OT: Cheek declares for draft.
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Someone on twitter said that Cheek just wasn't happy in college and is fine with the Europe or even D-league route.
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The announcement should read Cheek hopes to get a chance to play in nba summer league.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Some kids realize they probably aren't going to the NBA, they don't like college, and they are perfectly happy playing in Europe for 12 years. If you realize you aren't going to get that NBA paycheck, might as well start collecting that European one asap. Basketball player's have a shelf life, and it may not make sense for everyone to spend some of those years playing for free in college.
Good luck to that kid. He is going to need it. Yeah basketball players have short shelf lives, but if you aren't a top physical specimen and decide to play professionally your game needs to be ready. There are kids that decide to go pro and they don't even have a good enough game to play in Europe. Cheek wasn't that good and probably will struggle to maintain a pro career. What if he fails after a year or two? No degree and limited options.
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You can always use some of the money you made and go back to school.
Yes, but why not finish your degree while you are going for free? I understand the guys who leave early for the NBA or are going to have long careers in Europe, but every other student athlete should make the most of that scholarship.
Some guys don't end up making that much money and then are out of luck. It happens way more than it should.
Some guys don't end up making that much money and then are out of luck. It happens way more than it should.
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Given Nova's last season, I have no clue what this even looks like. Makes you appreciate the fact that at least UConn fans have some light at the end of the tunnel...
nelsonmuntz
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I think Wright will turn it around quickly. He had a really rough chemistry problem that soured a bunch of kids on the program. The program is better off starting fresh.
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I'm really surprised that Cheek didn't develop into a very good player. I saw him play in a couple of HS allstar games and not only did I think he had a lot of game, but I really wanted UConn to land him.
It looked like he was starting to come around at the end of last season and one more year of development in college might have make him more NBA attractive.
I always thought that Jay Wright was pretty good at developing talent, but this one gives him a little bit of a black eye. JC is very good with getting the elite recuits into the NBA. One might think that should be easy but you'd be surprised at how many top 10 to 20 recruits that go to other programs frequently don't develop and find themselves hocking their craft overseas.
Not that JC hasn't had a few underachievers which really might be a tough rap since some recruits are ranked higher than they should and some coaches end up taking whatever players are available after swinning and missing on other players they preferred. Recruits picked up late in the spring sometimes fit this category.
I don't recall how high Cheek was ranked. I also don't remember any top 10 recruits that JC wasn't able to develop into NBA prospects. I'm guessing Taliek was somewhere in the teens or maybe 20s. Also note that not all McD AAs are top 20 recruits and/or deserve the rankings they get. Hazelton was a McD AA only because the game was being held in Boston that year. Alex was a Burger AA. I don't remember how high he was ranked, but if he doesn't make it to the NBA one could point to him as a highly ranked recruit that JC was not able to coach up to the NBA. I guess if he leaves we can blame that on him and his new coach.
Even if you can point to one or two that didn't make it, all the UConn players who made it to the NBA and were ranked in ranges that rarely yield NBA players says a lot more about JC's ability to spot and develop talent.
There's little doubt that Jay Wrights track record in this area is no where close to JC and I'm really surprised that he was not able to develop Cheek into a better player by now.
I'd love to see someone take a look at how many highly ranked players other coaches were and were not able to develop into NBA players. It sure seems that Coach K in particular has gotten tons of top 10 and 20 recruits and many of them either didn't make it to the NBA or flamed out in short order. Most of JC's kids stick and do pretty well in the NBA. The ones that don't or struggle are usually the ones that no one thought would even get there.
Cheek seems like one of many recruits that JC would have gladly taken, that might have been better served by coming to UConn rather than ending up where they did.
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