STrib: Amir Coffey and other early departures for NBA hurting Big Ten's overall depth

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BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

As the Gophers open Big Ten play Monday in Iowa City, imagine how much different the conference outlook would be if they still had Amir Coffey. Or if Iowa still had Tyler Cook. Or if Nebraska still had James Palmer Jr. Or if Michigan State still had Nick Ward.

College basketball teams are used to seeing players leave school early for the NBA. But those players were among the record number who bolted and weren’t even drafted.

The chance to be veteran leaders and cement their legacies at their respective programs was outweighed by a determination to be part of the NBA pipeline, even if that meant a start in the G-League. Their schools have been left to fend without them, with the void clearly noticeable, especially for the 4-4 Gophers.

It’s not just a Big Ten issue, either. Eighty-one underclassmen declared for the 2019 NBA draft, and 41 went undrafted, a reported record for players with college eligibility remaining.

“You got a broken system here,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.

www.startribune.com

Amir Coffey and other early departures for NBA hurting Big Ten's overall depth

Players declaring early for the NBA often go undrafted, and in the Big Ten, rosters are feeling the impact of the lost talent
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 


Coffey is getting paid and better coaching. That decision was a no-brainer.
 


Do all of Duke's early exits hurt the ACC's depth?
 


LakerFan said:
Do all of Duke's early exits hurt the ACC's depth?
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Of course not because they have another class each year that rates right at the top. Take the cheating schools out of it though and this guy has a point. Not every team pays their kids and some actually make them take real classes.
 

I think it’s funny these leave for greener pastures then don’t even make the big show. Lol
 

Go Gophs said:
Of course not because they have another class each year that rates right at the top. Take the cheating schools out of it though and this guy has a point. Not every team pays their kids and some actually make them take real classes.
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But they have a brand and legendary coaches.
 

gopherhoopsguy said:
I think it’s funny these leave for greener pastures then don’t even make the big show. Lol
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Amir will play in the NBA. He signed a two-way contract with the Clippers. He is currently hurt.

It's not like Amir left after one season. He gave the U three seasons. Staying for a fourth season hurts NBA prospects (even with Amir, you'll read things like "with his age, the upside is limited). So it won't be the case for him, but why would you giggle over someone who failed while pursuing their dream. (and likely still made millions of dollars playing a great game while "failing"). Seems odd.
 



Amir is getting paid but in the grand scheme of things maybe should have played his senior year to get more notoriety. His odds of sticking in the NBA are pretty low.
 

BarnBurner said:
But they have a brand and legendary coaches.
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And conference titles, final 4's, the biggest national games, some cases national titles, bigger shoe deals. Or they could play for a Tony Bennett, win huge, conference titles, national title, get better development, still make the NBA. Or they could just stay here and play for Pitino, win nothing, almost never make the NBA, never play in the highest rated games.
 

Go Gophs said:
Of course not because they have another class each year that rates right at the top. Take the cheating schools out of it though and this guy has a point. Not every team pays their kids and some actually make them take real classes.
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exactly ! Bennett,Wright, Beard win huge and play it clean.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Amir will play in the NBA. He signed a two-way contract with the Clippers. He is currently hurt.

It's not like Amir left after one season. He gave the U three seasons. Staying for a fourth season hurts NBA prospects (even with Amir, you'll read things like "with his age, the upside is limited). So it won't be the case for him, but why would you giggle over someone who failed while pursuing their dream. (and likely still made millions of dollars playing a great game while "failing"). Seems odd.
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Amir who? He got some cash I guess. In the basketball world I believe we have heard the last of him
 



Blackhammer said:
Amir who? He got some cash I guess. In the basketball world I believe we have heard the last of him
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The bitterness over Amir Coffey leaving is insane. The guy played here for three years and you're bitter because he decided to make the correct decision for his future and go to the NBA? I'm shocked more hometown kids don't stick around this program with fans like this.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
The bitterness over Amir Coffey leaving is insane. The guy played here for three years and you're bitter because he decided to make the correct decision for his future and go to the NBA? I'm shocked more hometown kids don't stick around this program with fans like this.
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Well said. Besides, Myron is poorly prepared to do research. Other conferences were hurt by it as well. Some more, some less. Hell UVA lost 3 Players better than Coffey . Granted one was known as a lottery pick but the other two were not guaranteed high picks. Obviously the blue bloods lose a ton and i do not count them because they were known to lose guys after one year. iT IS THE COACHES JOB TO TO DEVELOP HIS ROSTER TO WIN. I still believe in this team.
 

builtbadgers said:
Well said. Besides, Myron is poorly prepared to do research. Other conferences were hurt by it as well. Some more, some less. Hell UVA lost 3 Players better than Coffey . Granted one was known as a lottery pick but the other two were not guaranteed high picks. Obviously the blue bloods lose a ton and i do not count them because they were known to lose guys after one year. iT IS THE COACHES JOB TO TO DEVELOP HIS ROSTER TO WIN. I still believe in this team.
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Yep, Myron is a tool. The Big Ten may have lost a lot of guys early to the NBA, but the conference is doing just fine.

Through Dec. 10, the head to head records of Power 7 conferences vs. the others:

Big East: 23-14
Big Ten: 26-20
ACC: 21-21
Big XII: 17-17
Pac 12: 13-15
American: 11-14
SEC: 9-19
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
The bitterness over Amir Coffey leaving is insane. The guy played here for three years and you're bitter because he decided to make the correct decision for his future and go to the NBA? I'm shocked more hometown kids don't stick around this program with fans like this.
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Bitter? No I personally don’t think he’s that good. I also believe some kids miss out on the experience of playing another year in the spotlight and the awesomeness of high level college basketball. I certainly can understand the financial part . Good luck to him To blame recruiting on bad fans? Sure that’s why players don’t stay home???
 

The article is by Marcus, and if anything it's just a commentary on the number of player leaving early and not getting drafted. This is affecting the quality of college basketball overall as this is a newer trend in the sport (Not leaving early, but leaving early to not get drafted). People are only bitter about Coffey leaving because he didn't get drafted and would be a potential all American for us this year.
 


Not a very good written article by Myron...

1) Iowa is 7-3, with no bad losses (Michigan, DePaul, and San Diego St), and wins over Texas Tech and Syracuse. Yes, Iowa would be better if Cook stayed, but they didn't fall off a cliff because he left.
2) James Palmer was a senior on Nebraska. Roby was the one who left early.
3) Nick Ward pretty much knew he wasn't getting drafted, but he wanted to move on. If you watched him during games, it was pretty clear he didn't get along with Izzo. Very doubtful he was still going to be a Spartan this year, especially with the emergence of Tillman.
 



Keyser Söze said:
We would be at least a solid team with Amir. Amir and Oturu would easily be one of the best duos in the conference.
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Yep. Of course we would. If we had Amir one of our starters would be on the bench, which would make the bench better and deeper as well. We might have even been able to go small and play 4 guards with Oturu.
 

builtbadgers said:
And conference titles, final 4's, the biggest national games, some cases national titles, bigger shoe deals. Or they could play for a Tony Bennett, win huge, conference titles, national title, get better development, still make the NBA. Or they could just stay here and play for Pitino, win nothing, almost never make the NBA, never play in the highest rated games.
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The last sentence is only true because of sour, “Negative Nancies” like you who perpetuate this narrative. Your disease spreads to AAU coaches and local kids, making this “fact” very difficult to overcome. You claim to be a fan. Hard to believe.
 

Block M said:
Amir is getting paid but in the grand scheme of things maybe should have played his senior year to get more notoriety. His odds of sticking in the NBA are pretty low.
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Kata-Bates Diop, All big ten player of the year. Got penalized for playing 4th year in college. Drafted 42 in second round. NBA wants the extra year to be in their hands. The NBA wants them as soon as they can get them. Their attitude is 24 yrs is too old
 

Regardless of their talent, most players see college as the stepping stone to their future. Which, hopefully is the NBA
 

Bordergopher said:
The last sentence is only true because of sour, “Negative Nancies” like you who perpetuate this narrative. Your disease spreads to AAU coaches and local kids, making this “fact” very difficult to overcome. You claim to be a fan. Hard to believe.
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The last sentence is what some players think of coming here. I can present a long list of why this is a great place to play. Plenty of wonderful players have picked the U, including players on this team. We have out recruited several top 30 programs but i will not put my head in the sand over what teenagers perceive about our program. We can change it to some degree by winning, by filling the arena, by cheering and if possible by donating.
 

While I think Amir left prematurely, I don't hold it against him. I think if he had led the Gophers back to the Tourney and put on a few of his great games in the tourney he could of at least been drafted if he had displayed a better 3pt shot. As it was he went undrafted.

You guys are crazy to think we wouldn't be much better off with him on the team! He could of played SF, PG and a little PF this year. He was good and long defensively. No way we lose some of the games we lost with Amir around to pull us through on night's like we had at Iowa! He would have made that game much closer with his drives to the rim.

Please stop the "We would still suck with Amir" talk. It just makes you look uninformed.
 

Amir has been out now over 2 months with a ankle injury, must have been a pretty bad.

Looking forward to seeing how he does in the GL and see if he gets in run with the club...
 

JCK said:
Kata-Bates Diop, All big ten player of the year. Got penalized for playing 4th year in college. Drafted 42 in second round. NBA wants the extra year to be in their hands. The NBA wants them as soon as they can get them. Their attitude is 24 yrs is too old
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I don't know about penalized. He hasn't exactly been a standout player for the timberwolves... averaging like 7 points and 2 rebounds a game or something like that. He hasn't really passed the eye test either.

I agree that on average it is more beneficial for college players to leave as early as possible to the NBA. Current stigmas dictate that staying 3-4 years in college means you have less potential as a prospect.
 

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