Hindsight is always 20/20 but in my mind, I don’t think Stauskus has any reason to look back and wonder if he made a mistake. He was selected 8th overall, very very unlikely that he would have drafted any higher than that.
Could he have stayed another year or two, gone later in the 1st round and have had an easier transition? Sure. But he just as easily could have stayed another year or two and had an injury, fallen down the boards. Simply put, he’s not the strongest, fastest or most athletic player. IMO, it’s no coincidence that GR3 is having the most (early) success of that group. Like Stauskus, Burke isn’t super athletic/strong either. McGary’s back injury coupled with off the court issues has hindered his development.
The NBA is a different league and a different beast altogether. It’s faster, players are bigger, opportunities and shots close way quicker than the college ranks. Not everyone is cut out for it. Unfortunately, those were the concerns about Nik when he left school and likely would have been the same if he stayed another year or two - and he would have been older.
Don’t get me wrong, for selfish reasons I do wish he stayed and would have been an upperclassman anchor on this team. It would have been huge for our team, the program and his career. But no problem with anyone going pro after winning Big Ten Player of the Year. When the opportunity presents itself to be a lottery pick, you do it.
Two more years at Michigan and he could have become a Michigan legend, even if he never made it to the pros. Now, he could easily become a 3-5 year NBA washout with no lasting Michigan legacy.
It was his choice to make and he who has to/gets to live with the consequences.
Nik made a good choice in terms of maximizing $ and reaching his dreams and left a legacy at Michigan – but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him say (now or down the road) that he enjoyed his time at Michigan more than the NBA. Could very well be the case for a lot of guys. Just something to think about when we talk about guys making the “right” or “wrong” decisions.
Did I criticize him? I merely pointed out the potential pros and cons of his decision. He has been quoted as saying his long time dream was to play in the NBA. He accomplished that and made a lot of money in the process. That, at least at the time, was more important to him than seeing his jersey hanging in Crisler.
The wrong decision was deciding to “volunteer” for the 6ers summer league team instead of playing for Canada in Olympic qualifying. After 1 game he either “quit” or was sent home from the summer league. Hasn’t been a good 24 months for Stauskas.
Doesn’t sound like Burke enjoyed his experience at Michigan. Not hard to see why he rarely returns to Ann Arbor. Burke needs to mature still obviously but Beilein needs to take responsibility in this as well.
Anthony Wright has been roasting him on twitter about this. Particularly since during the season they get really fancy gourmet food, and the dorm food at Michigan is most definitely not “jail food”. Basically everywhere had pretty good food everyday except for North Quad and Markley (the two places where I lived )
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