona will not make the NCAA Tournament. The duo accounted for 48% of Arizona's scoring. Brandon Jennings is a great player but he can't make up for two first round picks. Arizona's lineup will probably like this now:
PG: Brandon Jennings
SG: Nic Wise
SF: Jamelle Horne
PF: Jordan Hill
C: Jeff Withey
If Withey is as good as advertised, maybe the front court will finally be able to compete in the Pac-10. That's a big if for a freshman center, especially one who is still growing into his body. The back court is extremely small, but both are good shooters. Horne showed that he can be a role player this season, but can he take the next step and pick up the slack for the scoring left by Budinger and Bayless. A lot of questions, a lot of inexperience, and an old coach coming back into a difficult situation.
Should be an interesting year in Tucson.
Should he stay or should he go Part 2:
Bill Self just won the national championship. The game, by the way, made up for the two excuses for Final Four games we saw on Saturday.
Now the tough part begins. Self, an Oklahoma State alum will be offered the head coaching job in Stillwater. He'll also be offered a king's ransom by Boone Pickens, a billionaire who has donated almost $300 million dollars to OSU, 92 percent of which has gone to athletics.
It's not out of the question that Self could get around $5 million a year and potentially could become the highest paid coach in college basketball. That's a lot of money, even for a guy who's making about $1.25 million a season at Kansas.
I know Self is a good coach but is Pickens really willing to spend that much money for those boring pre game speeches that sound like bed time stories?
I understand Self is a good coach and an OSU alum but he needs to go to Dick Vitale speech class. Or just close the locker room. Shouldn't the players be excited before the game?
The bottom line is that Self can make Oklahoma State a good program, but he can be great at Kansas. If he wants to be great he'll stay at Kansas.
The Longest Yard
JKlein3030 (10:59:28 PM) : i love how michael vick is playing football in prison...if you were in prison, how tight would it be to play football with vick
romoballa (11:00:02 PM) : Not that tight if ur one of his wrs, he'd always either overthrow u, or hit u in the ankles
Andruw Jones watch:
Monday: 0-4, 2ks
Season: 3-26, 8ks
Andruw Jones watch:
Monday: 0-4, 2ks
Season: 3-26, 8ks
2 comments:
dont lie bud. says interview with hoosh and we get a budinger column.
"If it were up to me, I would raise the age limit to 22 or when your class graduates from college. Just as we do with International Players. Why? It's not because there are not 18 or 19 year olds who can't play in the NBA. There always have been, and there always will be. Doing what is right for the NBA is about far more than basketball talent. My logic is simple. If a kid is NBA ready to play at 18 or 19, he will be NBA ready at 22. They don't forget how to play basketball and they don't get worse. What does change considerably between the ages of 18 and 22 is the maturity level of the kids. Ask any 22 year old in college if they are more 'worldly' and better prepared to deal with life post college than they were when they were 18 or 19." Mark Cuban.. just saying........
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