Sports

Yashinsky: Jumping to the Pros; How Local College Stars Fare in the NBA

December 09, 2014, 11:00 PM by  Joey Yashinsky

Pull up a seat and enjoy this tour around the National Basketball Association to check in on the recent Spartan, Wolverine, and Titan draft picks trying to carve out their hoops home as professionals.  Maybe even an undrafted Bronco in there, as well.  In no particular order...

Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors - Michigan State)


Draymond Green

By far the best of the former state of Michigan hoopers.  In his third year, Green has busted out in a major way, starting all 20 games for the league-best (18-2) Warriors.  He’s rewarded coach Steve Kerr’s confidence by filling up the stat sheet on a nightly basis; 13 points, eight boards, three assists, and more than a block and a steal per game.  Green is a very respectable 37% from downtown, including a game over the weekend where he went into the United Center and shredded the Bulls for 31 points on 7-of-13 from the long line.  That was G-State’s 12th consecutive win, a streak that has grown to 13 since.  The way Draymond gradually got better each year under Tom Izzo, it is no surprise to see him now flourishing as a professional.  It’s not a stretch to say that “DeDe” could be starting games in the NBA Finals come June -- a pretty impressive rise to the top for a guy that wasn't even a first-round pick. 

Nik Stauskas (Sacramento Kings - Michigan)


Nik Stauskas

It’d be hard to imagine a rockier start to an NBA career than the one Stauskas is currently riding, but thankfully for the former Wolverine, things might have started turning around for him on Monday night.  After a slew of poor shooting nights and minimal court time, Stauskas finally got untracked against Utah, tallying 15 points and eight boards in 30 minutes of play.  It was the very first double-digit scoring effort of his young career.  Like other college sharpshooters, Stauskas is having a difficult time adjusting to the longer, more difficult pro three.  He’s knocked home just 11-47, a sad 23% conversion rate that would make even Josh Smith turn his head in horror (but not really).  His strength has also been an issue.  In their opening night loss to the aforementioned Warriors, Stauskas was routinely abused in the post by Harrison Barnes, a trend that has not been uncommon in Sacramento games.  Stauskas will become more muscular, and as a result will become a better defender, but you could make the argument that such growth would have been better served taking place in Ann Arbor.  Remember, Nik played just two years at Michigan before coming out, and while he was indeed a top-ten selection, making it harder to poke holes in the decision, his long-term pro potential might have been short-circuited in the quest for quick millions. 

Trey Burke (Utah Jazz - Michigan)


Trey Burke

Not the smoothest opening stanza to the career of one Alfonso Clark Burke III, or Trey, if you’d prefer.  While it hasn’t been a disaster by any means, the ride has been quite bumpy.  Burke sits at right about 12 points and six assists during his 1+ year in the league, numbers made less attractive when you see the shooting percentage treading water in the high 30’s.  Burke should get it figured out, and it’s not uncommon for young point guards to take a few years to truly understand the feel of the NBA game and how to best ingratiate themselves in it.  But his lackluster performances to date have quieted some of the shouts from Pistons fans that it should have been Burke, not Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, taken in last year’s draft.  I still count myself as one of those critics, especially after having been exposed to more than enough Brandon Jennings in the last 100 games or so.  Burke still has the chance to be special.  It just might take him a little while to get there.

Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets - Michigan State)


Gary Harris

It’s been a mostly uneventful beginning to Gary’s rookie year in Denver.  Minutes have been hard to come by, and when they have, he’s done very little with them.  He was given 10 minutes Saturday night in a loss to Atlanta, somehow enough time for him to hoist eight shots and sink just one.  The Nuggets aren’t among the league’s best and likely will not qualify for the playoffs, so Harris should get his shot to contribute at some point this year.  Like Stauskas, though, the college-to-pro transition has been a rough one.  Selfishly, it would have made for great Michigan winter theater to see both of those guys tearing up the Big Ten as juniors, but as we’ve come to see plenty over the years, such elongated NCAA careers are few and far between.

Ray McCallum (Sacramento Kings - U of D)


Ray McCallum

Little Ray is hanging with his Michigan brethren Stauskas out in Sac-Town.  Unfortunately, most of that time has been spent chilling on the Kings’ bench.  After a very strong finish to the 2013-14 season and then a terrific showing in the Vegas Summer League (where he was named MVP), some experts predicted a big second year from McCallum.  But the Kings went out and acquired two veteran point guards in free agency, sending Ray Jr. crashing back to the land of DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision).  McCallum’s minutes have been sparse, but even so, he must find a way to better utilize them when they do.  Six assists against seven turnovers in 102 minutes of action will not turn many heads across the league. 

Mitch McGary (Oklahoma City Thunder - Michigan)


Mitch McGary

The former Wolverine is yet to make his NBA debut.  McGary injured his foot prior to the season, and when his health rounded into shape, he was sent to the D-League to get some reps there.  After a couple of games, he’s back with the big club, but is still yet to don a real uniform and get put in a game.  McGary was with the team in Detroit on Sunday, but was not among the 12 selected to be active for the Thunder.  As a first-round pick, he’ll get a chance to showcase his skills at some point, but in all likelihood, this year will just be more of a learning experience for the big fella.  With the Thunder dropping many games early in the season due to Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook injuries, they now have a lot of ground to make up, making each regular season game critical.  Grooming young players and letting them make mistakes in the process does not look to be on the Oklahoma City agenda this year. 

Glenn Robinson III (Minnesota Timberwolves - Michigan)


Glenn Robinson III

Explain to me again, “Why did Glenn decided to leave Ann Arbor after his sophomore year?”  I didn’t really understand the decision over the summer, and I don’t understand it much better now.  GR3 had an underwhelming second season at Michigan and was not thought to be on anyone’s radar as a potential first-round choice.  Yet he bulled on ahead and is now toiling in anonymity at the end of the Timberwolves’ bench.  He gets a little burn during garbage time, but for the most part, does not see the court.  I picture Robinson’s career playing out much the same way that Darius Morris’s has.  Morris also jumped ship from Ann Arbor after just two seasons, despite his only being a third-team all-conference selection in his final year.  Since then, he’s been an NBA afterthought and a D-League superstar.  With Robinson’s better-than-average athleticism and less-than-average perimeter game, his fate will likely be very similar.  If only John Beilein could figure out how to keep some of these future pros around just a year or two longer, he might finally be able to shed the bridesmaid label that he’s come to embody over the years.

Shayne Whittington (Indiana Pacers - Western Michigan)


Shayne Whittington

The towering 6-foot-11 pride of Paw Paw, Michigan, defied the odds and made the Pacers’ roster after going undrafted out of Western Michigan.  It’s an impressive accomplishment coming from a school not generally associated with producing NBA talent.  With a little luck and a couple more scary arm tattoos,  Whittington might be able to stick around and carve out a Chris Kaman-esque career (12 years and counting) for himself. 

Kalin Lucas (Iowa Energy/Memphis Grizzlies - Michigan State)


Kalin Lucas

The 25-year-old Lucas finally broke through and made his NBA debut this year, albeit for just a single game as a Memphis Grizzly.  He was reassigned the very next day to the team’s D-League affiliate in Iowa.  It’s a testament to Lucas’s dogged competitiveness that he was even able to get to the league after the injury problems he encountered at Michigan State.  In order to make his next stay a more lengthy one, Lucas will need to get better from the outside.  He was under 35% from 3 last season and is just 4-of-22 from out there this year.  For a guy that will never be mistaken for Ty Lawson in terms of sheer speed and quickness, Lucas needs to prove to NBA executives that he can be a threat with the ball in his hands from 20+ feet away.  If he does that, a steady career as a backup point guard is not completely out of the question.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. (New York Knicks - Michigan)


Tim Hardaway, Jr.

If Timmy Jr. was intent on entering the league and competing for a championship, the Knicks were the worst place he could have gone.  If he just wanted to get his feet wet in the NBA, see significant minutes right from the jump, and be able to heave 25-footers whenever he sees fit, New York was the perfect place.  That’s precisely what he’s been doing for the last two years.  Hardaway usually gets in for about 15-20 minutes, jacks up about 10 shots, and passes the ball close to never.  As a bouncy 6’6” guard, he needs to rebound the ball better and also start finding ways to create shots for others.  It always surprised me that the son of Tim Hardaway was not a more natural distributor.  As losers of nine straight and currently sporting a ghastly 4-19 record, the Knicks will have a long leash with Hardway, giving him plenty of time to learn and improve as the year goes on.  Either that, or his bad habits will only continue to get worse as he models his game after one of the NBA’s most well-known me-first players in Carmelo Anthony.  Yikes.  



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