Devin Williams departure is going to hurt....
- Thread starter bamaEER
- Start date
He's leaving now? I thought he was staying.
If true, what a stupid... stupid... stupid move on his part.
I thought it would help him to come back for one more year, of course that assumes he could stay injury free for that year. It will definitely hurt to lose him, especially when you pair that loss up with the loss of Paige and Holton. Watkins is going to have to step up and fill that void to some degree. Hopefully, he's healthy enough to do that. I'm not going to pretend to know if Routt or West are going to be special, but they are going to have contribute for depth. Macon is going to have to step up some more too. I liked his progression from last year to this one, but now he has to be ready to take a lot more minutes.
It's stupid to go help his family out? The guy will never be NBA material, time to go get paid overseas.
Of course Dev,s absence will hurt, buy the talent is there to make a deep run next year. Leadership is needed. Someone step forward and cement them into a team unit and we will kick some tail. May require two - one for each unit, and we will be all needed. Have size, shooting, rebounding, youth and maturity. Of course everyone is going to have to step up and improve as can be with these guys. Maintain control of the ball and we will be half way there from the git go.
Europe will be there next year. He had another year of free room and board, spending money, national tv games against top competition, national aclaim (every college bb fan knows who he is), free travel, and the opportunity to get a college degree. Instead, he pissed it away to go to europe (he has no chance to make an NBA team) to make $100K for a few years in obscurity probably living in hostel-like conditions. I think he got bad advice. Kids!
He's thinking he'll have most of that in Europe, Doc. Free housing, team paid for car, expense account, and covered taxes. Your base salary is all yours. Basketball in Europe is a sweet deal for American players who can last. The question is: can Williams catch on and last there?
American players are expected to perform to higher level than their European counterparts or they're out the door. European teams don't want an American player they have to develop, they want one who will come in and make a difference off the bat. He'll be just another 6-8 250 lb guy in leagues that are overflowing with power forwards of that size.
He would be better off knocking around the D-League improving his skills, then heading to Europe, if that's an option. But perhaps that's what he has in mind?
American players are expected to perform to higher level than their European counterparts or they're out the door. European teams don't want an American player they have to develop, they want one who will come in and make a difference off the bat. He'll be just another 6-8 250 lb guy in leagues that are overflowing with power forwards of that size.
He would be better off knocking around the D-League improving his skills, then heading to Europe, if that's an option. But perhaps that's what he has in mind?
I wish him the best and certainly hope his skill set develops into NBA talent. But I think his ego got the best of him. He got a helluva lot better between year 2 and 3. He could've gotten even better with another year under Huggs and playing against top talent in the country. He seems like a good kid and I hope he succeeds.
You and I know that 100K is not going to get him rich or be enough to help his family.
He better be able to bank enough to retire by 27-30 with this move. Yeah, he makes a couple hundred a year... but for how long.
He could have been another Buddy Hield. Another year to improve his skills under a coach that WOULD have helped him improve his skills, something he won't get in the D-league or in Europe. He then could have built an even bigger name for himself under "Press Virginia", increased his stock and stood to have a real shot in the draft.
Without a mid-range jump shot, he's going to be limited at where and how much he will play.
That's a good point. I think the basketball rules are pretty loose with respect to how late you can change your mind, as long as you don't sign with an agent.
I thought prior players relied heavily on Huggs for honest assessment of their professional potential. Has Huggs been consulted? Huggs made a statement?
Sure would like to see him perfect that mid range shot since it is unlikely that he will develop the athleticism preferred in NBA. Best of luck with his decision. He gave us all he had each time out, IMO.
I think he can basically wait to see what his draft grade looks like. If it looks like he might get picked high enough to get a decent contract, I think he'll go. I agree with your assessment of his readiness though. I think another year at WVU would benefit his NBA potential. I also don't know his family's financial situation, and he may have good reasons to try to make the jump this year.
I have a buddy who works for USA Basketball, and we were discussing Devin a couple of months ago. I basically told him my assessment of Devin - that he needs to be better rounded because he's not an explosive athlete. He mentioned some players that he thought would compare - none of them stars but all decent players. All of the ones he named have a better rounded game than Devin does right now though. He wasn't saying that he thought it would be a great idea for Devin to make the jump this year, but he was making an argument for Devin's potential for a future in the NBA overall.
They are. No agent and you're free to come back. IMO, it's been one of the better rule changes in sports.
"Beasts" dominate teams like Stephen F Austin. I like Devin, and think he's a very good player. However, I saw too many times him going in to a corner and hiding when the team needed him the most. Kevin Jones was a "beast".....Devin is not to that level in my opinion. I do wish him luck and cannot blame him on his decision to make between $70-100K each year for the next 10-12 years, and then probably get in to coaching to finish out his working career. Not a bad gig.
That would be a recent change. Computer still shows that an underclassman who volunteers for the draft in either NBA OR NFL loose any balance of college scholarship for football or basketball,
Sounds like next year is a rebuilding year. We may not get the chance to lose in the first round of the NCAA against a noname like we did this year. 
I know that underclassmen in football can ask for a draft grade, then decide to stay in college as long as they don't contact an agent. I think the rules in basketball are more lax than that. The agent part still applies.