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April 5, 2013Ohio State forward DeShaun Thomas has decided to forego his senior season and enter the NBA Draft this summer.
http://twitter.com/benaxelrod/status/320235917241622528
Thomas is a 6-foot-7-inch wing who averaged 19.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Buckeyes in 2012-13, playing an integral role on a team which made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8.
Regarding Thomas’ future, WFNY’s Kirk Lammers projected the following:
Thomas certainly has his limitations, including his ball handling, his defensive motor, and his lack of true power forward size. Those aren’t going away, and they’ll likely keep him a second round pick whether he stays or goes. I see Thomas having success at the NBA level as a microwave-type bench player who can rattle off 10 points in the blink of an eye.
Currently, Thomas is ranked by ESPN’s Chad Ford as the 48th prospect overall, ranging anywhere from the second round to potentially being undrafted. Thomas is versatile, strong, athletic and can undoubtedly score. Questions loom surrounding his work ethic as well as his occasional bout of poor shot selection and indifference on the defensive end of the floor. Draft Express has Thomas ranked 52nd, citing a lack of foot speed for a three, size and length for a four at the NBA level.
As others have pointed out, pure basketball motivations aren’t all that are in play here. As the Mansfield Journal wrote, As the father to a one-year-old son, Thomas may be choosing a paycheck rather than delaying money for another year.
[Related: Buckeye Basketball 12-Pack: Closing Thoughts]
11 Comments
Good luck.
If he goes undrafted, can he come back?
I believe he can if he does not hire an agent, and withdraws his name by Apr 16.
Thanks
Good luck to DT. I think OSU will better without him.
lol… uh… how?
lmao seriously?
You may wanna address this situation Nate, it has me truly worried about you.
O_o
Easy. He is a very talented scorer but the type that can be a bit of a hindrence to the team. Even though OSU had multiple other scoring options, he was the focus of the offense. The entire team deferred to him way to often. Take the last game for example. Yes, he got his points during their run, but it was actually in the flow of the game. The true difference during the run was a player like Ross(mostly a bench player) given the green light to drive to the rim. This greenlight opened up shots for everyone, including DT. Prior that point, the offense was DT taking shot after shot, most of them completely contested, the occasional craft drive, and the seldom launched and completely covered three from some of the others.
Hope to see him find success in the NBA. I do think both parties would have benefited by his return though.
Buckeyes would get their leading scorer back. DeShaun would have more time to improve the limitations cited in this story, and possibly turn himself into a first round pick.