A poster on the Purdue boards stated that 122 underclassmen have declared for the NBA draft.

Here’s the list, not 122, but over 100:

https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/...aiting-on/

I must say I cringe at the flippant use of the term “bogus hardship request”. We all view the players’ decisions in the context of “what’s good for the program”. In actuality, Nate must make decisions on a very personal level. If he decides to stay, fantastic. If he decides to leave under a “bogus hardship transfer request”; god speed to him and I wish him nothing but the best. Mr joolius, I believe you are wrong headed on multiple accounts, but I shall keep that to myself.

(04-20-2019 10:43 PM)Tac12 Wrote:  Mr joolius, I believe you are wrong headed on multiple accounts, but I shall keep that to myself.

You kind of didn't.

On the bogus hardship rule front, you don't think it happens? I'm sure kids all have their reasons for a transfer. Some very legitimate. But, if you monitor social media and Twitter like I do, some of the reasons requested are head scratchers. Why do I say bogus? If you request a transfer so that your sick grandmother can come to your games and end up at a school 400 miles from grandma. If you are granted a transfer because a freshman was brought in at your position and you publicly state it is due to not wanting a competition. How are these reasonable hardship requests? I have no problem with transfering, or Nate transferring for that matter. I think hardships are a legitimate concern. I take issue with the reasons given publicly for some of these hardships. Say it for what it is. "I would like to transfer to <P5 school> to improve my chances of playing basketball professionally". The reason they don't state the hardship honestly is because the NCAA will probably not view it as a legit hardship.

This is a message board. We all are intitled to our opinions. You saying I'm wrong headed without adding anything is also an opinion. I try very hard not to let the emotion of the moment rule and be level headed looking at a situation. Is that naive? Perhaps. I'm also someone that has no problem admitting that I'm wrong. If you want to discuss some of the things I've posted and are uncomfortable doing it publicly, pm me. Im open to civil talks.

podcast about mid major draft prospects. This guy doesn't like Nathan much. The discussion about Nathan starts around 1:06:50. He gives him only a few seconds, but basically says he's bad defensively.

https://www.lineups.com/podcasts/mid-maj...t-podcast/

(04-22-2019 01:01 PM)namtrag Wrote:  podcast about mid major draft prospects. This guy doesn't like Nathan much. The discussion about Nathan starts around 1:06:50. He gives him only a few seconds, but basically says he's bad defensively.

https://www.lineups.com/podcasts/mid-maj...t-podcast/

Hoy mentions Audige and Pierce around 1:10:00 or so.

(04-22-2019 02:05 PM)WillaMary08 Wrote:  

(04-22-2019 01:01 PM)namtrag Wrote:  podcast about mid major draft prospects. This guy doesn't like Nathan much. The discussion about Nathan starts around 1:06:50. He gives him only a few seconds, but basically says he's bad defensively.

https://www.lineups.com/podcasts/mid-maj...t-podcast/

Hoy mentions Audige and Pierce around 1:10:00 or so.

I tend to agree with the assessment of Nate and Justin, but as good as Chase is, I don't agree with the assessment of him. He isn't high major!! Just my opinion!!

Not sure why you all keep bringing up Jackson Hoy. He seems to have limited experience as he an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California that does this on the side. He loves Pierce and ranked him as the best NBA prospect in the CAA last year.

He's one of the few people that has any content on mid-majors looking to go pro. If you can find a competing opinion anywhere, please share.

FWIW, I think that Hoy would have been (more) right on Nate at the start of last year, but he made great strides defensively this year, especially learning how to avoid fouling situations.

https://www.syracuse.com/sports/2019/04/...draft.html

(04-25-2019 08:23 AM)Tribeheart Wrote:  https://www.syracuse.com/sports/2019/04/...draft.html

Interesting article with the quotes from Nate. Key dates are late April - early May when camp/combine invites are sent out. I expect him to receive an invite. If he doesn't, I'd consider him a lock to return. That said, without a coaching staff in place or a proven big man coach, the idea of returning wouldn't be my priority. Nate is a self starter though, and I'd argue that he hasn't had a decent big man coach since he's been here. So, it's a tough question what is best for Nate. He sounds very measured and is doing this the right way.

Nate's quote.
“The determining factor will be the type of feedback I’m getting,” he said. “What do I need to improve on and can I improve on those things here or can I improve on those things at the next level? Pretty much is it a plausible step, is it a reasonable step to take?”

So, the goal is professional basketball. The question posed - is he ready now? If not, what can prepare him best for next year's draft. Can he improve where he needs to be at W&M, or would he better improve his stock playing in Europe or the G league? Tough questions that he will have to do some soul searching for.

Donna Ditota, the author of the article, responded to an inquiring mind on Twitter about the possibility of Knight transferring:

“We talked very briefly about grad transferring. He said at this point it would be impossible to do. If he goes back to school, he’s going back to William & Mary.”

https://mobile.twitter.com/DonnaDitota1/...2001804291

Big week for NBA Combine and G League Elite Camp invites. A lot of invitees already out there on twitter. No mention of Nate to this point.

Significant that last year no undergrad players were drafted who were not invited to the Combine.

I know Nate is not a twitter monster, but would think any agent worth his salt would be getting any invite out there for the recognition.

Regardless of any team tryouts that Nate may get, unless he's a last minute add this week to the Combine, I think it's an almost sure bet he'll be back for one more year.

Even if team tryouts will still be done before any announcement about his decision, I think any inference that he'll be back will have a very strong impact on Chase and LJ's decisions.

I’m not sure under the new rule that agents are allowed to tweet out camp invites on players going through the evaluation process. New this year, for a player going through the evaluation to remain eligible to return to college basketball, agents can only provide feedback and pay for some travel expenses. Only when a player commits 100% to the draft can his agent promote him or negotiate on his behalf.

Agents may only be able to advise, but I would bet they're advising Nate to get publicity out on any invite immediately. It's, also, in W&M's basketball program's best interest to get publicity out.

More Combine and G League Elite Camp invites came out today. The Combine is expected to have 60 initial players, and the Elite Camp the next 40 players. The top Elite Camp players will potentially get a post camp invite to the Combine. More than 60 Combine invites are already out there publically. Again, no mention of Nathan anywhere to this point, which is disappointing for him.

I think it's very unrealistic to think Knight would draw any substantial interest from NBA teams by coming out early.

He is awesome for us but the NBA is... quite a few steps up.

He may eventually be a role player, or have a great career in Europe, but I don't see why any NBA team would be jumping at the chance to get him.

Not sure if it directly effects Knight's decision, but Maryland's Bruno Fernando has decided to stay in the draft.

(05-01-2019 12:39 AM)soccerguy315 Wrote:  I think it's very unrealistic to think Knight would draw any substantial interest from NBA teams by coming out early.

He is awesome for us but the NBA is... quite a few steps up.

He may eventually be a role player, or have a great career in Europe, but I don't see why any NBA team would be jumping at the chance to get him.

It’s very likely Knight entered the draft more as an opportunity to get feedback from the NBA on what he needs to work on to be considered an NBA draft pick. If you have realistic aspirations of playing in the NBA, it makes sense to take advantage of the ability to declare, go through workouts and get feedback, and then go back to school and try to improve on the identified weaknesses.

Nathan has some hard decisions to make. If he gets feedback he would be drafted, he would stay in the draft. That is actually the easiest decision for him. But, if he appears to not be going in the draft, then the undergraduate degree he will be getting becomes a key piece. Otherwise, he could either transfer and sit a year(very very unlikely, but still possible I guess), or go straight to the G league. It still seems most likely he returns here, but the senior year looks a lot different than it did back 2 months ago.

(05-02-2019 10:02 AM)TribePride91 Wrote:  Nathan has some hard decisions to make. If he gets feedback he would be drafted, he would stay in the draft. That is actually the easiest decision for him. But, if he appears to not be going in the draft, then the undergraduate degree he will be getting becomes a key piece. Otherwise, he could either transfer and sit a year(very very unlikely, but still possible I guess), or go straight to the G league. It still seems most likely he returns here, but the senior year looks a lot different than it did back 2 months ago.

There's an interview posted somewhere earlier in the thread where he says if he goes back to school it will be at W&M. So, that much is clear.

Someone else also mentioned.. this mysterious path of G-League or Europe rather than graduate is just not something people do. I'd be VERY surprised if that's a realistic possibility.

(05-02-2019 10:04 AM)wml33t Wrote:  

(05-02-2019 10:02 AM)TribePride91 Wrote:  Nathan has some hard decisions to make. If he gets feedback he would be drafted, he would stay in the draft. That is actually the easiest decision for him. But, if he appears to not be going in the draft, then the undergraduate degree he will be getting becomes a key piece. Otherwise, he could either transfer and sit a year(very very unlikely, but still possible I guess), or go straight to the G league. It still seems most likely he returns here, but the senior year looks a lot different than it did back 2 months ago.

There's an interview posted somewhere earlier in the thread where he says if he goes back to school it will be at W&M. So, that much is clear.

Someone else also mentioned.. this mysterious path of G-League or Europe rather than graduate is just not something people do. I'd be VERY surprised if that's a realistic possibility.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he turns pro. He will make more money playing in Europe than he will ever make with a college degree in the first 5-10 years.