I KNOW EVERYONE HAS BEEN SKEPTICAL OF BASS'S DECISION AND HERE'S MORE REASONS WHY: as much as I love football, Im probably the biggest basketball fan on the site and well... looking at the draft, it's not looking good for brandon bass. he has been projected as high as a possible first round pick, and as the days before the draft have ticked away... it's gotten worse... espn now doesnt even see him as a first round pick. in their latest mock draft, they have no one taking him, and the list of "other possible 1st rounders includes: chris taft, randolph morris, david lee, kennedy winston, ronny turiaf, matt walsh, jason maxiel and those are just the forwards and centers... looking at the last six picks... 25: seattle- has vladamir rodmanavich...already a sf/pf that's above and beyond bass 26: detroit... the last thing they need is ANOTHER presence down low, with the wallaces and mcdyess already reigning superior. AND they have prince, a long athletic SF and darko millicic the number two pick from the 03' draft. 27: utah- boozer and kirilenko are all stars and they dont have a point guard so they have to be looking at point guard in the draft. 28: may be looking for a serious backup for duncan because they're deep everywhere else and it would allow duncan to be more aggressive on the defensive end without worrying about fatigue or foul trouble because of a solid back up.... but san antonio likes penetration from the outside in with big men that are strong and can finish... not a in between 3 and 4 guy... probably taking villanueva or taft. 29: miami: with SHAQ and mourning down low and improving florida PF udonis haslem down low, and the jones's and dwayne wade it's hard to see where they go with this pick... they COULD want a power forward but with all the guys ahead of him... who knows. 30: new york might be the best choice fit for him but honestly who knows what they're doing these days?
He's not going to be drafted at all. I've been saying that all along. He'll end up signing as a free agent somewhere, or going to the CBA or Europe. But he won't be drafted. He's a small forward w/ no medium range shot, and he has too much talent ahead of him.
After reading the interview in the paper with Bass yesterday I will feel sorry for him if he isn't drafted. He was evidentally told he would be drafted pretty high and was also told he was very good when he worked out for the individual teams. I'm guessing the NBA guys hedge their bets my leading players on. Who is Bass to believe, the front office personnel that tell him one thing or the scouts and analyst who say another?
You forgot a third: plain old common sense. Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that, had he come back one more year, he'd have been the premiere player on what everyone predicted would be a top 10-15 team going into next season. You have the likes of Dick Vitale and Billy Packer talking about how you're "the cornerstone of this fantastic LSU team" about a billion times, and *shock* your NBA stock just...may...go...up. Get yer nose in those Spanish is easy books, Brandon! I hear Argentina is pretty this time of the year.
With the NBA age limit now agreed to, it does seem a shoe-in that he'd have been at least a late first-rounder next year.
Originally I was vehemently against Bass' decision to go to the NBA. I thought he could've improved his stock another year and been among the top players next year. But my good friend, marcnbc, pointed out to me that if Bass stayed at LSU he would be back at the post with his back to the basket. And for a guy who's 6-8 and needs better ball handling skills and the development of a mid-range jumper playing down on the blocks at LSU would not help him improve in the areas he needs to improve in order to better his draft status. And, after pondering this a while I believe marcnbc is right. There are 6-6 to 6-8 guards in the NBA who can knock down the jumper and have the ball handling skills to drive and take it inside. Bass needs both of those and he's not going to develop those playing down low at LSU. Unfortunately for him, he's probably not going to be drafted then he will need to try and develop those skills overseas or in some developmental league. So, it's a damned if you, damned if you don't situation.
The guy is going to play in the NBA. He may need a year in Europe or the CBA but he's a player. But LSU ain't going to be retiring his jersey.
All you guys that consistently bash Bass for his decision to leave forget the reason he isn't going to get drafted high: His Height Read every profile of him and his weakness is his size. Hell, there are Point Guards that are coming in to the league that are as tall as he is( Jerryl Sasser a few years ago, Julius Hodges this year). Coming back for another year isn't going to make him three inches taller... Him coming back another year may end up costing him a few spots, but looking at his situation and the kind of year he had this year, this was a good call by him...
THE NFL! wow!!! I bet nick saban wishes he woulda saw that potential while at LSU....we coulda used his leaping ability to block that second auburn xtra point attempt!
