Congrats to DeJuan Blair for making the AP All-American 1st team.
The AP honor is the fourth first-team All-American honor for Blair, who also was recognized by Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and the United States Basketball Writers Association earlier this month.
“It’s cool; it’s a beautiful honor,” Blair said last night, two days after the Panthers were knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Villanova. “I don’t think anyone thought this was possible at the beginning of the season. I wasn’t even named [honorable mention] all-Big East.”
Blair finished third in the AP voting with 294 votes behind Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin (335) and North Carolina’s (304). Arizona State’s James Harden and Davidson’s Stephen Curry also were named to the first team.
“That group is an excellent group,” Blair said. “It could have been a lot of people on that list, too. Fortunately, I got that spot. It’s an honor to be on there with them. All of those guys lived up to the hype. I sneaked up there on a lot of people.”
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Blair, who also was named Big East Conference co-player of the year. He also is finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award, and was invited to Detroit this weekend for that presentation. He also is a finalist for the Wooden Award as well as the USBWA Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Award.
Well-earned and well-deserved. The article indicated something that should surprise no one. That Blair will at least go through the NBA pre-draft process.
I know there is some debate over whether Blair should turn pro or not. I do not, however, think that there is any debate that he should at least go through the process to see where might go in the draft and what he needs to improve.
I know the mock drafts to this point have him as a outside of being a lottery pick, but definitely a 1st round pick. I also know the mock drafts pre-workouts are of some questionable value. That said, if he comes out of the workouts in a similar spot, I don’t see how he doesn’t go pro.
As much as I would love for him to return, I fall into the camp that expects him to and thinks he should go pro. Blair benefits from the success of Detroit Piston’s Jason Maxiell not to mention Paul Millsap of the Utah Jazz. The Pistons took the undersized PF late in the first round of the ’05 draft (to the surprise of many who considered him a late 2nd rounder). He has become a vital bench player with energy who gets rebounds and plays inside despite his size.
Would Blair be able to improve on some parts of his game if he returns? Certainly. Of course, Blair has a great work ethic, so I would expect that he would do plenty to improve his game regardless.
The other aspect, is that while he might be able to improve his game with another year, that would not necessarily improve his draft status. This is considered a rather weak draft. I mean, that B.J. Mullens could be considered a first round pick (I know, 7’0″) after showing very little in the way of, um, skill should speak volumes about the draft this year.
Finally, with his past history of knee problems, he needs to consider the future. Given he plays inside, shown that he runs the court real well and his lack of natural height; a knee injury would cripple his future. Forget the NCAA insurance policies. That still doesn’t match the guarantee of a 1st round contract regardless of whether it is lottery or not.
I’m pretty confident that Blair is going through the process with an open mind and truly going to evaluate his options. I think the case for him to go is a strong one, obviously we’d all love to have him back next season, but nobody should be disappointed if ends up leaving. If he goes, I’d love to see him sneak his way into the lottery. Would be great for DeJuan, his family and Pitt basketball.
However, it is probably not a fair comparison in that Blair is projected to go higher than Shady ever was.
While I don’t think it is a given the DeJuan goes, I would be very surprised if he stays.
On the other hand, we could be Memphis fans. If Calipari oes to UK, he is supposed to bring his top-ranked recruits with him …. not sure if that includes Darnell Dodson. I do assume that he brings O Antigua with him
My original post was simply trying to articulate that draft position is extremely important. If Blair is considered a mid-to-late first round pick, then coming back to Pitt and improving his condition and face-up game could really help his draft status. Look what it did for Sean May and Shelden Williams. Both were drafted in the lottery after their junior years. Both were similar players to Blair. Really there is no wrong decision. Dejuan is blessed to have the opportunity to contemplate forgoing college and entering the draft and us fans were given two exceptional seasons watching him play.
of course blair could return and show that he’s an nba ready pf but would that boost him to a lottery pick? possibly but i think its pretty clear that the risk of exposing himself is too great a risk. obviously all of this ignores a desire blair might have to keep playing at pitt because he wants to (which would be nice) but i have to think he’s going to be advised to turn pro.
I think you’re correct…from a PR standpoint though I’m not really sure if Memphis even has the option of not releasing these kids or releasing with conditions. They chose Memphis b/c of the coach who was going to be there and I don’t see how Memphis, as an academic institution that is supposed to have the kid’s best interests in mind, could not let these kids out of their LOI’s.
What happened with Dodson and Pitt? I remember reading some bogus rule that wouldn’t allow him come to Pitt but don’t remember what it was.
I wish DeJuan well in whatever he does, he was fun to watch and you can tell he enjoyed every second on the court playing the game he loves.
This will be the first time in a few years i watch the NBA draft…..cant wait to see sam and blair get chosen….great kids!
He needs to get while the getting is good. As far as draft position, that is not an exact science and no one could ever really say for sure that he would be a top 15 pick in any given year.
Another factor is that the earlier he enters the NBA the earlier he can become a free agent and let his pro performance determine his true market value.
It seems if Cal takes the UK job the players that committed at Memphis will be released from their commitment, only some will be able to follow Calipari to UK. The odd man out looks to be JUCU Power Forward Will Coleman who picked and signed with Memphis over Pitt in August. Pitt was is only other offer. He played one year at Miami Dade County College and would have 3 years remaining. He is 6″9, 230. Here are some more tidbits about him:
Miami Dade coach Matt Eisele:
“There is not a big in the country that runs the floor how he does. And there is not a big in the country that is as athletic as he is, either. He’s an absolute freak.”
Coleman, a 6-foot-9 post, is one of the most explosive power forwards in the junior college ranks.
Averaged 16/16 last season
Don’t get me wrong – it is certainly a possibility that Arizona would attract Dixon, however, I’m not aware of any proof (or speculation.)
Those two ridiculous statements were preceded by another, Jay “imagine if Calipari would come home and bring all those recruits with him…wishful thinking”. Maybe wishful thinking for you. The last thing we need is that media whore and sleezebag Calipari to bring his act back to Pittsburgh. Yea, he can coach and recruit (who knows how many shady under the table deals he is making though). Some of you are thinking back on his stint at Pitt and the talent he brought in which is fine, but we don’t need that anymore. We have a CLEAN, CLASSY program that is going to be consistently competitive. There is nothing that indicates we’ve done things any way but the RIGHT way. We play a disciplined, smart and physical brand of basketball that is fun to watch. Not to mention, Jamie Dixon is one of the best coaches in the country. He is staying, hopefully for the long haul, and if he ever leaves the last thing we need is an egotistical slimebag like Calipari setting our program back. ..Look what he did to Memphis.
If Blair cannot get into the top-15 of the draft, then he has a serious decision. Does he believe an extra year will put him in the top-15 or is his stock already as high as it will be? I don’t know. However, to say he should definitely leave is quite presumptious. Injury should not be a huge concern because the NCAA insurance policy will definitely cover the value of his first NBA contract. If he is projected to be between pick #20-30, then the decision becomes even cloudier. For example, the #25 pick in the 2008 draft was guaranteed $4.59 million if he was picked up for all 4 years. The #25 pick was 100% guaranteed $1.80 million for the first 2 years with options on year 3 and 4. Year 4’s option results in a huge 80% pay raise, which may or may not occur.
Good luck to him either way. If he leaves, then I want him to be chosen in the lottery.