Why Vander going Pro would be a huge mistake....

[IWB]

What does being on Fox Sports have to do with draft status? Is the buzz created by a network more important that scout's and GM's analysis of tape and workouts?

How many guys were drafted high in the draft over the years but didn't do much in the NBA, with the excuse always being that they were "over-hyped"? It happens all of the time. Here in Wisconsin Tony Mandarich and The Vaccinator were drafted extremely high because of the hype surrounding them. They were labled busts. Actually, they weren't bad, but they didn't live up to "the hype".

Yes, Scouts and GMs should only be looking at the skills, ability, attitude etc, but it is naive to think that hype and exposure have nothing to do with the draft. If anything, it has too much to do with the draft.

Being on press row I always look at what NBA Scouts are at the MU games. Some games zero, some games a few, some games a lot. Why a lot? Usually because the opponent has a player with a lot of hype. They come to see if he is the real deal. They come to gain an opinion. Why? Because that player is ranked? Scores? No, because that player has a ton of hype surrounding him.

No one knows what next year will bring, but I see Fox forcing a ton of attention on this league. Not as much as they did with the NFL, but Fox will undoubtedly over expose this league. People from coast to coast will know about the Big East whether they want to or not. That is a good thing for players in the league.

[ydouask23]

How many guys were drafted high in the draft over the years but didn't do much in the NBA, with the excuse always being that they were "over-hyped"? It happens all of the time. Here in Wisconsin Tony Mandarich and The Vaccinator were drafted extremely high because of the hype surrounding them. They were labled busts. Actually, they weren't bad, but they didn't live up to "the hype".

Yes, Scouts and GMs should only be looking at the skills, ability, attitude etc, but it is naive to think that hype and exposure have nothing to do with the draft. If anything, it has too much to do with the draft.

Being on press row I always look at what NBA Scouts are at the MU games. Some games zero, some games a few, some games a lot. Why a lot? Usually because the opponent has a player with a lot of hype. They come to see if he is the real deal. They come to gain an opinion. Why? Because that player is ranked? Scores? No, because that player has a ton of hype surrounding him.

No one knows what next year will bring, but I see Fox forcing a ton of attention on this league. Not as much as they did with the NFL, but Fox will undoubtedly over expose this league. People from coast to coast will know about the Big East whether they want to or not. That is a good thing for players in the league.

NBA scouts are classic for being conservative. I think Blue is a bit of a character risk anyway from some of the allegations a few years ago. Sad day for us. He matured a lot and became a grinder like Buzz wants, but man this was a dumb decision.

[unclejohn]

In Mandrich's case, it was a direct result of loading up on steroids. When he quit using them, he was not anywhere near the same player. The Packers never would have drafted him #2 if he had been clean. Later, he cleaned up and did manage a career in the NFL, but was only mediocre. That's pretty good, considering how hard it is to be an NFL player, but he never should have been more than a late-round pic. The Pack unfortunately fell in love with a paint job.

[IWB]

Good grief. I'm sorry that I used Mandarich as an example. Do we really need to read that much into a freaking example? Tony Mandarich was an example not because he used 'roids, but because he was the ultimate hype machine.

Would you feel better if I used Hasheem Thabeet? Joe Alexander? Greg Oden? Adam Morrison? Kwame Brown? Michael Olowokandi? Tractor Traylor? Ed O'Bannon?

Guys like Morrison were way over hyped because of the media. These are examples of media hype gone bad. There are also plenty of examples of media hype helping guys get to where they are, or at least helping them get a shot. That was my point - Fox Sports will do everything they can to make some guys from the new Big East household names next year, but Vander will not be one of them.

[bleedbluegold03]

I guess in 15 months we'll be able to sit and review the Draft result of one kid who left before his senior season (Blue) and one who did return (Wilson). thing going against Wilson is he will be a 5 year senior

[2013UnleashTheBeast]

Good grief. I'm sorry that I used Mandarich as an example. Do we really need to read that much into a freaking example? Tony Mandarich was an example not because he used 'roids, but because he was the ultimate hype machine.

Would you feel better if I used Hasheem Thabeet? Joe Alexander? Greg Oden? Adam Morrison? Kwame Brown? Michael Olowokandi? Tractor Traylor? Ed O'Bannon?

Guys like Morrison were way over hyped because of the media. These are examples of media hype gone bad. There are also plenty of examples of media hype helping guys get to where they are, or at least helping them get a shot. That was my point - Fox Sports will do everything they can to make some guys from the new Big East household names next year, but Vander will not be one of them.

I like those examples, but would omit Oden (injury plagued career, otherwise likely would have been very good, although I was telling everyone and their mother that Durant would be better) and put Jimmer Fredette in his place. I agree that Van definitley could have ridden a hype tidal wave as the new league's bona fide star.