RChildress107
Well-known member
May not be rational, but not that uncommon for a solid college player to go pro even if he is unlikely to play in the NBA, at least not right off the bat. Melo Trimble is an example. He went pro after his junior year at MD, and unlike his freshman year, it was the consensus opinion that he would not be drafted. Trimble wasn't drafted, but he is playing in the D League, getting paid and pursuing his NBA dream. Same with Nigel Williams Goss from Gonzaga (a late second round pick now playing in Serbia), and Isiah Briscoe out KY who went undrafted last year. Some college players want to get paid to play basketball even if it means that the NBA is not paying them.
Trimble was an undersized combo guard who got slightly worse each year in college and lost his PG duties to a Freshman.
Williams-Goss wasn’t going to get anymore exposure, better or worse, than he got last year. He also would have been 23 at the start of this season (Crawford will be 21 for most of next season).
Briscoe: as a general rule, if you are still at UK as a junior someone better than you is starting as a freshman.
I get that it makes sense in some cases, but not any that apply to Crawford. He’s young, has gotten better each year (we’ll see if that holds true this year), is more of a true point than Briscoe or Trimble, and will have a team capable of getting him a ton of exposure next year.