Earlier today, junior Mario Chalmers announced his decision to join teammates Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur in the NBA Draft. He does not plan to sign with an agent, which makes it possible for him to come back to KU for his senior season. I believe Mario is a great player, and his shot that sent the team into overtime during the National Championship game was obviously amazing. Did that shot alone, however, influence his decision to enter into the NBA draft this year? I think it has a huge impact on his decision because of all the hype surrounding him the past few weeks. Do I think he is at the level he needs to be to enter the draft right now? No, I don't. Waiting another year would definitely be beneficial to his skill development. I wish him the best, but hope if he gets drafted he doesn't regret it. I would hate to see the hype around him go away, and have that result in him being a bench warmer for a team in the NBA instead of a superstar for the Jayhawks.
Here is the link to the article and his press conference announcement on video from KUsports.com: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/apr/23/chalmers_hold_2_pm_press_conference/
For the entire year, and most of last, I have thought Mario is the most complete player on the team. He is absolutely the player that you want taking a shot if you need to make one (even before that miracle three). He has been more helpful to the team in his years here than anyone else he has played with. Julian had more potential than any other recent Jayhawk, but he was very careless with the ball and made more turnovers than any power forward should make. Rush is great, but only sometimes (e.g., the entire tournament). He is incredibly inconsistent for his skill level. There was a poll on ESPN.com asking which player you would want taking the shot for each team in a game-winning situation. Not surprisingly, every team's most popular player was picked, Rush took the 1 spot for the Hawks with around 45%. This is just plain ignorance though, Rush has never been a clutch shooter. He's been a clutch defender MOST of the time (see: Acie Law IV). However, he can't drive. When he does drive, he can't finish. This is something that Mario and Sherron (more so Sherron) have done effortlessly the last two years. Mario is a good ball handler, great shooter, good driver and finisher, great defender, pretty good passer, and a good leader (by example at least, I thought Russell was probably more of our team's leader). Darrell obviously had a great year. But, he is just plain stupid sometimes. Whenever someone grabs a board near him I feel like his instinct is to swipe at it before turning and running back down the court. He got in foul trouble so much that it kept his numbers lower than they should have been. Darnell and Sasha are both great physical presences, so I hope they get picked late in the second. But my point remains, Chalmers is the most complete player on the Jayhawks and is not unprepared for the NBA. Sure he could benefit from coming back, who couldn't? But if he decides to go (and I hope he doesn't) then I think he will be as ready as any of them.