CJ Leslie of N.C. State has elected to join his teammate Lorenzo Brown and declare early for the NBA draft this summer. In the past two decades declaring early has become an increasingly common practice for college basketball players, but is it the right move?
There have been many players who left college early to find heaps of success in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin have all made the transition from college to the big time look effortlessly simple.
Not everyone has as much success, however. Players like Greg Oden serve as a cautionary tale for every player thinking they have what it takes. Oden, widely regarded as the most sure-fire player coming out of high school, only ever intended on playing one year of college. Once he left, he went number one in the draft and appeared to be well on his way to a stellar career.
Then the injuries started mounting. Oden didn't even play in his first year in the league, and even for the next two years when he was healthy (relatively), he still could produce more than 9 points and 7 boards a game on average. He hasn't played since 2010.
Okay, okay, Oden was an anomaly you say, an injury machine that was destined to fail no matter when he declared. That's almost certainly true. Let me then offer another example that hits a bit closer to home for myself. Many of you probably only vaguely have heard of this guy, if at all.
His name is Marcus Taylor, and he played for my alma mater, Michigan State. A fantastic talent, in just his second year with the team he became only the second player in Big 10 history to lead the league in both points and assists. Thinking his draft stock wouldn't get much higher, Taylor declared for the draft and was eventually drafted in the second round by the Timberwolves.
And did absolutely nothing from there on out. Never played a minute in the NBA, forever lost to the abyss of lost dreams that is the NBDL. Had he spent just one more year honing his talents, Taylor very well could have gotten a legitimate chance to play big minutes in the NBA, but because he didn't, he was quickly cast aside and forgotten.
Oden and Taylor are just anecdotes, they don't necessarily prove anything except for the fact that there is no such thing as a guarantee when declaring early for the NBA draft. With his length, athleticism, and proven scoring ability, nobody is surprised to see C.J. Leslie leave N.C. State early. They also shouldn't be too surprised if they don't hear much about him ever again.
