Should they stay or should they go?
Posted April 20th, 2007 by Ron
Greg Oden leaving for the NBA is no shock at all. In fact, it would be bigger news if he was staying. As for Daequan Cook and Mike Conley Jr., they should be staying at Ohio State.
I am all for these guys leaving for the money. Everyone else would, and we aren't talking about a $30,000 job either. First-round picks are guaranteed millions. I just don't see Cook as a first-rounder. Conley, if he continues to get better, could be a top 10 selection, but in this deep draft, he might be a second-rounder, which means no guarantees.
April 22nd, 2007 at 7:09 am
I don't really agree with the conventional wisdom; I think Oden should stay and the other two should leave if they can get drafted early.
It's probably smart for most college stars to declare every year and check the water. They can always withdraw. But there's really not much risk for the big man; even if he had a terrible, career-threatening injury playing for OSU, some team would take him early and make him a millionaire the following year in hopes that he'd recover. Another year in school and he could make a real impact his rookie year in the NBA.
A question: is the deadline for withdrawing from the draft before or after the draft order is announced?