D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera

[MU Buff]

Georgetown announces he will enter the NBA draft

[pacearrow02]

I was just thinking about who the conference cannot afford to have make a dumb decision by leaving early unexpectedly.  DSR was on top of list, bad decision for him and bad for conference. 

[geps]

Interesting. Would say 2nd rounder though.

[pacearrow02]

I don't see there being a chance in hell he gets drafted.  Nice college player but like semaji christon last year he does not have the game for the league

[wadesworld]

Is there still a "test the waters" period?  I know it was significantly shortened but he could just be seeing where he stands.

[Pakuni]

I was just thinking about who the conference cannot afford to have make a dumb decision by leaving early unexpectedly.  DSR was on top of list, bad decision for him and bad for conference. 

Bad for Georgetown. Bad decision for him.
The conference will get over it. Not exactly a marquee player who casual viewers tune in to watch.

[LON]

Is there still a "test the waters" period?  I know it was significantly shortened but he could just be seeing where he stands.

Press release says he's hiring an agent.

[pacearrow02]

I cannot name too many other players with a larger profile and are returning which is part of the problem facing the BE right now, IMO.  

[Wade for President]

Vander must've been in his ear.

[Eldon]

That sucks.  I was super high on this kid his freshman year.  Anyway, I hope it works out for him.

I'm not a "recruiting guy" so does anyone know if there is a recruiting-based silver lining here?

[brandx]

I don't see there being a chance in hell he gets drafted.  Nice college player but like semaji christon last year he does not have the game for the league

And, like Semaji, not nearly as tall as he claims to be.

[THRILLHO]

I say good call. He's the type of player who won't improve his draft stock enough to get guaranteed money with another year, everybody knows what he can do already. But if he could make 6 figures in Europe, why spend another year of his youth playing for free? Of course it is unfortunate if you get close to getting a really nice degree from Georgetown and have to leave, but he can always come back and finish later. A professional career can only last so long.

[Dawson Rental]

I was just thinking about who the conference cannot afford to have make a dumb decision by leaving early unexpectedly.  DSR was on top of list, bad decision for him and bad for conference. 

I'm not privy to any confidential knowledge, but I do know that factors other than being assured of getting drafted can enter into this decision.  

[Pakuni]

Does anyone believe it likely that an already 22-year-old guard (who will be 23 late this year), is going to significantly improve his draft stock by playing another year in college?
It may very well be that Smith-Rivera goes undrafted, but chances are he then would have gone undrafted next year, as well. He wasn't going to be getting any taller or more athletic. His "upside" wasn't going to improve.
Maybe he just figured getting paid to play basketball - even in the D-League or Europe - is a better deal for him than not getting paid to play basketball. And maybe he figured that playing 40-50 games against pros in the D-League or Europe and committing himself full time to the sport would better improve his NBA prospects than playing 30 games against younger players in college while having to attend class.

It's really not the worst decision in the world.
Guys like Vander Blue aren't outside the NBA because they left college too early. They're outside the NBA because they're not good enough (not yet, at least).

[brewcity77]

He's a 23-year-old undersized shooting guard. He won't get younger or bigger...or most likely drafted. Probably NBADL or Europe bound. Too bad, probably would have been preseason POY for the league.

[Shark]

People are really downplaying how much weaker our conference is getting next year. MU has a chance to improve a lot and everyone other than Butler is getting worse or staying about the same.

[pacearrow02]

Does anyone believe it likely that an already 22-year-old guard (who will be 23 late this year), is going to significantly improve his draft stock by playing another year in college?
It may very well be that Smith-Rivera goes undrafted, but chances are he then would have gone undrafted next year, as well. He wasn't going to be getting any taller or more athletic. His "upside" wasn't going to improve.
Maybe he just figured getting paid to play basketball - even in the D-League or Europe - is a better deal for him than not getting paid to play basketball. And maybe he figured that playing 40-50 games against pros in the D-League or Europe and committing himself full time to the sport would better improve his NBA prospects than playing 30 games against younger players in college while having to attend class.

It's really not the worst decision in the world.
Guys like Vander Blue aren't outside the NBA because they left college too early. They're outside the NBA because they're not good enough (not yet, at least).

Obviously he thinks leaving is in his best interest, I'm just saying it hurts the "star power" of the BE which is undeniable.

[Pakuni]

Obviously he thinks leaving is in his best interest, I'm just saying it hurts the "star power" of the BE which is undeniable.

Sure, but star players leave every conference every year. New guys will arrive on the scene and become "stars." It's pretty much the nature of college sports, right.
And again, Smith-Rivera wasn't that big of a star. Kris Dunn's impending departure will hurt the league's star power much more.

[pacearrow02]

Sure, but star players leave every conference every year. New guys will arrive on the scene and become "stars." It's pretty much the nature of college sports, right.
And again, Smith-Rivera wasn't that big of a star. Kris Dunn's impending departure will hurt the league's star power much more.

The difference being that when other conferences stars leave early, they get drafted.  Ours seem to be headed to NBDL or over seas which makes their departures a little more head scratching.

[Pakuni]

The difference being that when other conferences stars leave early, they get drafted.  Ours seem to be headed to NBDL or over seas which makes their departures a little more head scratching.

Conference breakdown of the 11 early entries that went undrafted last year:
Big East - 1
ACC - 2
Pac 12 - 2
Mountain West - 3
WAC - 1
SEC - 1
Big 10 -1

[warriorfan 14]

dumb move by rivera but georgetown still returns a lot of talent. had a lot of solid freshman contributors that should be much improved

[THRILLHO]

Obviously he thinks leaving is in his best interest, I'm just saying it hurts the "star power" of the BE which is undeniable.

Yes I agree, the Big East may not have as many returning "stars" next year. I am excited though that this year many teams had excellent freshmen that played extended minutes, and this year's class ain't bad either. Hopefully this means we can look forward to having next year's "breakout" star instead of its expected star.

[JakeBarnes]

Yes I agree, the Big East may not have as many returning "stars" next year. I am excited though that this year many teams had excellent freshmen that played extended minutes, and this year's class ain't bad either. Hopefully this means we can look forward to having next year's "breakout" star instead of its expected star.

There's always RYAN ARCHIDIANGIASNDOQNFON:NO

But there are going to be some fun names in college to watch in the Big East like Jalen Brunson and Henry Ellenson coming in (along with the rest of the highly ranked class...which I imagine will be a big angle on us next year). Plus, some people are just going to step up when the year goes on with the other teams. It's the progression of things.

[Dawson Rental]

dumb move by rivera but georgetown still returns a lot of talent. had a lot of solid freshman contributors that should be much improved

None of us is in a position to know that.

[Pakuni]

Apparently he's had a change of heart:

Brian Snow @BSnowScout
Scout.com has learned that D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera will return to Georgetown after initially declaring for the draft