Oregon prospect Troy Brown has elected to enter the 2018 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. After informing Givony of his decision, Brown also made if official with a post on his Twitter account, announcing that his time with the Ducks “has come to an end.”
Brown, a 6’7″ freshman, averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 1.6 SPG in his lone college season. While those numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page, Givony notes that Brown is “intriguing” to NBA scouts due to his ability to play virtually any position besides center. Givony also praises Brown’s feel for the game and his defensive versatility.
The 20th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s big board, Brown was projected to come off the board at No. 21 in Givony’s mock draft last month. Steve Kyler’s latest mock draft at Basketball Insiders had Brown at No. 17.
Brown joins an ever-growing list of NCAA underclassmen who have decided to declare for the 2018 draft, either with or without an agent. That list can be found right here.
It amazes me that a freshman projected to be #17 pick in a strong draft doesn’t go back to school for another season and possibly become a top 10 pick or better in a likely much weaker 2019 draft. Even if you forget about the educational benefits, the rookie contract is much better. When there is a chance, even a small chance, that the rookie contract is the best you ever do, you need to maximize that money.
Because there’s always the risk of injury. Say he went back to Oregon for a year and tore his ACL, then he’d be projected to go in the 2nd round or maybe even undrafted
I’d like to know exactly how many ACL injuries were there in Division 1 college basketball last year? Because for some reason people think that it is about a 50% possibility of it happening. Besides the chances of him tearing an ACL are just the same in the G League as in college.
If he does tear his ACL as a sophomore in college, there is plenty of time to rehab and show he has still got it as a junior and/or senior. If he does it in the G League, he will get cut and have to make good in Japan or Turkey and have much less chance of making it back. You have far more college seniors in the league than guys returning from overseas.
Yes, by entering the draft now he lessens the chance of being injured before the draft (of course he could tear that same ACL while working out before the draft or during summer league when he’s not getting paid) but if he does go back to Oregon, he comes one year closer to earning a degree which will help him later and he gets to play on what should be one of the best Oregon teams ever (especially with a 7’2” freshman center – Bol Bol joining the mix). Remember only 2% of college athletics ever draw a paycheck from a professional team.