AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > June > 18 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USDraft deadlines a drag
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You can stop crossing your fingers now if you were hoping that Thaddeus Young would put it in reverse and return to Georgia Tech. He’s going to the NBA, same as Javaris Crittenton.
I don’t have a problem the way this works for underclassmen: they can either submit their names for the draft, or not; sign with an agent, or not; if not, withdraw from the draft by a date about 10 days before the draft, etc.
But man, the timeline is absurd! This has been playing out for like two months. I realize there is a lot of fact-finding/research to be done by and for these kids, but geez … gimme a break. It seems like the whole process could be condensed to about three or four weeks.
The problem in that is two dates: the end of the NCAA season, and the timing of the NBA draft. Neither one is about to move, either. The NCAA tournament is not going to end any later (no way CBS lets the tournament run past that first Monday in April, as it it would get in the way of the Masters, which CBS also has rights to), and the NBA draft is going to stay in late June, where the sports world is otherwise at a crawl other than baseball. That’s the only way the NBA draft can hope to generate much buzz.
Ugh! At least it’s nearly over.
So, changing gears a little, would Crittenton fit with the Hawks if they don’t first take Conley?
Comments
By Bri
June 18, 2007 1:19 PM | Link to this
If anything, the one year Crit and Thad proved with their one year of college ball is that they are not ready to go pro. They’ll be riding pine for some time if they ever develop at all.
By james
June 18, 2007 1:28 PM | Link to this
good luck to them both. I hope they reach their dreams.
By Ramble ON!
June 18, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this
The program is going nowhere fast, time for Hewitt to go!
By Frontman
June 18, 2007 2:05 PM | Link to this
Neither one is ready at all for the NBA. Hopefully, each has enough character to be able to sit and develop for 3-5 years before having any impact at all. Otherwise, they’ll be taking the small short money and making a quick exit to Greece or equivalent. Remember that neither of these guys was close to dominating in a year where the ACC wasn’t really all that good. That being said, we don’t stand a chance next year without these two kids. Get ready for another 3-4 win year in the league if we’re going at them with the same bozos who were there before these two kids got to Tech.
By TDone
June 18, 2007 2:09 PM | Link to this
Personally, I am looking for a redux of the 2003-2004 season after Bosh left. I did not like the chemistry with Crittendon/Young with the rest of the team.
Hope springs enternal.
By It's a tease
June 18, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this
Either makeum stay a few(?) years or letem go directly at any age….one year disrupts the college game.
By GT80
June 18, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this
I think both would have benefited from another year in college. That being said i hope they get drafted high and have productive NBA careers. I think Crit has a chance to be a really good pro. Young is just going to be another 6’-7” guy in the league.
As for next year at the Thrillerdome, don’t be too worried. We will have more outside shooting with Clinch back and Storrs and a another year of development for Alade. And Gani Lawal is going to be a monster, much better than what Young was as a freshman.
Of course this time next year we will be lamenting the loss of Lawal to the pros.
By Ramble ON!
June 18, 2007 5:25 PM | Link to this
I hope GT80 is right…again.
By Fred B.
June 18, 2007 6:00 PM | Link to this
Yep the unknown is harsh. True we have a couple of good recruits coming in next year but you don’t know what you’re gonna get from them. It’s a tease, i hear where you’re coming from but having defections does not always spell doom. Just look at Duke and Carolina… it seems they have someone leaving every year but they remain who they are…. Duke and Carolina. Plus look at what happened to us after Bosh left…we were in the NC game a couple years later. IMO if you surround the so-called 5 star recruits with some very good 2 & 3 star recruits, i think a program can sustain itself. In the end if you asked most college coaches they would still jump at the chance to have players like Young and Crit in their programs even though their was a chance they would only stay 1 year.
By TechMan
June 18, 2007 6:21 PM | Link to this
Either Hewitt can’t coach since he had 2 nba players with an average season or they both are overrated. I believe it’s the latter.
TechMan
By TechMan
June 18, 2007 6:22 PM | Link to this
Either Hewitt can’t coach since he had 2 nba players with an average season or they both are overrated. I believe it’s the latter.
TechMan
By GT'92
June 19, 2007 12:28 AM | Link to this
I don’t think the Hawks will consider Javaris at #3. That would be a reach. But I think Conley is a HUGE reach at 3 also. I do think Javaris will be a good pro…better than Thad, but it will take some time. It may be better if Javaris falls a little to the ’20s and gets picked up by a good team. Look at Daniel Gibson and what he did with the Cavs and he got drafted in the 2nd rd. Sometimes it’s better in the long run to fall a little and end up on a decent team.
By Bee
June 19, 2007 7:23 AM | Link to this
I don’t think he was implying that the hawks take Crit @ #3… I believe he was referring to their selection @ #11. GT will be ok next year… hopefully Lawal will stay more than one year.
By Braves Fan 79
June 19, 2007 7:32 AM | Link to this
Ramble ON!: man what…? have some faith man….Gt basketball is in GREAT hands! Personally i will miss crinnenton but as for young…i think Faye is a better player at that position defensivly and wont force up stupid shots like young did. This team will be better off without young..and is definitly STACKED!
The only question this year will be the point guard play. But hey if causey and clinch can protect the ball better than crinnton did and not have all the turnovers we will be more than just fine. This will once again be a top 3 or 4 team in the ACC next year. GO GT!!
By WFC
June 19, 2007 7:36 AM | Link to this
I can’t understand why basketball cannot have the same pro draft system as baseball does. You can go pro right out of high school but if you go to college, you must wait til after your junior year to enter the draft. What’s not to like? The NBA gets its “superstars” (think Oden and Durant)immediately and the marginal pros (think Crit and Thad) get to learn the game. College teams don’t get destroyed by early defections.
By Dave
June 19, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this
The NBA is a sport not worth watching, and taking college kids after one year is hurting college ball. I’ve been an avid, maybe even rabid Tech fan all my life (a long time), and I am finding it very hard to muster any enthusiasm or optimism for the upcoming season. Another year of watching great raw talent that hasn’t learned to play together as a team make rookie mistakes, and we go through the agony of thinking about what could have been. I begin to wonder, though, how other college programs seem to be able to mold their raw talent faster than we seem to be able to…
By SMokeyJo
June 19, 2007 10:35 AM | Link to this
rambleOn is a dog.
By Sam Cunningham
June 19, 2007 10:44 AM | Link to this
As long as we depend on “tickle piles” as our chief recruiting tool we will never be able to get and KEEP elite athletes. We need to confine our tickle piles to our regular students and alumni and exclude our student athletes.
By Brad Duke
June 19, 2007 11:44 AM | Link to this
Obviously tickle piles are a time honored tradition at Tech but I don’t think they are the reason these boys are leaving. Tech is just not for everyone. Academics are different, the student body is different, the alumni are different. Tickle piles are a part of Tech and always will be. These boys knew this going in and they probably were never even invited to participate considering they are obviously heterosexual.
Another thing! When did we start talking openly about our tickle piles? I have always considered them a part of Tech tradition that was not discussed publicly.
By gt in sc
June 19, 2007 11:50 AM | Link to this
roy williams said it best; this one year and out was instigated by the nba. that gives them a year to evaluate talent rather than taking a chance on a high school kid. i agree with the above comment about making them stay longer or let them go out of high school like baseball does. the current setup is killing college sports.
By Dante21
June 19, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this
I hope they enjoy Europe!
By treebee
June 19, 2007 2:52 PM | Link to this
Hey Sam and Brad, I was wondering: has Stafford let you spoon Joe Cox yet, or is he saving that “honor” for himself?
By John
June 19, 2007 6:14 PM | Link to this
It really doesn’t matter that Thad and Crit aren’t ready to contribute major minutes to an NBA team - only a few rookies each year really are.
What matters is that they are ready to get paid $1.5-$2.5 million per year, if the draft projections are close. How can anyone say that those two are making a mistake by taking that much guaranteed money right now? They could both shred their knees in college next year, lose all chance of playing in the NBA, and be fortunate to make $50k in their first year in the real world, assuming they stick around and get their degrees.
The NBA will only be there for them, tops, for 10-15 years. Most players don’t have careers nearly that long. College will always be there if they ever want to go back and get a degree. I just hope they invest their guaranteed money wisely, in case they wash out of the NBA due to injury or performance after 2 or 3 years. Blowing their 1st contract money is the mistake they could make in the situation they are blessed to be in. Taking the money is not a mistake.
By Sports Guy
June 20, 2007 6:01 AM | Link to this
The Basketball Mill continues at gt. Oh well, I guess that’s one way to avoid having to pass calculus.
By devilDog
June 21, 2007 1:27 PM | Link to this
Javaris is the best Pg in the draft and is a steal for any team he’s a scorer as well as a disher plus he’s 6’5 205 that’s NBA ready people thad should stay but monkey see monkey do Hewitt done a great job of recruiting but this new rule only gurantees a player like javaris oden conley and durant for 1 year tops that’s that
By David
June 22, 2007 12:29 PM | Link to this
Here are the pics of the Wreck being wrecked, they aren’t private.
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local_story.aspx?storyid=40217
By N.Essex
June 22, 2007 2:21 PM | Link to this
Tech’s not doing too good of a job of keeping the Wreck’s accident photos under wraps - http://tinyurl.com/yrgzko
By treyinathens
June 22, 2007 3:15 PM | Link to this
I think you should post the pics of the wreck. They are news. You didn’t hesitate to post the pictures of Stafford hoisting a keg.
Again….more and more bias.
By ben
June 22, 2007 4:56 PM | Link to this
If both these guys go in the first round despite their average play this year, then Hewitt has a lot of ‘splaining to do. The pro scouts obviously believe that they can play. Why couldn’t Hewitt get them to do just that?
By ben
June 22, 2007 4:57 PM | Link to this
If both these guys go in the first round despite their average play this year, then Hewitt has a lot of ‘splaining to do. The pro scouts obviously believe that they can play. Why couldn’t Hewitt get them to do just that?
By German Jacket
June 23, 2007 7:10 AM | Link to this
**Right on Braves Fan 79”
Critt came in, met and exceeded expectations, got us back in the NCAA and left at the right time (thin point guard draft), I will always pull for him…Young was underwhelming, a ball hog, and I could care less what happens to him, he gave nothing to GT…
By p
June 23, 2007 10:10 AM | Link to this
The great thing here is that this gives hewitt an excuse, and tech will keep him for about three more mediocre seasons.
By I-DOG
June 24, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this
Football Recruiting:
G-Tech had one of their better recruting classes in 07 and in my opinion would need to follow that up with 2 more solid efforts (ranked in the top 15-20 classes)to begin to compete effectively in the ACC and have a shot at beating UGA on anything resembling a regular basis.
The four players that tech has verbals on are impressive, particularly McRae. However, it is not enough.
Tech is in the running for several high profile players around the country, but at this point that is all they are (in the running). With players committing earlier in the process than ever, it is important to have early success with recruiting these days.
I believe that Tech needs to start landing some of these guys before more of them drop off the board. Gailey needs to close the deal on guys like Harris, Sabino, and Jarboe if the program is to take a true step upward.