# 2010 Declaration Thread



## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

NBADraft.net: 2010 Early Entries
- Hassan Whiteside
- Manny Harris
- Tommy Mason-Griffin
- Paul George
- James Anderson
- Dominique Jones


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

Lawrence Westbrook and Ralph Sampson have signed with the same agent. I think Westbrook can stick, Tubby usually produces players with high basketball IQs.


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

> C.J. Leslie: "I know for a fact there are 5 players from Kentucky that are going pro." Hearing more and more that Daniel Orton is gone.


Welp


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

I can't remember a draft where so many of the players that are declaring are likely to be late 2nd round picks or undrafted.


----------



## Vuchato (Jan 14, 2006)

probably has to do with the possible lockout. Is this list official or just latest word stuff?


----------



## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

See here's how guys look at it. If there is a lockout in 2011, even if they don't get drafted, they get an opportunity to make money in Europe. However, if they were coming out of college in 2011 and a lockout happens, then some that would have gone to Europe before might be in a bind as guys who were fringe NBA without guaranteed contracts will be the first to be signed overseas, so everyone who is even remotely close to being a pro is going to turn pro.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

Yeah, it makes sense. I just don't really see the need for guys like Caracter, Garcia, or Pope to be throwing there names out there. They aren't getting drafted, so why not stick around and develop your game and have big collegiate seasons next year and elevate their stock for the 2011 draft assuming there isn't a lockout? In my mind, it's a gamble that won't pay off for those guys.

I'm fine with Harris and Hazell tossing their names out there being juniors and because they might get drafted and probably won't do anything more in college next year than they've already done.


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

> WojYahooNBA
> 
> Kentucky frosh Daniel Orton doesn't love playing for Calipari and Cal doesn't love coaching him, sources say. Expect him to stay in draft.


Interesting


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I have to think that Pope just doesn't want to go to school. I have a hard time seeing him as more than a late second rounder. He has a bit of physical ability, but not much else. Only thing he seems to be really good at isn't even legal in MMA.


----------



## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Pope is already 23 years old. People have got to realize when these guys are THAT OLD, every year they stay in college is one less year they have playing sports.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

HKF said:


> Pope is already 23 years old. People have got to realize when these guys are THAT OLD, every year they stay in college is one less year they have playing sports.


Get your degree.

Come on, four players from Seton Hall have declared. They were 19-13! That's not a team with four NBA players.


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

In Pope's case, thats his best option. Guy's a goon.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

coolpohle said:


> Get your degree.
> 
> Come on, four players from Seton Hall have declared. They were 19-13! That's not a team with four NBA players.


In this economy those Phys Ed degrees are no longer that valuable, and certainly remaining in school costs him higher paying work overseas.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

E.H. Munro said:


> In this economy those Phys Ed degrees are no longer that valuable, and certainly remaining in school costs him higher paying work overseas.


There are hundreds of Herb Pope's in the college game. But you don't see Flenard Whitfield declaring now, do you?


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

HKF said:


> Pope is already 23 years old. People have got to realize when these guys are THAT OLD, every year they stay in college is one less year they have playing sports.


Pope is 21.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

coolpohle said:


> There are hundreds of Herb Pope's in the college game. But you don't see Flenard Whitfield declaring now, do you?


He should remain for a degree that won't do him any good rather than earning a living overseas where the income would be tax free for the first 100k or so? Professional basketball players, even ones that never make the NBA, have (on average) higher lifetime incomes than a majority of college graduates. The only grads that outpace them are the ones with degrees that pro ballers don't get (advanced hard science, medical, and law degrees). He's 22, staying another two years won't get him any closer to the NBA, and cost him two years of higher earnings than he's going to get teaching gym class in some high school somewhere.


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I don't think Pope's going to develop into much no matter what he does...In all honestly his skill set isn't going to be in demand in Europe really either. They've got tough guys over there, you just keep going past France and Germany eventually you find guys who can play dirty.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

E.H. Munro said:


> He should remain for a degree that won't do him any good rather than earning a living overseas where the income would be tax free for the first 100k or so? Professional basketball players, even ones that never make the NBA, have (on average) higher lifetime incomes than a majority of college graduates. The only grads that outpace them are the ones with degrees that pro ballers don't get (advanced hard science, medical, and law degrees). He's 22, staying another two years won't get him any closer to the NBA, and cost him two years of higher earnings than he's going to get teaching gym class in some high school somewhere.


1/89 = 21 years old.

He'll be a senior next year. Why not develop your game and learn how to play some defense from new coach Willard, and maybe have a banner season in which case you might get drafted in the NBA next year? If the overseas guys are drooling over him and want to pay him six figures, they might want to get their eyes checked.


----------



## BlueBaron (May 11, 2003)

I'm not sold on Orton turning pro. I just don't see it happening. One more year at UK and he's gonna be no less than a top 5 pick. Providing there is no lockout he will be making some serious dough.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

I'm agree with you BB that he should stay. I think he ends up being around a mid 2nd rounder this year versus probably a mid to late 1st rounder next year.


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

Umm did you guys read the part that the coach and Orton dont get along?


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

HB said:


> Umm did you guys read the part that the coach and Orton dont get along?


Then maybe he should transfer or not have gone to Kentucky in the first place...?


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

Doubt he'll transfer, thats another season down the drain and if I am right, he wasnt recruited by Cal to Kentucky, he was already going there before the whole Gillespie fiasco.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

HB said:


> Doubt he'll transfer, thats another season down the drain and if I am right, he wasnt recruited by Cal to Kentucky, he was already going there before the whole Gillespie fiasco.


You can always take back your commitment and go somewhere else.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

coolpohle said:


> He'll be a senior next year. Why not develop your game and learn how to play some defense from new coach Willard, and maybe have a banner season in which case you might get drafted in the NBA next year? If the overseas guys are drooling over him and want to pay him six figures, they might want to get their eyes checked.


He doesn't need to earn six figures overseas to make more than a college grad with a degree not in demand in a disastrous labour market. Your claim was that he needed his degree. Given his pedigree that degree just won't be worth much over the course of his life. As for the new claim that his game is going to undergo some magical transformation under a new coach, the odds are that it never happens. He'd be better off making 50k in the Azerbaijani B League (given the tax treatment given overseas income) than delaying entry into the workforce for another year because his college degree won't make him any significant bonus.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

I didn't say he needed a degree. I said, my advice would be hey buddy - you're a junior, you're not going to get drafted this year, and the NBA/overseas teams will still be there next season. You've got a new coach coming in, and one that actually knows how to coach. Why not stay for your senior season and get your degree, and at the same time improve your game, and maybe elevate your stock to a point where you get NBA attention next year...? He can be the go to guy with Hazell and others likely gone.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

coolpohle said:


> Is he really going to be that much of a have to get guy by teams overseas? Maybe people have been watching a different Herb Pope than me.


Unlike baseball, football, and hockey there's a huge market for professional basketball players as there are leagues in just about every country. Christ, given the quality of play in the CBA (China) he could probably be a star there and still earn more than he will as a college grad here. And even if he stays another year there's a 0% chance of him getting drafted unless some GM owes his agent a favour. So I don't see how being undrafted next year will provide him with some magical benefit, given the real chance that there's a lockout and therefore no summer league/training camp for him to audition in (in preparation of playing elsewhere). He comes out now, gets into summer league/rookie camp with an NBA team and he can start playing his way up the foreign league circuit.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

This is like Eric Devendorf only 10x worse.


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

There are tons of basketball leagues, but it's a complete overstatement to act like guys like Pope can roll out of bed and make a decent living playing ball. You make money in La lega, the ACB, the top teams in Greece and in Russia....And a lot of the teams in those leagues are insolvent. In all of Europe there are probably a dozen guys who get the MLE. The majority of European leagues pay their players wages similar to what bookkeepers are paid, or just as likely what a janitor makes....And that's good money compared to playing in Venezuela. Pope isn't going to get anywhere near a high paying job in Europe until he's proven he can perform, and he really isn't a good fit for the way they play ball over there.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

coolpohle said:


> This is like Eric Devendorf only 10x worse.


You do know that Devendorf makes a living playing basketball overseas, right?



Diable said:


> There are tons of basketball leagues, but it's a complete overstatement to act like guys like Pope can roll out of bed and make a decent living playing ball. You make money in La lega, the ACB, the top teams in Greece and in Russia....And a lot of the teams in those leagues are insolvent. In all of Europe there are probably two dozen guys who get the MLE. The majority of European leagues pay their players wages similar to what bookkeepers are paid, or just as likely what a janitor makes....And that's good money compared to playing in Venezuela. Pope isn't going to get anywhere near a high paying job in Europe until he's proven he can perform, and he really isn't a good fit for the way they play ball over there.


He doesn't need to make anything like the MLE. Christ, he doesn't even need to make the NBA minimum to outearn what he'd get relying on his college degree here. Unless Pope is some secret scholar, and he just doesn't seem the type, all he can do with that degree of his is get a job teaching gym someplace. He'd be lucky to start at 30k given the implosion of municipal budgets around the US. At this point all he's doing is marking time until he starts his day job, which is playing basketball, and every year he loses is a year's income he never recoups.


----------



## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

coolpohle said:


> I didn't say he needed a degree. I said, my advice would be hey buddy - you're a junior, you're not going to get drafted this year, and the NBA/overseas teams will still be there next season. You've got a new coach coming in, and one that actually knows how to coach. Why not stay for your senior season and get your degree, and at the same time improve your game, and maybe elevate your stock to a point where you get NBA attention next year...? He can be the go to guy with Hazell and others likely gone.


I wish Nick Calathes would've thought like this. Too bad when you got a team in Europe waiting to give you such a great contract, it's not that Easy. Who in there right mind would turn down a 6 figure job to get a degree they can always go back and get?? Hmm, go to college and play ball for two more years, or take a really great contract and still play ball for the next 2 yrs? Easy decision for alot of players.

Btw, I think Daniel Orton should go pro. He's such a great defensive player and Cal under-utilized him. I could see the Magic taking him if he's still on the board, and then trading Gortat. I dont see how falls out of round 1, tbh. Kid is better than Gortat from what i've seen, Gortat was in pretty good demand last summer. Only reason for him to come back is if he thinks he can be lottery, but this guy is def a 1st rounder. Ashame how that team didn't make the F4...


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Lance Stephenson is getting out of Cincinnati before Mick Cronin ruins his career :laugh:


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

Blue Magic said:


> I wish Nick Calathes would've thought like this. Too bad when you got a team in Europe waiting to give you such a great contract, it's not that Easy. Who in there right mind would turn down a 6 figure job to get a degree they can always go back and get?? Hmm, go to college and play ball for two more years, or take a really great contract and still play ball for the next 2 yrs? Easy decision for alot of players.


Didn't Calathes have some gambling debts he needed to pay off? 

Anyways, I think Nick was ready to go and I don't have any problem with it, especially considering he was a sophomore. Comparing him and Pope is just miles apart.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

cpawfan said:


> Lance Stephenson is getting out of Cincinnati before Mick Cronin ruins his career :laugh:


This one just doesn't make a ton of sense. He didn't have that good of a freshman season, and there is no buzz around him. He could've stayed, had a much improved sophomore season, got some attention and maybe have been a mid 1st round pick. Big mistake.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

The question is whether or not he's good enough to carve out an NBA career. If the answer's yes then he's better off doing it now. If the answer's no then he's better off getting overseas now and earning his keep. If he's good enough to be a mid first round pick, then he's better off hitting free agency in two years time than five.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

coolpohle said:


> He could've stayed, had a much improved sophomore season,


I'm the biggest Bearcat fan here and I can't agree with you. Mick would have ruined him further and continued to misuse him. Lance was far and away the best player and Mick let Vaughn do too much.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

cpawfan said:


> I'm the biggest Bearcat fan here and I can't agree with you. Mick would have ruined him further and continued to misuse him. Lance was far and away the best player and Mick let Vaughn do too much.


Haha...well I will agree with you that Cronin needs to go. Nevertheless, while Stephenson might have the most talent - Vaughn and Gates played just as well as anyone on that team last season. When I watched Lance last year, I thought that he forced way too many shots and that his shot just looked butt ugly.


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Stephenson doesn't seem to be a first round pick to me.


----------



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Turning pro

As does Xavier Henry


----------



## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

The thing about Stephenson is he isn't a super athlete and he can't shoot. He is a 2nd round pick. If he puts in the work to get a decent jumper he could be a fairly decent pro. If he doesn't put in the work he will be out of the league within a couple of years.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

bball2223 said:


> The thing about Stephenson is he isn't a super athlete and he can't shoot. He is a 2nd round pick. If he puts in the work to get a decent jumper he could be a fairly decent pro. If he doesn't put in the work he will be out of the league within a couple of years.


He plays pretty good defense. He needs to improve his conditioning, but he's an NBA athlete. He does need to improve the jumper. He's a pro basketball player, though, so he's wasting his time hanging out in college.


----------



## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

coolpohle said:


> *Didn't Calathes have some gambling debts he needed to pay off? *
> 
> Anyways, I think Nick was ready to go and I don't have any problem with it, especially considering he was a sophomore. Comparing him and Pope is just miles apart.


He played online poker and lost some money, but it was blown way out of proportion. He played a whole season after that, so i dont think that's why he left. He just happened to have a Greek citizenship up his sleeve, and got a great offer. I dont know about Pope's situation, but maybe if he's looking at the money situation... He may be thinking, why not now? That Setan Hall team is not looking too promising...


----------



## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Stephenson needs to lose weight and gain his quickness back. He looks like he's carrying about 15-20 lbs of bad weight.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

HKF said:


> Stephenson needs to lose weight and gain his quickness back. He looks like he's carrying about 15-20 lbs of bad weight.


He definitely looks like he's turning in at a deuce and a quarter. He needs to pull that pudge off.


----------



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12273163

Kentucky basketball standouts John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton and Patrick Patterson will enter their names in this year's NBA Draft.

The University reported the news late Wednesday.

All five players are projected as first round picks.


----------



## HB (May 1, 2004)

*Dear John....*



> “I thought, ‘What are you talking about.’ Then I found out UK released a statement saying Patrick and the four freshmen are leaving for the NBA and will declare for the draft,” said Tywanna Patterson Wednesday night. “I said, ‘Really, nobody told me.”
> 
> She tried to call her son but could not get him to answer his cell phone. Next she called DeWayne Peevy of the UK sports information office. He told her the statement from UK “wasn’t official” but that coach John Calipari had released a statement that the freshmen along with Patrick would be declaring for the NBA draft and leaving UK.
> 
> ...


----------



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Favors declares:



> To the surprise of no one, Derrick Favors is leaving Georgia Tech after only one season to enter the NBA draft.
> 
> The 6-foot-10 freshman forward is projected by most services as a top-five pick. Even when he signed with the Yellow Jackets, most fans and media figured he'd be one and done.
> 
> ...


----------



## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

*Ed Davis is in*. :shocking:


----------



## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

So much for preseason #1 for Purdue...



> @GaryParrishCBS, *Purdue's JaJuan Johnson *has announced he will enter draft...two months after saying he wouldn't. That's how it works.


----------



## TM (Jun 30, 2003)

Saw *Wes Johnson* was in too. Some others I think also. You can find out for yourself.


----------



## coolpohle (Dec 28, 2006)

TM said:


> So much for preseason #1 for Purdue...


No way Purdue was going to be that good anyways.


----------



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

TM said:


> So much for preseason #1 for Purdue...


Apparently he will not hire an agent though.


----------



## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Greg Monroe is also entering the draft.


----------

