ESPN Men's Basketball

Originally Published: June 4, 2004

Draft process keeps coaches in limbo

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By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

Will they, or won't they? All college coaches can do is wait in a state of limbo, wondering if their underclassmen will return to campus next fall or remain in this month's NBA draft.

And for this reason, coaches hate June. They really do. And while some won't come out and say how much they despise the month underclassmen get to "test the process," others like LSU coach John Brady offer the blunt truth of their frustration.

"It leaves a pit in my stomach," said Brady, who is waiting to see if freshman forward Brandon Bass stays in the June 24 draft.

Bass, who is the top returning scorer for the Tigers (12.8 ppg), accepted an invitation to next week's Chicago pre-draft camp at the Moody Bible Institute. The NBA says Bass is expected to play in Chicago, but the availability of the sophomore-to-be remains a fluid situation.

Bass could still pull out of the camp.

Bass could still pull out of the draft.

Bass could still ... well, you get the idea.

And in all honesty, Brady can't be angry with Bass. In fact, he endorses Bass' desire to explore his draft position, which seems to be no higher than the middle of the second round. And it's not a stretch that Bass could impress a scout or two in Chicago and raise his stock. Still, he's not on any teams' first-round radar, so expect Bass to ultimately withdraw his name and return to LSU.

What really irks Brady -- and every coach put in a similar position each spring -- is the system that allows college underclassmen to delay their decisions until June 17. This year, that's just a week before the draft. But it's a month too long for coaches like Brady and DePaul's Dave Leitao, who want to start planning for next season.

"It's awful," Brady said. "It's terrible to be in this position as a college coach. You don't know who is going to be on your team until June 17? We need to address this rule.

"I'm all for the players ... but come on. The players have all the options. It's a tough position to be in. You should either be in or out (of the draft). If it were up to me, once you declare, it should be over. You can't plan your team."

The NBA put the current timeline in place as a safety net for the underclassmen and high school seniors who make bad decisions. The purpose is to give college players enough time to assess their draft status before deciding if they should forgo remaining college eligibility. It's the league's rule and has little to do with NCAA recruiting schedules or how a college coach plans for the coming season.

Obviously, a college player who gets drafted cannot return to school. As for college players who go through the draft without being selected? Well, they can return to college if they apply for reinstatement within 30 days -- and, of course, did not sign with an agent. (A high school player can still attend college if selected in the draft, although the NBA team that picks the player would still own his draft rights until a year after his eligibility expires.)

None of these loopholes are too comforting to the coaches who are idle this month, waiting to see what their player will do in the next few weeks.

Leitao was banking on South Kent Prep (Conn.) guard Dorell Wright being his star newcomer. He had penciled in Wright as a player who could be a double-figure scorer with returnees Drake Diener, Quemont Greer and Sammy Mejia.

But Wright is among several preps flirting with the draft. He is on the list to play in Chicago, although that could change if his advisors decide it would hurt his draft status. Wright hasn't signed with an agent and he still remains 50-50 on whether he will stay in the draft or play at DePaul next season.

	“	Brady I'm all for the players ... but come on. The players have all the options. It's a tough position to be in. You should either be in or out (of the draft). If it were up to me, once you declare, it should be over. You can't plan your team. ”
		— John Brady, LSU head coach

And, until Wright makes a decisions, Leitao is holding off finishing his non-conference schedule. He said he's got two games to schedule and is waiting to see if he has Wright. If he doesn't have him, then expect him to schedule two mid- to low-major schools. If Wright delays his NBA career at least a year, Leitao would be willing to schedule more high-profile home-and-home series.

"It's an extremely awkward time," Leitao said. "It's hard to plan your team, fill out your roster. You can't recruit another player (this summer) of that caliber."

Providence junior forward Ryan Gomes would like to stay in the draft, but if he's not guaranteed a first-round spot then he's expected to be back with the Friars. Gomes, who averaged 18 points and nine rebounds last season, would be one of the leading candidates for Big East player of the year if he returns. But if he stays in the draft, he's likely a second-round pick. A year from now? He'd probably be a first-round pick.

The Providence coaches know this and are trying to convince their ticket to the '05 NCAA Tournament to consider the 2005 draft. They won't beg, but the truth is, without Gomes the Friars aren't an NCAA team.

Providence coach Tim Welsh won't let his true emotions show, or allow anyone to see him squirm while Gomes agonizes over his decision. Gomes flew to Utah and Chicago to work out for the Jazz and Bulls, and will have to repay those expenses if he returns to Providence.

"No championships are won in June," Welsh said. "I respect the process and commend Ryan for the way he handled it. I'm comfortable that he'll handle the decision and make the best decision for him. We're in no rush to plan.

"You can't go out and recruit anybody now so what can you do?"

The reality, however, remains: Without Gomes, the Friars return just one significant frontcourt scorer -- Tuukka Kotti -- and that's even a reach. Kotti averaged 6.1 points a game last season. So, even though Welsh won't admit it publicly, privately the Friars are sweating out June.

The same is true at Saint Joseph's, where head coach Phil Martelli is going through a bit of déjà vu with Delonte West, who declared for the draft after his junior season without hiring an agent. Martelli went through this same process a year ago when Jameer Nelson explored the draft process. Like West will do next week, Nelson went to Chicago's pre-draft camp. But Nelson couldn't guarantee himself a first-round spot. So he returned to Saint Joseph's, led the Hawks to a 27-0 regular-season record, an Elite Eight appearance and was a consensus national player of the year.

West was Nelson's backcourt mate through all the success of 2003-04. And like Nelson a year ago, West would rather stay in the draft -- if he can get some sort of feeler that he's a first-round pick. So far, that hasn't happened.

West has worked out for Chicago and Portland, and should he decide to return to St. Joe's for his senior season, he will have to reimburse those teams.

"I can't be up one day and down the next," Martelli said. "I learned that last year with Jameer. But we'll be a top 20 team and the pick to win the Atlantic 10 if he comes back. If he doesn't, then maybe we'll go to the NIT."

Martelli was being a bit candid, joking about the NIT. With or without West, his hopes are that the Hawks can still make the NCAAs. But he knows they won't be expected to without West.

"I can't think the difference without Delonte is NCAA vs. the NIT," Martelli said. "I can't think like that right now."

Expect Brandon Bass to be back in an LSU uniform next season.

But the St. Joe's staff is just as antsy as it was a year ago with Nelson -- maybe even more so. Without Nelson, they still had West. Without West, the Hawks have role players but no stars in Pat Carroll, Dwayne Lee and Chet Stachitas.

It's the same old story down at Mississippi State, where coach Rick Stansbury seems to go through the draft process every spring -- from Jonathan Bender to Mario Austin to Travis Outlaw to now Lawrence Roberts.

But this is the first time he might actually get a player back. Stansbury's nerves were usually rattled only when the player declared for the draft. In the past, that meant the player was gone. But in Roberts' case, it has meant Stansbury must wait and see what happens with Robert's draft stock.

So, far, the junior forward is not rising into the first round.

"I don't know what my pieces are for next season," Stansbury said. "I know with Lawrence where the shots will come from, and without him that means more shots for Shane Power and Gary Ervin.

"Lawrence did the two things I asked him to do, and that was to not sign with an agent and stay in school. He did both so he could still come back."

Stansbury isn't about to pressure Roberts, considering he never knew he would end up with the SEC player of the year last June. He got Roberts in August when he left Baylor and was allowed to transfer by the NCAA without sitting out a one-year in residence requirement.

Even after seeing players bolt school early last month, UCLA coach Ben Howland, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Arkansas' Stan Heath and Duke associate coach Johnny Dawkins all have healthy attitudes about the draft process. Howland, who lost freshman Trevor Ariza (11.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg), doesn't seem to be too worked up about it, considering he expects his other draft hopeful, junior Dijon Thompson, to be back in Westwood. (Thompson hasn't pulled his name out of the draft, but likely will once it's clear to him what is evident to everyone else: he's not in the first round.)

Romar doesn't seem to be too worried about Nate Robinson's departure, either. Robinson is going to Chicago next week, but isn't on anyone's draft board for the first round. Once he grasps that reality, the dynamo, 5-8 sophomore guard is expected back in Seattle.

Heath always thought if signee Al Jefferson made it to Fayatteville it would be gravy on a recruiting class stacked in the frontcourt. Jefferson hasn't signed with an agent, so he could still be a Hog. But as a projected late first-round pick, he's expected to stay in the draft. Still, Arkansas is holding his scholarship open until the final word comes from Jefferson, but Health doesn't really expect him to fill it next fall.

Dawkins lost freshman forward Luol Deng this week when he decided to stay in the draft. But the Blue Devils could still see signee Shaun Livingston at Duke next season, even if the Peoria Central (Ill.) High point guard gets selected. If not, Duke is set on its eight returning players. It's a solid eight, led by forward Shelden Williams, and guards Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick. No one is going to weep for the Blue Devils as they mount another ACC title run.

As for Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan? He was slow to come to grips with losing Devin Harris, who officially announced his intentions Thursday after seeing his name among the top 10 players in mock drafts these days. But once it was apparent the junior point and Big Ten player of the year was gone, he focused on ensuring guards Boo Wade and Kammron Taylor work on their ballhandling over the summer.

Harris kept the Badgers guessing for a while as to what he was going to do. And it was a tough decision, despite his status in the draft.

Harris loved Wisconsin. He also knew that his return could mirror Nelson's at Saint Joseph's this past season. But, in the end, that wasn't enough to keep him in Madison. A lock on being in the lottery was too enticing.

Wisconsin was smart enough to know that it probably wouldn't have him back next season. Still, watching dreams of a Final Four and a national title leave with Harris was tough.

Honestly, Harris' decision to stay or go was made the moment Harris held his first news conference in early May. And if Brady had his way, that would be the only news conference players have on the subject.

Coaches are too old for a game of limbo that gets older each June.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year.