JWILL

[SageOfZagville]

ESPN wrote an interesting article about players who had been invited to the draft combine and who had not hired an agent.
Out of the 14 invitees, the GM's thought that only one player should stay in the draft and the rest should return to school.
Mind you these are those invited to the combine. JWILL was not invited and I think the chances of him returning are likely.
Caleb Swanigan was the only player who had not signed with an agent that they said should stay in the draft.
Mika was told to return and work on his range. They were concerned about his age..23

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...-return-school

[seacatfan]

Mika was told to return and work on his range. They were concerned about his age..23

Isn't that contradictory? They told him to return to school for another year but they're already concerned about his age? What if he improves his range but nobody is willing to draft a 24 year old rookie?

[hondo]

Isn't that contradictory? They told him to return to school for another year but they're already concerned about his age? What if he improves his range but nobody is willing to draft a 24 year old rookie?

Logic has never been the NBA scouts strong suit.

[CDC84]

Logic has never been the NBA scouts strong suit.

After 3 years a player is allowed to go another team. There is this thing called free agency. Therefore, not drafting someone on the basis of age is the essence of stupidity. It is a thing about the NBA I will never understand. You have to draft for NOW, not tomorrow. Unless they take away free agency, which I don't see happening. Most players do not stay with the same team their whole career. There are exceptions like Kobe.

[zagfan24]

After 3 years a player is allowed to go another team. There is this thing called free agency. Therefore, not drafting someone on the basis of age is the essence of stupidity. It is a thing about the NBA I will never understand. You have to draft for NOW, not tomorrow. Unless they take away free agency, which I don't see happening. Most players do not stay with the same team their whole career. There are exceptions like Kobe.

I'd also argue that age isn't a great predictor of player potential or longevity. Some guys started playing later or haven't had great coach, meaning that even in their mid 20's they have a lot of room for growth. Guys that stay in college for a while also have substantially less mileage on their bodies by their late 20's. LeBron has been playing 100+ games per year since he was 18.

[ProVeeZag]

Isn't that contradictory? They told him to return to school for another year but they're already concerned about his age? What if he improves his range but nobody is willing to draft a 24 year old rookie?

If you read the article, it becomes clear. The NBA execs are divided on whether he should return to school to work on his range. Others question that, because of his age. Here's the quote that should clear this up:

"Mika, a 6-foot-10 big man, came back from a two-year mission trip and was extremely productive, averaging 20.3 PPG and 9.2 RPG. Most NBA guys feel he would go somewhere in the middle of the second round. They are torn about whether he should go back to school, largely because he turns 23 in January. "I'd like to see him go back and work on extending his range," one NBA executive said."

[Zagger]

I sure hope J3 returns ... as a Zag fan. Also for him too. I have a good feeling about the 17-18 Zags that may defy good reasoning but I just can't shake the feeling. I think the 17-18 Zags are going to be flat out exciting - along with continued excellent D and they'll maybe have a darn good FT shooting season as well. On D, both Perkins and Melson can pick pockets ..... but, getting off topic.

On Mika .... He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy physically who's going to age quickly. He had a really good game when they beat us on Senior night. He held his own and made some great shots against a good defensive team. Mika also seems to have a strong enough drive to succeed in the NBA. I hate to ever say much good about a Zag rival but Mika kinda/sorta reminds me of J3. They seem to have a similar basketball passion/drive and soldier-ish work ethic on the floor. Anywho - I think age has done Mika well. I'd just as soon he get drafted so we don't have to play him again

They had some good remarks about Jock in the ESPN piece. I hope to see how J3 matches up with both Landale and Mika in 17-18 ..... Larsen too.

[jazzdelmar]

Any news on 3? Not being in the combine, what exactly is he doing to show his NBA fitness?

[amaronizag]

Mika kind of reminds me of Tyler Hansbro. Same scrappy style of play, flops a lot, and is too small for his position to do much in the NBA.

[ZagOD7540]

Mika kind of reminds me of Tyler Hansbro. Same scrappy style of play, flops a lot, and is too small for his position to do much in the NBA.

We should be his biggest fans now to get him the heck out of Provo. I hope he kills it at the Combine!

[sittingon50]

We should be his biggest fans now to get him the heck out of Provo. I hope he kills it at the Combine!

Agreed!

[hooter73]

Good college players dont always make good pro players. I dont really like Mikas style. Theres tough and aggressive, then theres Mika. It seems that Mika likes to play with a few toes over the line most of the time. BYU is known for encouraging that though.

J3... no news is good news?

[thespywhozaggedme]

Mika kind of reminds me of Tyler Hansbro. Same scrappy style of play, flops a lot, and is too small for his position to do much in the NBA.

He's much more offensively skilled the TH though

[zagbeliever]

I clicked on this to see the status of J3 who I care about and found a discussion about Erik Mika who I care less about. Sheesh Start a new thread with Mika as topic.

[VaBeachZAG]

I clicked on this to see the status of J3 who I care about and found a discussion about Erik Mika who I care less about. Sheesh Start a new thread with Mika as topic.

Could not agree more!!

[Idahozag10]

i'm guessing J3 is coming back!!!


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[ProVeeZag]

Mika kind of reminds me of Tyler Hansbro. Same scrappy style of play, flops a lot, and is too small for his position to do much in the NBA.

Yeah, I can see that comparison. His college career was much more memorable than his pro career (to this point in time anyway). To refresh my memory, I did a quick Wikipedia search on Hansbrough. He currently plays for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA "D" League. That follows 7 years on several different NBA rosters. Here's a weird factoid about Hansbrough: "On December 27, [2009], he made and attempted 10 free throws against the Miami Heat, becoming the first player in Pacers' history to record a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) without making a field goal."

[3zagda]

What does Silas Mean by "Me and 3 about to go the whole nine" ?

[zagsfanforlife]

What does Silas Mean by "Me and 3 about to go the whole nine" ?

I assume... "3"-- JW3.. and whole nine.. meaning the long haul aka only seniors next year..

[JPtheBeasta]

What does Silas Mean by "Me and 3 about to go the whole nine" ?

I have a few ideas:

Flying to Spokane to practicing their short game at Par 3 in North Spokane
Spokane Indians baseball tryouts
Joining the military
Trying to drink 9 beers on the flight between Spokane and Seattle.
Flying to LA to try out for the next Burt Reynolds football movie iteration
Species reassignment surgery: cats
Starting a 9-foot pole business: "Our 9 foot pole allows you to touch everything gross thing a 10 foot pole does, but for 10% less money."
Flying to Germany to watch David Hasselhoff in concert (The post should actually read "nein")
Both playing for the Zags next season.

[Hoopaholic]

I assume... "3"-- JW3.. and whole nine.. meaning the long haul aka only seniors next year..

This

[Reborn]

i'm guessing J3 is coming back!!!


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Great picture. G R E A T...... These two guys, so far (in my opinion) have not been given the credit by people who post on this forum tha they deserve for what they did last year. They are great players and they will prove it next year (well in my opinion they proved it this year). In my book I consider Melson a starter last year, and he had a phenominal year. His improvement from his Soph year to this year was awesome. He was everything I have hoped he'd be. And we will see even better things from him next year. The same thing for JWill. IMO these two guys were not overshadowed by anyone on the team. Without them the Zags would never have had the season they did. IMO JWILL contributed way more to the team than Collins. Yet Collins seems to get all the attention these days. One great reason I am so excited about next year's team is these two guys.

Go Zags!!!