I remember a day when a college player had to be pretty special to be asked about his pro draft status. Now, it seems like every returning starter on a major college program is polled or maybe it just seems like it.
No offense to Arkansas junior guard Daryl Macon, but it seemed to be a stretch when a reporter asked him about his status for next year after last week’s loss to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
Macon’s non-committal response may have been even more surprising to me than the question. Other social media posts have hinted that Macon is on the fence. Fellow junior college transfer guard Jaylen Barford made posts that seemed to indicate he was in next year with a talented nucleus that included six seniors if Macon sticks around.
And why would Macon even be thinking about declaring for the draft? Good question. He averaged a decent 13.4 points per game mostly coming off the bench are a good SEC player. Not great, not phenomenal. A streaky shooter and nifty scorer. He’s not listed on any NBA Draft pundit boards or among any of the lists of Top 100 NBA prospects.
He could be thinking what former Hogs standout Michael Qualls pondered a few years ago. He said he was fine with going overseas to draw a check if he wasn’t drafted. After a knee injury during workouts and actually being drafted by Oklahoma City and released, Qualls landed in Israel.
At the time Qualls cited a young child and family as reasons to make money immediately. I get that, and I know that many of the college athletes come from meager means, and sometimes-dire situations, and want to make money as quickly as possible.
The problem is, Qualls could have made a lot more money if he had just stuck it out a year. Arkansas would have been a much better team and would have played in the NCAA Tournament. He would have earned a lot of individual accolades with Bobby Portis in the NBA, and he could have become a first-round pick.
Nobody could fault Portis for leaving after his sophomore year knowing that he would be first-round lock, even though he may have dropped further than he hoped. Moses Kingsley declared last year, but he didn’t hire an agent, which was a good move.
Macon’s stock is even less than Qualls. I’m not sure if he will even be an NBA player next year, but he would stand to make more money overseas with a starring role and deep tournament run that is very possible with the Hogs’ mix of returners and a solid recruiting class.
Unless any of the six returning senior Hogs are not going to be eligible academically next year or another problem, none of them should be worrying about anything other than what they can be working on to ensure they have the best season they can next year.
For Macon or any of the others to declare with the intent of only playing overseas would be selfish and unwise. The prospects of some modest amount of cash wouldn’t compare to what Arkansas could achieve next year.
Next year could be one of the best seasons since Arkansas last advanced to the Sweet 16 21 years ago. If everyone returns and stays healthy Arkansas will be an upper echelon SEC team and could at least make it to the Sweet 16. It took the Hogs nearly the entire season to jell this year, but with a stronger group of seniors and returners the learning curve could be smaller and the newcomers may not have to do as much. If seniors Trey Thompson and Dustin Thomas continue to improve and can pick up the slack for Kingsley, freshman Daniel Gafford can contribute without having to be an immediate star.
My guess is Macon will stay and excitement for next season will be at an all-time high. It is the right move for all of the returners.