Bad News for GaTech: Iman Shumpert hires an agent

[JasonEvans]

When Shumpert declared, many thought he would largely just be testing the waters and then pull out. Nope, he has decided to stay in the draft and will be hiring an agent.

I am not sure I get this decision. Unless he wows someone in a workout, he's going to be a 2nd rounder, which means he is going to have a real fight to make a roster... assuming there is a season anyway. What makes the decision even stranger is the impact the lockout will have on bubble roster guys like Shumpert. Allow me to explain...

Most years, when a guy is a 2nd rounder or a training camp invitee who barely misses making a team, he can find a pretty good job playing overseas. Plenty of guys make hundreds of thousands of dollars playing in some of the bigger European leagues. But, when the lockout comes down, I think you'll see a fair number of guys who would have been on NBA rosters heading overseas instead. I am not saying that Lebron or Dwight Howard will show up in the Turkish "smoking" league, but there are a ton of guys making less than a million dollars a year who will be quite willing to play overseas if it means earning $200-grand versus earning nothing.

So, a guy like Shumpert who might have thought, "well, even if I miss the NBA, I can do pretty well playing in Europe for a year" is going to find the European option much tougher than it usually is.

--Jason "this is, of course, really bad news for Brian Gregory at Tech... he just lost his best player... Tech is going to be really bad next year" Evans

[NovaScotian]

man, what a chumpert.

[riverside6]

Andy Katz is reporting that Reggie Jackson and Jordan Williams are likely to stay in the draft as well. With those players leaving the separation between the ACC basketball "haves" and "have nots" will be even bigger.

Next year's Boston College squad is likely to challenge Wake Forest's ineptitude from this season. Take a look at that roster and I'd bet you won't recognize more than a couple names.

[Newton_14]

It is going to take time, and this year will be another step back for sure, but I am really hoping all the new coaching regimes in the ACC will be able to build the league back into the best conference in the country.

Losing Shumpert, Jackson, Williams, to the NBA Draft, and Harrow(transfer) is a definite negative impact. I agree with Jason that Shumpert is making a mistake. Given his size and skill set, I do believe Shumpert will end up being a solid NBA player down the road, but leaving this year is a really bad idea. I have to believe most of the guys are of the thinking that this year's draft will be really weak, so now is the time to go, but I feel the impact of the lockout will offset that benefit. The summer league being canceled hurts these guys as well.

I guess if Jordan Williams stays in the draft he will sabotage Gary Williams season...

[SupaDave]

Told you guys a while ago that Shumpert was gone. Gregory knew this the day he got hired. However, I'm totally clueless as to options Tech will have next year. We can expect to see a whole lot of Julian Royal and Brian Oliver - that's for sure.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Idk sounds like a good move on his part to me. Next year he would prob go undrafted. This year is a weak draft after you get past the top 5 or so and kinda looks like a role player draft where a lot of these guys could be around for years as a 6th, 7th, or 8th man. The following year is stacked though.

[SupaDave]

Another thing I'd like to point out, and it's widely discussed at Tech, is how well Hewitt's pro capable guys do AFTER they get to the pros. I don't know what in the world he does to surpress them at Tech but they certainly blossom afterwards (or at least progress in a noticeable fasion).

Bosh, Harpring, Jack, Young, Crittendon (not the brightest bulb), West (a rebounder for Hewitt), and Morrow especially. Favors was the 3rd pick and by the end of the year was really coming on for Utah. Looks like Shumpert is looking to cash in on the recent love. I fully expect to see him become a contributing player on someone's team and possibly selected at the end of the 1st round (draftexpress.net has him at 5 in the 2nd) in a draft littered with forwards and very few point guards.

[Duvall]

Andy Katz is reporting that Reggie Jackson and Jordan Williams are likely to stay in the draft as well. With those players leaving the separation between the ACC basketball "haves" and "have nots" will be even bigger.

Tier I: UNC
Tier II: Duke, FSU
Tier III: Virginia Tech (last team out)
Tier IV: everyone else

3 NCAA teams in a 12-team league. Sad.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Tier I: UNC
Tier II: Duke, FSU
Tier III: Virginia Tech (last team out)
Tier IV: everyone else

3 NCAA teams in a 12-team league. Sad.

uhhh...

Tier I: Duke and UNC
Tier II: FSU
Tier III: Va Tech and NC State (if Cj Leslie stays and the new coach does improve over Sid)

[JasonEvans]

uhhh...

Tier I: Duke and UNC
Tier II: FSU
Tier III: Va Tech and NC State (if Cj Leslie stays and the new coach does improve over Sid)

Clemson gonna be better than you think... perhaps a lot better.

-Jason "I think Miami could be fairly good too" Evans

[Duvall]

uhhh...

Tier I: Duke and UNC
Tier II: FSU
Tier III: Va Tech and NC State (if Cj Leslie stays and the new coach does improve over Sid)

Leslie's not going anywhere. He's also not good enough to make up for the fact that State will only have one guard of note next season.

And better than Lowe won't get State into the tournament in just one year.

[Indoor66]

Clemson gonna be better than you think... perhaps a lot better.

-Jason "I think Miami could be fairly good too" Evans

Neither of these teams will be fun to play next year - especially on their first run through the conference. The present personnel with new coaching and system will present a few surprises.

[Duvall]

Clemson gonna be better than you think... perhaps a lot better.

Why?

Miami could be solid if Reggie Johnson returns. Any word on that?

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Clemson gonna be better than you think... perhaps a lot better.

-Jason "I think Miami could be fairly good too" Evans

I agree Miami will give a scare but why Clemson???

[Duke: A Dynasty]

Leslie's not going anywhere. He's also not good enough to make up for the fact that State will only have one guard of note next season.

And better than Lowe won't get State into the tournament in just one year.

Maybe I am just hoping they can be realavent to make the ACC more entertaining but I do think they will be a lot better even though Harrow is not returning. If Harrow were coming back id say they finish top 5

[JasonEvans]

I agree Miami will give a scare but why Clemson???

I dunno why I like so much Clemson for next season. I know they lose Grant and Stitt, who were their best players last year. Still, I am a big fan of Brad Brownell. I think he got that team to play with a lot of effort and to work together nicely. I think that process will continue nicely in his second season. He's got a 5-man recruiting class coming in, highlighted by four-star PF Bernard Sullivan and the returning pieces are not exactly junk.

Look, I am not saying Clemson will be top 3 in the conference next season, but I think they can be a bubble team for the NCAA tourney and certainly put a scare in the top-tier of the conference.

--Jason "I need to see more of Brownell's recruiting, but I think this guy may be the real deal" Evans

[roywhite]

I dunno why I like so much Clemson for next season. I know they lose Grant and Stitt, who were their best players last year. Still, I am a big fan of Brad Brownell. I think he got that team to play with a lot of effort and to work together nicely. I think that process will continue nicely in his second season. He's got a 5-man recruiting class coming in, highlighted by four-star PF Bernard Sullivan and the returning pieces are not exactly junk.

Look, I am not saying Clemson will be top 3 in the conference next season, but I think they can be a bubble team for the NCAA tourney and certainly put a scare in the top-tier of the conference.

--Jason "I need to see more of Brownell's recruiting, but I think this guy may be the real deal" Evans

Agree with you on Brownell; rising star (as is Tony Bennett at UVa IMO).

Refresh my memory; will we play Clemson twice this upcoming season? Or if it's just once, where will the game be?
Or do we know?

[riverside6]

Why?

Miami could be solid if Reggie Johnson returns. Any word on that?

According to this from yesterday (and I could only find the mobile site version of the article), Johnson is still undecided.

Most "experts" expect Johnson to return to school.

[jimsumner]

Another thing I'd like to point out, and it's widely discussed at Tech, is how well Hewitt's pro capable guys do AFTER they get to the pros. I don't know what in the world he does to surpress them at Tech but they certainly blossom afterwards (or at least progress in a noticeable fasion).

Bosh, Harpring, Jack, Young, Crittendon (not the brightest bulb), West (a rebounder for Hewitt), and Morrow especially. Favors was the 3rd pick and by the end of the year was really coming on for Utah. Looks like Shumpert is looking to cash in on the recent love. I fully expect to see him become a contributing player on someone's team and possibly selected at the end of the 1st round (draftexpress.net has him at 5 in the 2nd) in a draft littered with forwards and very few point guards.

It should be noted that Matt Harpring never played for Paul Hewitt. And Harpring was an All-ACC player.

But the curious phenomena noted by Dave actually precedes Hewitt. Based on his college career, who would have predicted that Matt Geiger would play a decade in the NBA? Or than Fred Vinson or Ivano Newbill would ever grace an NBA roster?

Must be something in the water.

[UrinalCake]

I don't know if European clubs are going to be willing to take on displaced NBA players unless it is certain the lockout will cancel the entire season. They wouldn't want to risk losing the player after a month or two if the NBA resumes. Plus, most of the leagues have limits on how many foreigners can be on a team.