Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
There is usually a slew of reasons why players decide to declare early entry for the NBA Draft. Some of the more well known reasons are the financial situations of the players, a high draft stock or a seemingly locked position in the first-round of the draft, which guarantees them some coin. Then, there is other reasons which are as complex, but far more mind boggling.
Tony Snell decided to forgo his senior season with the New Mexico Lobos and throw his name in the draft. He, along with others, cited the coaching change at the school as being one of the primary reasons, which makes sense. If you no longer want to play at a school for a new coach and you have other options, by all means go on ahead and leave.
What is slightly troublesome with Snell is his draft stock at the time of his announcement. Not a single major mock draft site or major network analyst had Snell going in the first-round. Many, at best, had him going fairly early in the second, which does not provide a guaranteed contract.
I will never ever tell a person what to do with their lives. I do not know of what other behind the scenes situations are going on in Snell’s life that might make him come to such a risky decision. I can only assume that he is betting on himself and thinks he will either improve his draft stock or will earn a spot on an NBA (or any professional team) roster. Which is all fine and dandy. Confidence is great.
His decision, however, did come many weeks before the deadline for entrants was set (this Sunday). Not giving him enough time to secure as much information as well as well-informed facts. I do not understand the idea of not trying to gather as much information as possible before making one of the biggest decisions of his life. Again, while only being able to speculate, it was as if an outside situation was pressuring him into making a decision as quickly as possible.
It is too late now though. The decision has been made and Snell is off to try to make the NBA. I wish him nothing but the best. I am just curious about what made him come to his decision so quickly. Was it as simple as Steve Alford leaving for a new program or something financial?
For him, though, I sure hope it was not because of ill-informed advice or someone with a self-serving interest trying to prosper off a young man’s abilities.
Then again, the NCAA does that to thousands of kids every day–so there is that.
Joe is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JosephNardone
