DJ arrives at camp with lots to prove - Sports Illustrated

[ChicosBailBonds]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/luke_winn/05/30/inside.bkc/

[MUEng92]

"That, essentially, is what James is facing: A skeptical crowd of NBA evaluators whose scouting reports tab him as a highly athletic, albeit undersized (at 5-foot-11), point guard with a suspect shot. James is well aware of the latter criticism; the fact that he remained on the floor at the Milkhouse on Tuesday night, hoisting scores of NBA-range threes after the scrimmages had concluded, was not a coincidence."

I think all MU fans are well aware that DJ can hoist NBA range threes, the question is how many went in?

[NYWarrior]

Katz blogged on James today too.....any insiders here?

[ChicosBailBonds]

"That, essentially, is what James is facing: A skeptical crowd of NBA evaluators whose scouting reports tab him as a highly athletic, albeit undersized (at 5-foot-11), point guard with a suspect shot. James is well aware of the latter criticism; the fact that he remained on the floor at the Milkhouse on Tuesday night, hoisting scores of NBA-range threes after the scrimmages had concluded, was not a coincidence."

I think all MU fans are well aware that DJ can hoist NBA range threes, the question is how many went in?

My personal feeling on all of this is that the "first round" deal is off the table.  He isn't going in the first round and we all know that.  But if he is told with 90% certainty that he will go in the second round, I believe he stays in the draft.

Of course he will not get that type of answer unless he performs well in the next few days which I expect that he will.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Katz blogged on James today too.....any insiders here?

I have  a subscription.  Here is the pertinent excerpt

• Marquette sophomore guard Dominic James wants to be clear to NBA teams about where he stands in the draft, even though he hasn't signed with an agent.


"Right now, I'm all in, trying to make it happen," he said Tuesday. "I'm letting everybody know that I'm serious about the process. I'm not just one of those guys just throwing my name out there."

James said he is looking for guarantees from teams before making his final decision to stay in the draft. He didn't necessarily say that it had to be in the first round. He is open to the second as well. But he said after the week he will sit down with Marquette coach Tom Crean to assess where he should work out and his status in the draft.

"Right now, I'm stuck on trying to be in the first round and improve my game," James said. "I'm trying to show I'm a point guard since they [the scouts] didn't see that during the season since I had to be more of a scorer."

[NYWarrior]

My personal feeling on all of this is that the "first round" deal is off the table.  He isn't going in the first round and we all know that.  But if he is told with 90% certainty that he will go in the second round, I believe he stays in the draft.

Of course he will not get that type of answer unless he performs well in the next few days which I expect that he will.

Agreed......I think he plays his way into the 2nd round this week and stays in the draft. 

[77ncaachamps]

My personal feeling on all of this is that the "first round" deal is off the table.  He isn't going in the first round and we all know that.  But if he is told with 90% certainty that he will go in the second round, I believe he stays in the draft.

Of course he will not get that type of answer unless he performs well in the next few days which I expect that he will.

Agreed......I think he plays his way into the 2nd round this week and stays in the draft. 

I'm with you on that.

Yet, I wonder how much DJ thinks the "only if I'm in the first round" mentality that MU has been pushing has been hurting him RATHER than his overall game.

[The Lens]

"Right now, I'm stuck on trying to be in the first round and improve my game," James said. "I'm trying to show I'm a point guard since they [the scouts] didn't see that during the season since I had to be more of a scorer." 


He had to be a scorer?  I know TC's offense is PG friendly but Jerel & Wes are very capable scorers and Ooze is somewhat reliable taking dishes.  It's not like was Travis in '05, that's a guy who HAD to score.

[muarmy81]

Yep,
It sounds more and more that regardless of the first round issue DJ is gone to the NBA.  I wish him well but I got a sneaking suspicion that we've seen the last of him.  I don't think he'll be doing anything spectacular in the NBA...if he stays in the NBA...hello Europe.

[AZWarrior]

In this week's Sporting News, college basketball section, in the "Will come back to college" category is, Dominic James.

[Big Papi]

I would be very surprised if DJ is in an MU uniform next year.  By all indications, it sure sounds like all DJ needs to hear to stay in the draft is that he is guaranteed to be drafted in the second round by more than a couple of teams.  Which is too bad as we could have a special year if DJ comes back.

My guess is that if only a couple of teams say that they will draft him at the end of the second round than he will pull out of the draft.  But if he gets 6 or 7 teams that say they would draft him in the second round, than he will stay in the draft.  I personally don't see how he wouldn't be drafted mid to late second round.  This is why TC recruited 4 players instead of 3.  DJ, in his mind, was a lock to go.  No one would have imagined that there would be a chance that DJ was going to play bad enough to potentially not get drafted. 

I hate to say it but if Trend has meet his academic requirements at this point in time, we should cut our ties with DJ now.  It pains me to say it, but I don't want Trend's future to hinge on DJ's self esteem.  Now I am not bashing DJ but he did put himself in this situation.

[mviale]

easy MUFanatic - if you had DJ's talent, you would be trying too.

[NotAnAlum]

I believe that DJ is about to become another example of the misuse of early entry into the NBA draft.  For a kid like Wade, by all means go, you are a lottery pick, NBA ready, with a family to support and a guarantee of a big payday.  Thats the kind of guy who should leave early.  But for DJ, not NBA ready, no family to support, no guaranteed payday.  STAY IN SCHOOL.  IF YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH THE NBA WILL BE THERE WHEN YOU GRADUATE.  IF YOU ARE NOT YOU CAN USE THE DEGREE YOU GOT WITH YOUR PAID COLLEGE EDUCATION TO GET A GOOD JOB. 
Basketball in Europe does not pay well enough to set yourself up for life.  When you are past 30 and you can't make money playing ball any more you're just another guy without a college degree looking for a job.
If I was Crean I'd make sure DJ heard that and I'd illustrate with a few examples .  God knows there are a bunch of them

[77ncaachamps]

easy MUFanatic - if you had DJ's talent, you would be trying too.

I don't think he's questioning that at all. He's just commenting on DJ's "unwise" choice to let this Draft thing linger...

I think DJ should have come out if he really wanted to. Too much time passed and too many people have spoken into his ears that this irrational behavior comes as no surprise.

I think he was a bit timid in the beginning, questioned whether he should stay, then decided to put in all his chips...even when he's not a solid lock for the SECOND round.

Good luck, DJ. You're gonna need it.

[Pakuni]

Yep,
It sounds more and more that regardless of the first round issue DJ is gone to the NBA.  I wish him well but I got a sneaking suspicion that we've seen the last of him.  I don't think he'll be doing anything spectacular in the NBA...if he stays in the NBA...hello Europe.

Good players in the quality Euro leagues can earn well over six figures for a few months work. Sure, it ain't NBA money, but I'd venture to guess it's better than any other kid coming out of Marquette will do this year. The idea that earning $100,000+ for playing basketball in a place like Barcelona, Paris, Athens or Milan is a death sentence for a young man is more than a little perplexing.

I have no idea what DJ's personal situation is like, and I'd venture to guess the same goes for pretty much everyone else here. For all we all know he has a very good reason to want a salary now, even if it is less that what he might earn down the road by staying in school.

Regardless, the question DJ has to be asking himself is how much can he really improve his stock by returning for another year or two. For every Jameer Nelson, i.e. a guy who helped himself greatly by returning, there's a Chris Thomas and Jason Kapono, guys who lost out by returning to school. There's no guarantee DJ is going to go higher in 2008 or 2009 simply because he came back. He could, in fact, deflate his stock even further.

Anyhow, if DJ believes this is the best time for him to leave, then I wish him the best and will be pulling for him on draft night.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Yep,
It sounds more and more that regardless of the first round issue DJ is gone to the NBA.  I wish him well but I got a sneaking suspicion that we've seen the last of him.  I don't think he'll be doing anything spectacular in the NBA...if he stays in the NBA...hello Europe.

Good players in the quality Euro leagues can earn well over six figures for a few months work. Sure, it ain't NBA money, but I'd venture to guess it's better than any other kid coming out of Marquette will do this year. The idea that earning $100,000+ for playing basketball in a place like Barcelona, Paris, Athens or Milan is a death sentence for a young man is more than a little perplexing.

I have no idea what DJ's personal situation is like, and I'd venture to guess the same goes for pretty much everyone else here. For all we all know he has a very good reason to want a salary now, even if it is less that what he might earn down the road by staying in school.

Regardless, the question DJ has to be asking himself is how much can he really improve his stock by returning for another year or two. For every Jameer Nelson, i.e. a guy who helped himself greatly by returning, there's a Chris Thomas and Jason Kapono, guys who lost out by returning to school. There's no guarantee DJ is going to go higher in 2008 or 2009 simply because he came back. He could, in fact, deflate his stock even further.

Anyhow, if DJ believes this is the best time for him to leave, then I wish him the best and will be pulling for him on draft night.

Well said...except that living in Paris for an entire year would be a death sentence.   

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

Yep,
It sounds more and more that regardless of the first round issue DJ is gone to the NBA.  I wish him well but I got a sneaking suspicion that we've seen the last of him.  I don't think he'll be doing anything spectacular in the NBA...if he stays in the NBA...hello Europe.

Good players in the quality Euro leagues can earn well over six figures for a few months work. Sure, it ain't NBA money, but I'd venture to guess it's better than any other kid coming out of Marquette will do this year. The idea that earning $100,000+ for playing basketball in a place like Barcelona, Paris, Athens or Milan is a death sentence for a young man is more than a little perplexing.

I have no idea what DJ's personal situation is like, and I'd venture to guess the same goes for pretty much everyone else here. For all we all know he has a very good reason to want a salary now, even if it is less that what he might earn down the road by staying in school.

Regardless, the question DJ has to be asking himself is how much can he really improve his stock by returning for another year or two. For every Jameer Nelson, i.e. a guy who helped himself greatly by returning, there's a Chris Thomas and Jason Kapono, guys who lost out by returning to school. There's no guarantee DJ is going to go higher in 2008 or 2009 simply because he came back. He could, in fact, deflate his stock even further.

Anyhow, if DJ believes this is the best time for him to leave, then I wish him the best and will be pulling for him on draft night.

Well said...except that living in Paris for an entire year would be a death sentence.   

I think living in Paris, or any other equivalent capital, would be a great learning experience.

There's so much emphasis on the NBA, but a professional ballplayer has many options.