Dozier should have stayed here.....I've said that all along
- Thread starter rockingamecock
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He'd better contact one of his former teammates & brush up on his Lithuanian.
Absolutely. He has a great family but don`t know if they tried to talk him out of it or not. Any casual fan knew he should have come back for next year, unless he had academic issues, which I sorely doubt. He needed another year(or two) to get stronger, work on his jump shot, etc. Foul shots also. He finished up the year playing extremely well but in the middle of the year at times he was a liability on the floor in some ways. Everyone said the draft was deep at the guard position. Of course the teams are going to go with more of a proven quantity than a very talented player but who had some question marks. He would have garnered so much attention and valuable experience if he had been our leader next year. Now - ???. Someone gave the Dozier family(or just P.J.) some bad advice, but doesn`t that happen every year? I`m not knocking him - he is a great kid and may have been NBA ready next year. I don`t think many people felt he was ready this year.
I think that if you read between the lines on this thread alone, you will pretty much get the gist of the whole story.
PJ is a great guy and a great Gamecock, and I hope he has many good years of pro bb playing. Also, hope he has a successful and happy life after bb.
The kid was most likely misguided and deluded by all the reports and suggestions that bombarded his ears after the Final 4 run. One important lesson for all youngsters to learn is that the vast majority of people do not speak the brutally honest truth. Not even people in your circle of family and friends. If PJ had sat down and looked at his game film throughout the season, he would have realized that his game demanded major improvement in so many different areas. In doing so and giving himself a brutally honest evaluation, he would have decided that returning for his junior year would be the obvious logical choice. But then again, I am pretty sure that people around him were feeding him false information thus entering the NBA Draft. This is a cautionary tale for college athletes.
First I want to say I am not putting the kid down, wish we had some like him on our team. His dream is to play in the NBA, he made the gamble and unfortunately it hasn't worked out for him yet.
The NBA studies your entire game, every player in the NBA was at one time a star, if you have a weakness they find it and apparently put a huge value or devalue on that one particular factor. Several guys didn't get drafted who I am sure thought they were a sure thing to be picked/ Not sure what his options are now, but maybe he works on his weaknesses and gets another shot
The NBA studies your entire game, every player in the NBA was at one time a star, if you have a weakness they find it and apparently put a huge value or devalue on that one particular factor. Several guys didn't get drafted who I am sure thought they were a sure thing to be picked/ Not sure what his options are now, but maybe he works on his weaknesses and gets another shot
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anon_n4c0cp5zhdxn7
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While I think it would have been in his best interest to come back for another year, who knows what his true thinking was. He may have been aware that odds were against him being drafted but was done playing college ball. He has plenty of options. It's his choice.
All the people saying this about PJ making a mistake do not understand a damn thing about the NBA draft. I am no NBA expert but I know enough about sports to know staying another year, ESPECIALLY in basketball the way the NBA and NCAA have it all cocked up right now, generally does NOT benefit the player.
First round picks are the ONLY ones guaranteed a contract. So, unless you believe that coming back for another year would definitely catapult him into the FIRST ROUND, staying another season would have NO impact at all on his situation as There is really no appreciable difference between being drafted in the second round and picked up right after the draft on a free agent deal. Additionally, staying another season puts him as a Jr coming out next year. Juniors and seniors are EXTREMELY DEVALUED in the NBA draft. Makes no sense but the numbers prove it. TWO seniors were drafted first round this year, and they were the LAST TWO PICKS of the round! TWO. Out of THIRTY. Oh but PJ would be a Jr, so big difference right? Go look up the stats on how many JUNIORS have been drafted in the past THREE years. Go ahead, I will wait...
PJ made the decision that was best for him- coming off a Final four run where he got great publicity, still an underclassman, considered a young player with great athletic POTENTIAL instead of an older guy who underachieved on his McDAA Hype.. it was reasonable to assume he had his best chance of getting drafted this year. He will get paid to play ball, be it the NBA or over seas, he went pro, he will get paid for it, it is what he wanted so it was the RIGHT DECISION.
Fans don't want to hear that because we don't give a rip about the player, we want our TEAM to do well and we would be better next year with PJ. So, stop being ignorant, selfish haters, wish the kid well and move on.
Thanks- from people who actually understand the world.
First round picks are the ONLY ones guaranteed a contract. So, unless you believe that coming back for another year would definitely catapult him into the FIRST ROUND, staying another season would have NO impact at all on his situation as There is really no appreciable difference between being drafted in the second round and picked up right after the draft on a free agent deal. Additionally, staying another season puts him as a Jr coming out next year. Juniors and seniors are EXTREMELY DEVALUED in the NBA draft. Makes no sense but the numbers prove it. TWO seniors were drafted first round this year, and they were the LAST TWO PICKS of the round! TWO. Out of THIRTY. Oh but PJ would be a Jr, so big difference right? Go look up the stats on how many JUNIORS have been drafted in the past THREE years. Go ahead, I will wait...
PJ made the decision that was best for him- coming off a Final four run where he got great publicity, still an underclassman, considered a young player with great athletic POTENTIAL instead of an older guy who underachieved on his McDAA Hype.. it was reasonable to assume he had his best chance of getting drafted this year. He will get paid to play ball, be it the NBA or over seas, he went pro, he will get paid for it, it is what he wanted so it was the RIGHT DECISION.
Fans don't want to hear that because we don't give a rip about the player, we want our TEAM to do well and we would be better next year with PJ. So, stop being ignorant, selfish haters, wish the kid well and move on.
Thanks- from people who actually understand the world.
That's a great little speech. But those who know the game and the draft know that Final 4 run or not, scouts want players who can shoot. PJ can't shoot. Another year certainly could've pushed him into the first round. This would mean a lot more $$$ for the first few years of his contract. Thus, like it or not, it looks like an incredibly dumb decision.
Is it that hard to understand that Dozier's choice to forgo his remaining college eligibility was NOT because he was going to get drafted highly, or drafted at all? Sometimes, people just don't want to keep going to college. P.J. will be fine, and the Gamecocks will be fine. Fans need to get over it.
This is a nice thing to say, but what makes you think it is true? What makes you think he all of a sudden could be a great shooter if he stayed another year? Do the Gamecocks have a world-class shooting coach on their staff, or something? Or you think he just hasn't been practicing for the first 20 years of his life, and now he's going to start? What is the evidence you have for your statement?
Get over it? Nothing to get over. I sleep well either way. While I agree, many of these kids would rather be in a shark tank than a classroom, the goal for most like Dozier is $$$ in NBA. PJ got bad advice. If he knew he would be completely ignored on draft day, I'm pretty sure he'd come back for another year.
No reason to believe he wouldn't have worked on his game and improved to be a more attractive prospect.
To admit he made a mistake is not betraying your loyalty to him or the program. We all make mistakes. He made one that will cost us wins next year and will cost him financially. Life goes on. But there's no need to pretend he was some kid who hated school so much he would never consider coming back. Ridiculous assumption.
I wouldn't dare to make a judgment on whether he left at the right time. He left at the the time HE felt was appropriate for HIS life, and that is what matters. If he were projected as a top 5 pick, and decided to stay, I'd say the same thing.
I keep seeing this sentiment repeated and it's so far off base. Shooting is a skill you develop, size and natural athleticism are not. PJ has the size and athleticism, so shooting can be learned. Two other guys who couldn't shoot when they entered the draft recently were John Wall and Kawhi Leonard. I'd say they're doing ok.
Also people keep asking what he'll do now, hope he gets his degree etc. Well, this might work out: https://www.seccountry.com/south-carolina/report-p-j-dozier-signs-free-agent-deal-los-angeles-lakers
Though I get the feeling many don't want it to work out because they're petty.
After all of the speculation and endless debate over PJ's decision, this post by Kitchenlabs is the only thing anyone needs to understand about this. He chose to listen to people who were telling him what he wanted to hear about his NBA future because . . . see above post.
I think everyone understands this... What they are debating is what an extra year might have meant for his NBA career.
The bottom line is that if you leave a school early, the expectation is that you are going to get drafted.
If you leave a university early without graduating, you are severely limiting your potential if you don't make it in the NBA. Some kids are ok with that if they truly believe in themselves and believe that they will make the NBA. You won't succeed in the NBA unless you do have that belief in yourself.
There's nothing wrong taking a chance and going for your dreams. Me on the other hand... I'm a lot more conservative and prefer to play it safe and try to gather as many options as I can. I'm perfectly fine pumping up my chest and thinking to myself that I could have made it in the MLB. I get to do that while I'm mid way through my professional career in no debt except for my house eagerly waiting my next big vacation next month.
You hardly ever hear about the kids that shot for the stars but didn't make it.
There's a lot of wish-casting here, and I'm guilty of it, too. I wish PJ had wanted to stay, because Gamecock hoops is the only hoops I care about. However, he is getting his shot as a free agent with a marquee franchise that has a lot of rebuilding to do, and it could turn out well for him. As to the argument that he needed another year to develop his shot: there is no comparison, in terms of skills improvement, between playing a year of college ball and spending a year making it your job, i.e. becoming an investment for the best coaches and trainers in the world, playing with pros, playing every single day. Unless his highest priority was the same as mine (seeing USC make another run next season) then he did make the best decision for himself.
Per Heath Cline, the only way coming back next year made sense is if it was enough to move him into the first round. He says getting picked anywhere in the second would have been effectively the same thing as far as money/chance to make the team. Only if you believe PJ could have played himself into the top 30 picks would it make sense to come back.
For the record, I do think PJ could potentially have played himself into the top 30 so that sucks but no guarantees
For the record, I do think PJ could potentially have played himself into the top 30 so that sucks but no guarantees
I don't think Hampton would have succeeded if he stayed and got his masters.
They could have stayed, improved their draft stock, and gotten paid. Same for PJ
Exactly. Nobody cares about what us nobody's do -- so we get even by second-guessing what they do and telling them what they should've done.
I guess it's sort of like living vicariously, sideways.
It's just something to talk about when you don't have anything better to talk about.
Well your speech was ineffective opinion unsupported by any statistical facts but most of all- That is just not true...
They draft on potential. Sure you have to be able to shoot to succeed in the NBA but a kid with great size and athleticism who shows a certain profeciency in shooting is fine, they believe that they can work on a guy's form and with full time practice/play make them a better shooter. They draft for kids who have potential to be stars, and who are young with more years to play way over and above someone who can shoot. Look at the numbers from the drafts over the last five years- the numbers of underclassmen vs upperclassmen... it is fact, reinforced year after year. I am using numbers and real draft results to back my statements, you used... Nothing. Just an opinion.
Another point to consider as people rail about the mistake they think PJ made- according to "The Captain" Carey Rich who was on the radio this evening: he was at the Dozier draft party, and once the pics got into the 50s range of the second round, PJ's agent and family got calls from a team looking to draft him. The agent DECLINED (I didn't know they could do that, but I guess the teams ask for feedback and the player/ agent can tell them they are not interested and then it is up to the team after?)- apparently they had already been told by LA that a free agent offer was waiting for him if he went undrafted and the agent felt there was more opportunity there than with the team who showed late second round interest. Now, this is just what He says, I have no insider knowledge or way of validating it... BUT... That certainly reinforces the comments I made originally about how a free agent deal is virtually no different from a second round pick- no guaranteed contracts for either!!- and if the agent felt there was more opportunity at the team offering a free agent deal, it certainly makes sense that they would try to get out of being drafted to a worse situation!
Again- I am far from some expert on the NBA, but if you guys would stop looking at this from the perspective of what helps our TEAM and try to think like the player or his family who want him to get into the best situation possible... it is pretty much common sense!
Again- I am far from some expert on the NBA, but if you guys would stop looking at this from the perspective of what helps our TEAM and try to think like the player or his family who want him to get into the best situation possible... it is pretty much common sense!
