Current BIG Players Leaving Early for NBA?

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Uncle Rico

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Sitting here watching the Michigan/Louisville game.....makes me wonder if Wagner will test the waters?

Since we are all interested in how the conference will stack up next year, who is expected to leave early this year from the conference?

P.S. I love Nate Mason's grit, but D. Walton should have been 1st team IMO.
 

Wagner is definitely going to the NBA, but I think he stays one more year at Michigan.
 


Uncle Rico said:
Sitting here watching the Michigan/Louisville game.....makes me wonder if Wagner will test the waters?

Since we are all interested in how the conference will stack up next year, who is expected to leave early this year from the conference?

P.S. I love Nate Mason's grit, but D. Walton should have been 1st team IMO.
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Walton is better than Mason.

With that said, Miles Bridges seems to be the best bet.
 



Swanigan, Bridges, Happ, Wagner...all should jump. Stock won't be higher for most of this group.
 


TruDat said:
Happ needs to develop a game outside 5ft. I would bet Wager comes back for one more too
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Happ will be a first round pick. Should take the money and run. Never pass up guaranteed money. Ask Grayson Allen
 





Jaykay said:
Or his own teammate, Nigel Hayes.
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So true.

If Happ leaves it's because the Badgers reach the final 4. He is so far from being NBA ready but as others have posted, it's tough not to take the cash if they think he's first round talent.
 

Without Koenig and Hayes (and Brown and Showalter) Happ will face an entire season of intense double teams. I'm not sure what the market will be for him this year, but if there is one he should at least give it some thought.
 

Happ is not going pro. No chance Happ is a first round pick right now. Big buddies are a dime a dozen in the NBA. Bridges yes, Swanigan yes,
 





UpAndUnder43 said:
Happ will be a first round pick. Should take the money and run. Never pass up guaranteed money. Ask Grayson Allen
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On what f---ing planet is Happ a first round pick? He is a good college player and I don't want to see him around next year but come on that's just damn silly. Link a mock draft that has Happ getting drafted at all.
 

Happ is definitely not a 1st rounder. Bridges definitely is a 1st rounder. Swanigan may be a 1st rounder.
 


TruDat said:
On what f---ing planet is Happ a first round pick? He is a good college player and I don't want to see him around next year but come on that's just damn silly. Link a mock draft that has Happ getting drafted at all.
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I just decided I'd look through a few because I thought Happ had received at least a bit of NBA hype, but out of the 4 or so mocks I looked at, I didn't see Happ getting drafted in any of them. I think Bridges was going in the top 10, Swanigan was a late first rounder, and Thomas Bryant was a 2nd rounder. Then Peter Jok, Nigel Hayes, and Malcolm Hill, all seniors who will be gone after this year anyway, were sprinkled throughout the late 2nd round. Luke Kornet, that Vanderbilt big man we played against was also in the 2nd round. I thought Koenig and Walton might have a shot, but I don't know much about the NBA, and what makes a very good college player a poor NBA prospect. I know they're big into young guys.
 

The NBA loves speed, length, and athleticism.

I wonder if a guy like Swanigan would help the twolves as they have a ton of finesse players. He could battle in the post with Towns and Wiggins, and bring Dieng off the bench as the backup at the 4 and 5.

Biggest question on Swanigan is how badly will he be defending pick and rolls.
 

I was trolling on the Happ thing, to be honest. Just trying to get y'all going.

He might never play a minute in the NBA but will be a NPOY candidate as a senior. Fun stuff.

DraftExpress has Bridges at 12, with 10 freshman and an international player ahead of him. So if others don't declare, he could sneak into the top 10 pretty easily (and could even if they do declare)

Swanigan is late first round (29). If he goes there, he gets guaranteed money. Hard to pay up guaranteed millions (although I wonder how much money matters depending on the situation with his adopted father who is rich in his own right?)

Other NBA players listed: OG Anunoby (18), Thomas Bryant (35), Nigel Hayes (senior, 49), Malcolm Hill (senior, 53)
 

march madness said:
The NBA loves speed, length, and athleticism.

I wonder if a guy like Swanigan would help the twolves as they have a ton of finesse players. He could battle in the post with Towns and Wiggins, and bring Dieng off the bench as the backup at the 4 and 5.

Biggest question on Swanigan is how badly will he be defending pick and rolls.
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I feel bad for Swanigan. That bottom of the first round is a brutal place to be and he could end up with nothing. He has certainly proved himself to be an incredibly hard worker and a very good player, but he doesn't have NBA foot speed which will make it hard for him to defend.

I think Bridges is gone unless there is something in his personality that values education and/or the shot at a national title. If he stays, State has to be in the top five in the country next year for sure.
 

Holy Man said:
I feel bad for Swanigan. That bottom of the first round is a brutal place to be and he could end up with nothing. He has certainly proved himself to be an incredibly hard worker and a very good player, but he doesn't have NBA foot speed which will make it hard for him to defend.

I think Bridges is gone unless there is something in his personality that values education and/or the shot at a national title. If he stays, State has to be in the top five in the country next year for sure.
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Yeah, you really need to be in the 1st round. Might not be a career NBAer but you're guaranteed A LOT of money if you're decent.

The 29th pick, if his 4th and 5th year options are picked up, gets around $9 million over 5 years. Give or take $1 million (depending on what they sign for % of rookie scale). The first three years are guaranteed (3 million total)

The 31st pick is guaranteed $0.
 

I've followed Bridges loosely, so I'm no expert. Just the eye test always told me he would be back, which again, means jack ****.

Then this article came out earlier this month and I think there was more chatter about it earlier about his relationship with Izzo.

I think he's back. But given he's climbing in the rankings and the fact they can declare, test the waters, and then come back. The money might be too much to turn down.

Mich St gets another huge PF 5* next year, Bridges playing the 3 would just be disgusting.
 

Chad Ford's top 100;

10 - Bridges
18 - Anunoby
21 - Wagner
26 - Swanigan
31 - DJ Wilson
51 - Thomas Bryant
54 - Happ
 

There is an ESPN Insider article written this morning about which stars draft stock is rising/falling so far after the first few NCAA tournament games. http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/18957220/chad-ford-nba-draft-2017-stock-watch-ncaa-tournament-edition

Basically can be summed up as:
Miles Bridges - ranked ~8-12, but some scouts think he could be better than Jason Tatum who's currently in the top 5
Moritz Wagner - currently ranked 21 and has been one of the fastest risers
DJ Wilson - has been ranked in the 30s all season but could be drafted late in the 1st round
Caleb Swanigan - remains somwhere in the 20-40 range, most likely late 1st round.
Ethan Happ - Some scouts think he is a late 1st round sleeper and could be ranked in the top 30 by the end of the tournament
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I've followed Bridges loosely, so I'm no expert. Just the eye test always told me he would be back, which again, means jack ****.

Then this article came out earlier this month and I think there was more chatter about it earlier about his relationship with Izzo.

I think he's back. But given he's climbing in the rankings and the fact they can declare, test the waters, and then come back. The money might be too much to turn down.

Mich St gets another huge PF 5* next year, Bridges playing the 3 would just be disgusting.
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If Bridges improves his ball handling and slims down a touch he would be a beast at the 3(which is what the NBA would want anyway). MSU has a 5 star 6'10" PF and a 4 star 6'8" PF comitted for next year with Ward and Schilling back that would push Bridges to the 3 easy.

Izzo is saying he might have to push Bridges to go pro http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2017/03/miles_bridges_enjoyed_his_time.html
 

march madness said:
The NBA loves speed, length, and athleticism.

I wonder if a guy like Swanigan would help the twolves as they have a ton of finesse players. He could battle in the post with Towns and Wiggins, and bring Dieng off the bench as the backup at the 4 and 5.

Biggest question on Swanigan is how badly will he be defending pick and rolls.
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I see Swannigan being another Sullinger at the NBA level and a 10 and 8 guy. Definitely wouldn't be an immediate upgrade over Dieng at least not year 1.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
There is an ESPN Insider article written this morning about which stars draft stock is rising/falling so far after the first few NCAA tournament games. http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/18957220/chad-ford-nba-draft-2017-stock-watch-ncaa-tournament-edition

Basically can be summed up as:
Miles Bridges - ranked ~8-12, but some scouts think he could be better than Jason Tatum who's currently in the top 5
Moritz Wagner - currently ranked 21 and has been one of the fastest risers
DJ Wilson - has been ranked in the 30s all season but could be drafted late in the 1st round
Caleb Swanigan - remains somwhere in the 20-40 range, most likely late 1st round.
Ethan Happ - Some scouts think he is a late 1st round sleeper and could be ranked in the top 30 by the end of the tournament
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Would not mind Mo being gone sooner than later. They guy will be a major match-up problem for years (I think he's a sophomore). Take the money and run, Mo!
 

If Happ goes in the 1st round, he needs to leave. Not just for the Gophers sake but for his. SOOOO much money being left on the table and for what? Live in Madison for 2 years? Cool enough city but millions of dollars would be cool too I think.
 

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