Vander Released

[MarquetteNation]

http://mobile.philly.com/sports/?wss=/philly/sports/sbnation/sixers/&id=229181001

Too bad...hopefully he gets more opportunities down the road. Keep working hard, Vander!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Ugh bad last few weeks of camp for the MU boys.

[bobnoxious]

Haters chime in 5 4 3......

Hopefully he finds another team

[chapman]

Had a decent pre-season.  Think if he takes the lower pay in the D League he might have a good shot at a call-up during the season. 

Only encouraging news in the preseason has been some solid play by Dwight.  Has definitely outplayed Augustin and should be earning more minutes at the backup point spot.  Raptors are in Milwaukee tomorrow night.

[uncle zeffy]

shoot.... now how are the 76ers going to do the WHOP handshake?

http://fansided.com/2013/10/23/philadelphia-76ers-players-unique-whop-handshake-video/

[Atticus]

Maybe he was too good???

The team is benching Noel for the season; they aren't sending him to the D League and won't be playing him in any games. He's a practice player and apparently woefully under-developed. He needs work.

In other words, they are tanking harder than any team in NBA history.

[MU82]

Haters chime in 5 4 3......

Hopefully he finds another team

Is it being a hater to say it's not that surprising?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Is it being a hater to say it's not that surprising?

For some people, yes.  Largely it will depend on who says it, not what was said.  That's the standard here.

[The Lens]

Not surprised he was waived but if he's mailing six figures somewhere this season, his decision was still the right one.  He is who he is. I love buzz but I'm not convinced year 4 would have changed that draft slot.

[MUHoopsFan2]

Not surprised he was waived but if he's mailing six figures somewhere this season, his decision was still the right one.  He is who he is. I love buzz but I'm not convinced year 4 would have changed that draft slot.

YES IT WOLD HAVE! Year 4 would have made all the difference in the world for him showing that  he could run the point and he can do it back to back and take his team loaded with freshman back to the Tournament. He missed out on being able to add leadership and play making skills at PG to his resume.' 

He wasn't drafted at all so how could another year have hurt him?...what are you talking about. Back to back tournaments would have had him in the late 1st and early 2nd round. But I bet he will tell you you live with your decision like a man and it is what it is...keep grinding.

But he had a great shot. And went to a great team to try to catch on to. But before training camp they brought in James Anderson and Troy Wroten and Darius Morris and drafted a couple of guys that did him in....

But it was an open competition. When they got Wroten and Anderson and have J-Rich under contract I kind of knew he was done unless he could show them that he could have played point which he would have had a chance to do if he came back here...

Then he could have been the starting PG here in front of Derrick now that Duane is down that would have expanded his resume' and he would have been drafted because he can make plays and pass as well. But at 6'4 he is not a lights out shooter yet so  that hurt him.

If you are 6'4 you better be able to shoot like Jordan Crawford or Bradley Beal to stick....he will pop up again.

[hoyasincebirth]

Looks like Hollis Thompson will make the 76ers out of training camp.

[Hards Alumni]

YES IT WOLD HAVE! Year 4 would have made all the difference in the world for him showing that  he could run the point and he can do it back to back and take his team loaded with freshman back to the Tournament. He missed out on being able to add leadership and play making skills at PG to his resume.' 

He wasn't drafted at all so how could another year have hurt him?...what are you talking about. Back to back tournaments would have had him in the late 1st and early 2nd round. But I bet he will tell you you live with your decision like a man and it is what it is...keep grinding.

But he had a great shot. And went to a great team to try to catch on to. But before training camp they brought in James Anderson and Troy Wroten and Darius Morris and drafted a couple of guys that did him in....

But it was an open competition. When they got Wroten and Anderson and have J-Rich under contract I kind of knew he was done unless he could show them that he could have played point which he would have had a chance to do if he came back here...

Then he could have been the starting PG here in front of Derrick now that Duane is down that would have expanded his resume' and he would have been drafted because he can make plays and pass as well. But at 6'4 he is not a lights out shooter yet so  that hurt him.

If you are 6'4 you better be able to shoot like Jordan Crawford or Bradley Beal to stick....he will pop up again.

Perhaps you didn't take a peek at the absolutely loaded draft that is going to happen this year (being talked about as one of the most stacked ever) versus the crap draft class last year.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Vander could have improved and helped MU a ton.  His draft status probably might not have been higher than last year.

[brewcity77]

YES IT WOLD HAVE! Year 4 would have made all the difference in the world for him showing that  he could run the point and he can do it back to back and take his team loaded with freshman back to the Tournament. He missed out on being able to add leadership and play making skills at PG to his resume.'

No way to know that. If Vander comes back, Buzz may well have left him at the 2/3 position where he had so much success. Jake would have left and while Juan's situation seemed to be more family-related, it's possible that the lure of PT Vander wasn't going to get also helped bring him back. Take Juan and Jake out of the equation and suddenly Vander isn't likely going to be sliding down to the point so much.

He wasn't drafted at all so how could another year have hurt him?...what are you talking about. Back to back tournaments would have had him in the late 1st and early 2nd round. But I bet he will tell you you live with your decision like a man and it is what it is...keep grinding.

How could another year have hurt him? Maybe he suffers a season ending injury. Maybe his offense regresses back to his sophomore year as guys like Mayo and JJJ prove they have the talent to cut into his playing time. Or maybe the simple talent explosion that is the 2014 draft class is so much that guys that are fringe draft picks (like Vander clearly was) don't even get as much interest as UFAs.

I do now believe that he made a mistake and I was absolutely wrong about Vander's current positioning. I thought he'd get picked and figured even if he didn't he'd have a good shot at making a team. Maybe he gets lucky and gets called up during the year. Could that end up being best for his career? Maybe. No point belaboring the decision now. Van should have stayed, but he didn't. Here's hoping he realizes his dream and finds a way into the league.

[ceh]

The recent developments show that it was a poor decision by VB to leave early if he wanted to make a NBA roster this year.  I think he would have been drafted after a standout senior year, but who knows.  Looks like he'll have to slog it out in the D league or in Europe.  Not bad options, but not the NBA.

[bilsu]

The recent developments show that it was a poor decision by VB to leave early if he wanted to make a NBA roster this year.  I think he would have been drafted after a standout senior year, but who knows.  Looks like he'll have to slog it out in the D league or in Europe.  Not bad options, but not the NBA.

We of course do not know, but being a year older in a stronger draft does not make it likely he would be drafted. Given he could not make a team that wanted to lose may indicate he was not close to making a real NBA team this year. Especially, since winning was not important to the 76'ers the team probably would of tried to project how much this year's young players would have improved for next year. I would argue that Blue being cut in this situation indicates that the 76'ers did not see him having much upside. Following this arguement would indicate another year in college would not of helped Blue make the NBA. Assuming Blue did not like college, it was still a good decision for him.

[joe pop]

Maybe he was too good???

The team is benching Noel for the season; they aren't sending him to the D League and won't be playing him in any games. He's a practice player and apparently woefully under-developed. He needs work.

In other words, they are tanking harder than any team in NBA history.

except maybe the 2013-2014 celtics

[humanlung]

Vander is a great example and, hopefully, a lesson, for all the young men in college who have NBA dreams.  Be VERY careful who you listen to and make sure you listen to people who might tell you things you do NOT want to hear.  Those people might just be right.

I hope Vander cracks "the bigs" at some point.  Keep working kid.

[Coleman]

Vander will make it. Bummer we will have to wait a little longer to see it but he will make it

[Otule's Glass Eye]

From an article posted last night on usatoday.com

"If I don't make the team, I'll sit down with my agent and we'll come up with another option," Blue said, "but I definitely think I'm an NBA player. I think I've shown that to this organization and to other teams, that I can play at this level and I'm ready to play, so I'm just going to wait and see what happens."

[DienerTime34]

Could be someone claims him before the season starts as well. Wouldn't surprise me if the Celtics look to pick him up, as he tortured Brad Stevens last year and played well against Boston this preseason

[Hards Alumni]

Vander is a great example and, hopefully, a lesson, for all the young men in college who have NBA dreams.  Be VERY careful who you listen to and make sure you listen to people who might tell you things you do NOT want to hear.  Those people might just be right.

I hope Vander cracks "the bigs" at some point.  Keep working kid.

Totally disagree.  He took a shot, and it didn't work out.  To assume he would have been drafted this coming year is not realistic.  The NBA drafts on three major aspects:

1. Talent
2. Potential
3. Age

If you check out who gets drafted in the NBA, it is not predominantly Seniors.  Vander's talent is obvious, and his problem areas were obvious as well.  He wasn't a good shooter (though he did improve), he wasn't big enough to play the 2, and didn't have the ability to distribute and handle the 1 (Kind of like Brandon Knight).  It is entirely possible these days to be a great college player, but not have your game translate to the NBA.  Might he have improved his shooting his senior year?  Yes.  But he would also be another year older.  He most certainly would not have changed his body size/shape from his Junior to Senior year.

Overall, I don't see how people can judge his decision as good or bad.  Wait until you see what this coming year's draft class is like and ask yourself where Van would have been drafted.  I think you might be surprised to find out that he probably wouldn't have been drafted in the upcoming year either.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Impossible to answer the question if he would have stayed it would have worked out.  I'm in the camp that his options would be better, but i'm going off what Draft Express and other draft experts were saying, that he would be a late first rounder next year.

He could have got hurt.  Could have regressed.  Etc.  All possible.

We'll never know.  Hope he finds his way to a team. 

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I am sorry he left, but I'm not convinced it was the wrong decision. Time at the point in a not-to-be senior year may have exposed him rather than helped him. He ended his junior year in spectacular fashion (Elite 8, two game winners) and I just can't see his stock getting exponentially higher. Just one man's opinion.

[jesmu84]

Impossible to answer the question if he would have stayed it would have worked out.  I'm in the camp that his options would be better, but i'm going off what Draft Express and other draft experts were saying, that he would be a late first rounder next year.

He could have got hurt.  Could have regressed.  Etc.  All possible.

We'll never know.  Hope he finds his way to a team. 

This. 100%.

Also, for those saying he got the wrong advice, does that mean you think Dominic James got the wrong advice too?

[MerrittsMustache]

If Vander has NBA-level talent, he'll be on an NBA roster at some point. It didn't matter if he came back next year or not. If you can play at that level, someone will find you.

Considering his release, it's easy to say that he made the wrong decision leaving early. However, even if he did come back, he wasn't going to be a 1st Round pick next year (i.e. guaranteed 2-year deal). At best, he would have been a 2nd Rounder, which isn't all that different than being undrafted, especially since Van still got some cash for being on the Sixers preseason roster.

Far too many people also seem to think that another year in college would improve his game while completely ignoring the fact that spending a year doing nothing but workout and play basketball may help his game even more. All of the time that he would have spent in class and studying can now be spent working on his game. That's probably at least 20 hours/week. He'll also be playing and practicing against stiffer competition, be it in the D-League or overseas.

From a Marquette fan's perspective, I definitely think he should have come back, but it's his career and none of us can truly say that he was wrong to do what's best for his own career.