Quote :

"^. Lorenzo Brown is case and point. Why didn't he make it early? He can't shoot. 1, 2, and 3's who can get to the paint are a dime a dozen. "

What people don't understand is that some players are not equipped to play (or make a large impact) in the NBA and no amount of time in school in going to change that.

In fact, studies so far seem to show that getting to the NBA as soon as possible is more beneficial for a player's development. A good example is Lance Stephenson - the guy was a mediocre player in college and by all accounts a bust given his hype. He declared after a year at Cincy and went in the 2nd round. It took him a couple years before he made an impact but he has developed into a pretty damn good NBA player. Would Mick Cronin and a part time training schedule have been better for his development than the Pacers and having basketball as his job? Unlikely.

Leslie should have declared after his sophomore year. He would have been drafted and he would have been given a leash for a year or two while an NBA team tried to develop his defense (since he has the athleticism for it if not the discipline) and shooting. 3 years out of high school with a stagnant development curve? No one is really interested and he went undrafted as a result. Zo did the right thing by coming back IMO, because you need to be able to shoot as a guard in the league if you don't have elite athleticism. But he didn't develop his shot in his JR year, at which point he was pretty much screwed. If he came back again and stagnated further, he'd essentially have been a non-prospect 5 years out of high school.

TJ may ultimately never be more than a bench scorer. Coming back another year isn't going to change that. Hansjob stayed at UNC for 4 years and developed a jump shot. He's still a crappy 8th man in the pros. If he declared as a sophomore he'd be the same guy. Probably would have developed that jumper a year quicker, though.

4/9/2014 10:23:55 AM

The point for me would be would he get drafted higher next year and get more guaranteed money?

I don't think it's retarded to think he would get drafted higher next year.

4/9/2014 10:38:04 AM

But next year is an unknown for him. There's risk to staying. What if he gets injured? What if his stock goes down because he's not ACC POY? What if NCSU does even worse and he has no national exposure? Or what if he leads NCSU to a national championship?

You can "what if" all you want, but it goes both ways. There's more risk to TJ and his wallet if he stays for another year than if he goes now. Go with the guaranteed paycheck and put that diligence and hard work he showed in the off season into making himself marketable in the NBA.

[Edited on April 9, 2014 at 10:44 AM. Reason : ]

4/9/2014 10:43:54 AM

Quote :

"The point for me would be would he get drafted higher next year and get more guaranteed money?"

No way he gets drafted any higher next year.

4/9/2014 10:44:50 AM

^^Yeah, I agree with all that. Still think he should stay.

^Not now b/c he's going pro.

4/9/2014 10:53:04 AM

Not to mention that despite all the hype in the summer, this years draft class is a huge disappointment. Next years will be better IMO...

4/9/2014 10:53:20 AM

I think there's a possibility he would go higher in the draft next year. The top of this year's draft was a bust but it's still really deep. Don't think next year's is as good. Still, if the difference is going 18th this year vs 10th next year (upside - also possible he'd fall) it's not really worth it. I think our team would have some chemistry issues next year if he came back anyway. Not enough shots to go around.

4/9/2014 10:59:58 AM

are NBA teams still tanking for Wiggins and Parker and stuff? this draft class is basically better than the Lebron/Carmelo/Wade class

/what recruiting nerds said before any of those guys played a single college game

4/9/2014 11:47:37 AM

Quote :

"The point for me would be would he get drafted higher next year and get more guaranteed money?"

You make your money in the NBA in free agency, not in your draft day deal (especially when you're at best a borderline lottery pick). So, with that in mind, leaving early is the path to more future money

4/11/2014 3:05:26 AM

^ no see, that's why you stay. you don't jump as soon as you think you can get drafted for one guaranteed contract before you get bounced out of the league b/c you're a small forward that can't shoot from outside and can't defend even college small forwards.

unless you think you'll only get one contract in the league. in that case, you go when your draft potential is high. which i'm not even convinced warren's is. we'll see!

4/11/2014 11:15:54 AM

Parker is a top 3 lock yet still has a decision to make solely because of the wisdom surrounding him at duke.
http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/10768716/jabari-parker-duke-blue-devils-uncertain-nba-draft-decision

4/12/2014 4:13:24 AM

^That and he isn't going to fall far regardless of the season he has. Plus with the people coming in Duke has to be a favorite to win it all which would probably up his draft stock to #1

4/12/2014 8:18:41 AM

Call me crazy but I personally believe TJ will be a big time player in the NBA. His scoring ability is rare and he has an incredible work ethic. Barring some unfortunate injury I see him consistently averaging 20+ ppg at the next level. NCSU was incredibly fortunate to have him over the past 2 years.

4/12/2014 11:16:15 AM

^You're crazy.

However you're not crazy that we were lucky to have em. Dat shit is sum troof.

[Edited on April 14, 2014 at 7:16 AM. Reason : ']

4/14/2014 7:15:44 AM

^^I really think it depends on who drafts him.

4/14/2014 9:36:15 AM

HOMER ALERT

4/14/2014 10:10:10 AM

kidd-gilchrist is a great example of a guy who had maxed out his stock but needed more time in college. here he is in the nba and doesn't even know how to shoot with the right form.

he was drafted high and is an nba starter because of his amazing athletic ability but when he gets a little bit older, he will be replaced by younger versions of himself and fade out.

had he stayed in college and learned how to shoot, he would be a rising star of the nba.

4/20/2014 5:02:26 PM

Your opinion is so incorrect that it's preposterous.

4/20/2014 6:39:09 PM

Doesn't matter. He won $$ on his bets.

4/20/2014 6:59:57 PM

Kidd gilchrist's shot isn't fixable

4/20/2014 7:03:02 PM

Any updates on the latest mock drafts?

4/22/2014 4:39:00 PM

ESPN Mock Draft has TJ going to Charlotte.

4/22/2014 4:49:15 PM

Quote :

"Analysis: The Bobcats rely an awful lot on Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker to do the bulk of their scoring. As such, they ranked 24th in the league in offensive efficiency. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Josh McRoberts and to a lesser extent, Gerald Henderson, just aren't great at putting the ball in the basket. Enter Warren, one of the best scorers in college basketball. While he lacks elite athletic ability and isn't really a shooter, Warren has a scorer's mentality and should be able to get some badly needed buckets for the Bobcats."

4/22/2014 6:13:14 PM

He's more athletic than most give him credit for.

4/22/2014 6:17:54 PM

yeah but going up against nba guys he will appear less athletic than most give him credit for.

4/22/2014 6:33:41 PM

If Charlotte returns to being the Hornets AND TJ is playing for them, then I may just start caring about Charlotte basketball again.

4/22/2014 7:16:22 PM

^same here

4/22/2014 8:19:35 PM

^^ Agreed!

4/22/2014 10:38:17 PM

Quote :

"Chad Ford ?@chadfordinsider TJ Warren with a 35.5" max vert. Better than expected. #NBACombine"

5/16/2014 3:01:09 PM

Go TJ. I kept telling people he was more athletic than he got credit for.

35.5 isn't Andrew Wiggins-high, but it's not bad at all considering everything else he does well.

5/16/2014 3:46:41 PM

5/22/2014 10:52:07 AM

That video almost brought me to tears. Gonna miss that guy.

5/22/2014 11:00:37 AM

^yes

5/22/2014 11:15:00 AM

We should be happy for the guy!
But yeah, he'll be greatly missed

[Edited on May 22, 2014 at 11:25 AM. Reason : I look forward to hopefully discussing his succes in the league ITT]

5/22/2014 11:24:55 AM

According to the mock draft, he will be selected by OKC.

5/22/2014 2:34:14 PM

Bunch of noobs on those youtube comments. Evertime you look at TJ play and then look at the box score, it is like... where in the fuck did those points come from?

5/22/2014 4:36:34 PM

Quote :

"According to the mock draft"

5/22/2014 4:37:08 PM

Quote :

"Chad Ford ?@chadfordinsider · 7h TJ Warren is never going to be a drills guy. But when they went live 3-on-3? Holy hell."

5/23/2014 12:09:57 AM

^ Yeah the type of shots he was taking in that draft video weren't the type of shots I'd ever seen him take more than maybe 4 or 5 times a game. Just so unorthodox in the way he scores the ball compared to most guys.

5/23/2014 8:52:10 AM

^^^ ???

5/23/2014 10:44:32 AM

^There is no official mock draft. So "According to the one mock draft,"

5/23/2014 11:20:40 AM

I thought ESPN's was the "official" one.

5/23/2014 2:07:41 PM

such a sweet stroke

5/23/2014 2:17:49 PM

Quick TJ recap from Chad Ford during workouts:

Quote :

" Third best scorer in the draft behind Parker and McBuckets. Bigger and more athletic than he thought he was. He gets buckets whenever he wants. Has a plethora of moves. If he gets a 3 point shot, then he will be a 20+ point scorer in the NBA. Expecting him to possibly be gone in the mid first as of now."

5/23/2014 4:45:22 PM

Lol at putting him behind Parker as a pure scorer

5/23/2014 6:09:10 PM

Every scout will say that same thing which is exactly why he needed another summer to work on the shot then come back and shoot well from 3 next season then be a lottery pick. I mean even if he didn't have the shot, he'd still be the top scorer in next years draft without parker and mcbuckets.

[Edited on May 23, 2014 at 7:16 PM. Reason : scout not agent]

5/23/2014 7:06:56 PM

god fucking dammit earl

5/23/2014 7:15:18 PM

Instead he can spend the summer with a professional team making bigger strides in his game than he would in college. The idea that he would have become a better player by staying in college another year where he would have likely made the same plays, playing less basketball, with less competent coaching is absurd.

5/23/2014 9:48:04 PM

the coaching staff won't really be focused on some draft pick when they are trying to win a championship and lets not act like inferior coaches don't know how to coach simple skills like shooting.

5/24/2014 2:12:18 AM

In earl's defense, this idea of staying in college to fix your three ball worked out well for mah mayne man Jarret Jack. Can't think of any other examples though.

5/24/2014 6:01:13 AM