Quote Originally Posted by DCDevil9194 View Post
I am somewhat confused by this logic. Yes, it is true that if you are unlikely to ever be drafted (e.g., Hurt and Steward), then sticking around for another year is unlikely to improve your draft position. But why does that mean you should just leave after your freshman year.
I doesn't inherently mean that, and Kesdy wasn't implying that. It just means that "returning to improve your pro bball future" isn't always a realistic option.

For some guys (like the ones you mentioned, or even guys like Jack White, Delaurier, etc), the choice is to stick around. For others, it isn't.

Matthew Hurt is a prime example of this. He didn't see himself as a 4-year player coming out of high school (most 5-star recruits don't). His goal was to be a pro bball player, not a Duke graduate. He had an up-and-down freshman year, and he came back just like folks here wanted him to do. And he had a MONSTER second season. Could not have been realistically any better. And what did that get him? Nothing. Wasn't even draft anyway. There was no way he was going to get drafted due to his lack of length and athleticism, despite being an elite shooter and scorer. So he decided to go pro, realizing that his draft stock wasn't going to get any better than it was at that time (coming off an amazing individual season, with a very crowded frontcourt picture looming if he stayed).

So Kedsy's point was that it isn't as simple as "come back, play better, and improve your draft stock." For some guys, playing amazingly isn't enough. For others, it's not realistic to improve in the ways that would improve their draft stock. And for others, it's simply a lack of interest in being in a difficult school when they could be focusing full time on bball.