Jahii Carson’s Decision

By now, everyone knows that the ASU point guard was not selected in the NBA Draft last week.  He was not alone.  Fellow Sun Devil hoops teammates Jordan Bachynski and Jermaine Marshall also were left undrafted.  Marshall not being drafted wasn’t really a surprise.  But most thought that a team would take Bachynski.

And the same goes for Carson.  Most draft experts expected him to be selected.  Late second round at best, but still selected.  However it wasn’t to be.

There are several factors that contributed to Carson being shut out by NBA teams on draft night.  But the most profound factor is probably Carson’s decision itself.  He probably should have waited.  This year’s draft was deep.  And there were several excellent point guards for NBA teams to take a look at.  Devils in Detail hasn’t done the legwork to research next year’s potential draft class as it pertains to point guards, but it’s probably a safe bet that it won’t be as strong as this year’s class.

Nevertheless, its clear now that Jahii Carson should have probably stayed in school.  At least for another year.  The depth of this year’s class certainly didn’t help, but the reality is that Carson didn’t convince the NBA talent scouts that he was quite ready.  While his sophomore year was solid, he was never the consistent “superstar”.  He had his moments, some big ones, for sure.  And he had stretches where he carried his club.  But there weren’t enough moments this season where everybody in the gym could tell that he was clearly at another level.  The NBA level.

The scouts wanted to see more.  They wanted to see more long-range shooting.  They wanted to see him be a true point guard, not just a scorer.  And they wanted to see him really defend on the ball and overwhelm people with his quickness.  He never really did that.  Not this year.  Another season, (or possibly two) would have increased his chances.

It’s not important to wonder why he made the decision he did.  And it’s moot to wonder about who was giving him what advice.  Whether it was his family, or friends, or “other sources” or just him by himself; Jahii Carson’s decision was probably the wrong one.

But all is not lost.  He, along with Marshall and Bachynski have been invited to play in an NBA summer league.  If everybody is wrong about him, he’ll have a chance to prove it.  And even though he may not make an NBA roster next season, he’ll be in the pipeline to prove he has what it takes.  Devils in Detail hopes he does.