Ron Baker, NBA Prospect

[asiseeit]

Would have lost tonight without him, that's for sure.

[Shockeriffic]

I think a player should be allowed to declare for the draft and still be eligible to return to school.

That way, if a player doesn't get drafted (or like where he gets drafted), he can return to school with no penalty.

Can anyone give a good reason why this is allowed for baseball but not for basketball?

[Overtime]

As long as you do not hire an agent, you can throw your name in the hopper without becoming ineligible. Also, Korver is around 6'7" with an incredibly quick release and a dead eye. He got bigger and stronger in the NBA.Not saying Baker is not an NBA type shooter, but Korver has great heighth for a shooter Baker probably has more athleticism.

[ShockerKhan]

Ron has seemed to struggle getting to the rim and finishing recently. I am sure he is drawing the other teams best defender every night.
But if he can demonstrate the ability to slash and finish his NBA stock will be just fine.

[WSUwatcher]

If Baker is drawing the other team's best defender every game these days, it's probably a good test for him, because the defenders he'll be drawing in the NBA are at least the equal of the best on the great majority of college teams.

[WstateU]

Baker needs to come back. Ditch the clean cut image and go full on birdman with tats, piercings, and the hair!

Oh Lord!

[Dan]

^^^ He looks like he has a good future in the business world after basketball.

[OregonShocker]

Don't get me wrong; I love Ron Baker's game! But, he certainly isn't a first round NBA pick. He can play in the league, I believe, but he will have to earn his role and minutes, and that ain't easy in the NBA. He needs to come back simply to ensure his future AFTER basketball, whenever that occurs.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

Won't Ron already have his degree after this season? This is his 4th year at WSU because he redshirt his Freshman year.

I think he will likely come back, but this could be a relevant consideration.

[OregonShocker]

Won't Ron already have his degree after this season? This is his 4th year at WSU because he redshirt his Freshman year.

I think he will likely come back, but this could be a relevant consideration.

I'm not sure about his degree status; just don't know (it took me 5 yrs to get mine!). But, even with another year of WSU time, he isn't likely first round material. He, like 99.9% of NBA rookies, will need to earn his time from the bench whenever he joins; I think he can do it, but he won't be a star right away. He needs to weigh all options for a LONG future and decide if starting now is better than waiting.

[1972Shocker]

He needs to weigh all options for a LONG future and decide if starting now is better than waiting.

That's the bottom line. And a factor to consider is that in today's NBA world a year older (at least for draft choices) is generally not considered to be a positive.

[jdshock]

As long as you do not hire an agent, you can throw your name in the hopper without becoming ineligible.

That's not true.

You're only allowed until May 8th. Hiring an agent automatically triggers ineligibility, but you also have to rescind declaring for the draft close to a month and a half before the actual draft to remain eligible even if you didn't hire an agent.

Source

[OregonShocker]

In addition, without an agent, it is da#n near impossible to get a good feel for your draft status. Why, you may ask? Well, look at the references above; some don't even have him on the draft board, while some have him as a late first/early second round. In other words, the Scouts don't even know for sure. Couple that with the financial reality (i.e., how much can we get you for, how much do you want, how much would another team pay you, etc.) and it is VERY difficult to make an accurate prediction about your future. I believe if you plan on making the jump, you better hire an agent, thus making you ineligible. Some college coaches have enough NBA connections to do SOME figuring for you (aka, Self, Williams, K, etc.: prob one of the advantages for playing for them if you plan short term college career) but even they are frequently erroneous. There. My nickel's worth.

[Dan]

The NCAA mandates the number of hours athletes have to take and continue progress toward graduation. I'd be shocked if he wasn't graduating in May. If he comes back, he'll only have to take 6 hrs of grad school next fall. Wessell should be in the same boat as far as school goes, maybe he will be in Ron's posse in the NBA.

[OregonShocker]

If you tak. 12 hrs each semester it takes 5 yrs to graduate for most undergraduate degrees

Provided you NEVER get shut out of a required course, everything flows perfectly, and sudden class changes don't throw you off. If those happen, you can end up taking 5 years to earn a degree taking MUCH more than 12 hrs/semester. (Yes, I speak from experience! LOL!)