KC Star article on Joel Embiid
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Good link AJ, thanks for sharing. I hope we get to see him for 2 or 3 years here.
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Thanks for the link, @ajvan. This big guy could be the story of the 2013-14 season.
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“This story got my heart pumping a bit faster… The hype surrounding this team rivals a LucasFilm production.” –bskeet
@bskeet – repost of your post during migration last night – reposting is a whole lot easier for me than digging into recreating the data for this post… apologies
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I doubt Embiid is in Lawrence more than 2 years. He’s further along than anybody thought already. He has the potential to be a top 3 pick. For that reason alone he could forego being a lottery pick after this season and build himself into a top 3 guy (maybe even a #1) after his soph year.
Either way, I can’t see a set of circumstances that don’t involve injury keeping him in college more than 2 years.
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I really hope Jojo stays 2 years. I know that he has tons of potential and could probably go to the draft this year, but this kinda player would really benefit from another year of learning. It does kind of make me miss Danny a bit though
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Thanks for posting the link. After reading the article I scrolled down to see if there were any interesting comments. Well, the KC Star uses a Facebook login as well so I guess I’ll never know. I’m sure glad to have this site and all you knowledgeable commenters!
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@BaltimoreHawk Those are my thoughts exactly. When a kid has only played ball for two or three years, he could definitely use more development (and not in the D-League). Isn’t Traylor in the same boat? Didn’t start playing until later in his teens? Embiid seems to be a more-hyped (and talented) version of Traylor when he came in so hopefully he stays more than the one required year.
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Tuesday night it begins again.
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Good article, thanks for posting it. I can’t wait to see Embiid get better and better. Having Tarik to help Joel develop and fill the role as a starter until he gets better is almost too good to be true.
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Embiid will be exciting to watch this year. I caught his play at the scrimmage last weekend and he has a long ways to go. But from everything I read on him he learns at mach speed. That’s what it will take if he hopes to be a dominant force in March. Otherwise… we’ll get another full year of his services next year. Even if he is projected as a lotto pick, it may be in his best interest to return for one more year. He won’t have the opportunity of working with Hudy once he leaves the campus, and for Embiid, he can use the body building as much as the game building because the NBA takes no hostages… especially ankles and knees.
While he is busy watching old tapes of Olajuwon… he should watch some tape from a few months ago on Jeff Withey. He can learn a lot about timing and how to block a ball and keep it in bounds.
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Thanks approx!
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I hope I am wrong, but I don’t see Embiid here past this year. The NBA drafts so much on potential that he can have mediocre numbers and still be a lottery (or near lottery) pick. I know the conventional wisdom says they should go if they are guaranteed to be a high pick, but it begs the question do they develop better on the bench and practicing in the NBA or staying for another year in college. You always wonder if Julian Wright would have fared better if he stayed longer.
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@Hawk8086 From the stories I read about the twins a few years ago and Robinson last year, if you’re on the bench in the NBA you don’t develop very quickly. There are limited practices and games every other night with you having to fly from city to city. Maybe I read too much into it with the twins coming in during the strike, but it seems like when they say the D-League means developmental league, they truly mean developmental league.
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Hawk8086… You are right and the NBA drafts on potential. Also they draft on name recognition because they want to sell tickets, and they can build hype on a recognized name. And they sell products based around players now more than just the team itself. Like if you buy a jersey it has your pick of player’s name on it. That’s huge revenue… huge business. Imagine how much revenue the Bulls scored on Jordan? Perhaps a $billion? I’ve seen Jordan gear in the Sahara desert! Some of it was even licensed gear!
Let’s not forget about injury. College is like a healthy oasis compared to the NBA. The schedule is ridiculously long… heck, the NBA is already in preseason now. I went to an NBA game last night. And there is no time for players to work on their own game unless they cut away some of their sleep and personal life (what little they have). These guys not only play ball, they have autograph signing promotions at malls and car dealerships and so much more.
Embiid would be well served to stay another year and go through 12 more months of ‘Hudy-ization.’
All pro sports are reckless when it comes to players’ health. It’s all a system built on playing through pain. I’ve been fortunate to have contact with several ex players in the NBA and NFL… all say the same thing: they are pressured into playing through injuries and pain, and if they need something for pain, doc is there to give them what they need. It’s a life of switching from ice packs to heat and back to ice. The body is not designed to heal through these situations.
Embiid has so much potential and it would be a shame if he lost maybe half his career because of lasting injuries. He probably won’t reach his potential for maybe even another decade (if his body holds up that long).
So is it worth it for him to exit college after 1 and make that extra year of $$$ at the risk of chopping off maybe 5-7 years on the long haul?
