2018/2019 - Big - Taylor Currie (Wisconsin Commit)

Probably because the guys on their team usually wouldn’t be drafted very high or at all while ours are solid first rounders.

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You mean like Wagner?

Hard to blame Wilson, he was safely in the first round.

The only Wisconsin guy who came back when he could have been a first rounder was Kaminsky. Who else?

I’m pretty sure Dekker didn’t need to go back to school.

No, his first two years were pretty up and down - he wasn’t cracking the first round until the year he left.

I don’t think Dekker was in any lesser position than multiple guys of ours who have taken the plunge. My memory may be foggy, though, but I think he was in exactly the position of low 1st/high 2nd, which is where all our guys seem to start.

Regardless, I highly doubt Currie will be on any NBA radar in 4 years. Too small with not enough athleticism to make up for it at the 5.

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Dekker, Nigel Hayes. And now Ethan Happ, who averaged almost a double-double last year while playing less than 30 minutes a game, but didn’t even consider leaving early. If we had a guy like that, he’d be gone after 2 years, but Wisconsin will keep him for 4.

Who exactly is lining up to draft Ethan Happ? A 6-foot-9 big man who made two or three shots outside the paint last year?

Michigan had McGary, Robinson, Wagner, Burke all come back for another year after the option was there for them to enter the draft.

I always saw Kaminsky and Dekker coming back as a very similar situation to GRIII and Mitch. They were older but seemed very similar to me.

It feels like Michigan has lost more guys early because Michigan has put more guys in the league. Guys don’t go to the league after 4 years, they usually go after 1 or 2. Compare these two tables:


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Three of the guys on our list may be out of the league for good :frowning_face:.

Yeah that would be unfortunate if those 3 never stick. Looking at that list makes me happy that we have put so many guys in the league, but also a bit sad that the outlook of every player is role player (it might be a little early on some of the guys but it is the general trajectory). I know that this basically boils down to some of our recruiting and strategies, but I would love to be able to have a guy in the league from Michigan that is making All-Star games or at least in the conversation.

I think the outlook on LeVert is definitely long term starter.

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At the very least, Hardaway is getting paid like he’s the star of the Knicks. He should start for the next few years and get volume shots up

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I agree that he is projecting to be a long-term starter, but still a role player none the less. I dont see him being an All-Star caliber player though. I think his ceiling is something like Jamal Crawford

Wouldn’t sleep on GRIII either. He was progressing nicely until the injury.

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I would say that if we’re putting guys into the league after two years ago who are lottery picks (Burke, Stauskas), and their upside in the NBA is “role player,” then we have done fantastic job of helping those guys develop their skills, to the point where the NBA is dramatically overvaluing them.

Now sure, we don’t want to develop a reputation for putting guys in the league who can’t stick, but that’s way beyond our control. And hopefully Hardaway and Caris can carve out 10 year careers. Seems very possible.

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Wagner’s a better NBA prospect, and he came back.

As Dylan mentions, guys like Trey, Mitch and Glenn all came back when they could have left, and the latter two would have been high draft picks.

It’s pretty hard to blame Nik and Trey for leaving when they did, right?

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Nevermind, missed who you were comparing Wagner too. Yes - Wagner is a better prospect than Hayes (evidenced by Hayes not being drafted) and Happ (who I’d bet won’t be).

As we expected… will be interesting to follow his career there

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Not surprised. Seems like a good fit for him at Wiscy. I can’t blame the staff at all for wanting Castleton over him in 2018.

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I think kids throw the term “dream school” around too loosely these days. If I had to wait one extra year and graduate with my original high school class in order to go to Michigan it would have been a no brainer.

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