Cleveland vs. Cleveland, city pride, and the first round: While We’re Waiting…
April 23, 2015Cavalier Film Room: The Boston Royal Double
April 23, 2015Ohio State star freshman D’Angelo Russell has decided to chase his lifelong dream and declare for the NBA Draft.
According to ESPN.com’s Paul Biancardi, who broke the news Wednesday evening:
“This was a hard decision because I knew I could come back and play with my teammates who I love, and to be coached by coach Thad Matta again would have been awesome, but at the same time I wanted to pursue my dream of playing in the NBA. I know what I am capable of and the sky’s the limit with effort. I know I have a lot to work on.”
Many thought that it was a matter of when Russell was going to declare rather than if he was. One of the best players (and freshmen) in the country, he turned a lot of heads (including Phil Jackson’s) in his lone year dawning the scarlet and gray.
A 6-foot-5 guard, Russell made some highlight-type plays both shooting and passing the ball. During his freshman year at Ohio State, Russell average 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5 assists, while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Russell has most likely secured a spot as a lottery pick and even as a top-5 selection. According to one general manager who spoke to ESPN, his draft stock rose as the season went along.
“When we went to see him in the fall we thought he was a good player,” the GM said. “When we went to the nonconference games, we thought he was very good and a first-round pick. When we went back to Big Ten games there was no doubt he was a high lottery pick.”
He may have just played one season in Columbus, but Russell also had some very high praise for the Buckeyes and their coaching staff.
“It’s a great place, the fan base is crazy for basketball … hopefully it will open doors down the road after basketball. The staff did a great job of challenging me from the X’s and O’s [standpoint], strengthening my body, and academically I got named as one of two players as a scholar-athlete on our team.”
Although he will be missed at Ohio State, it was expected that he was going to declare for the draft. Thad Matta undoubtedly has some giant shoes to fill this offseason if the Buckeyes are going to rebound from a sub-par season of 2014-15.
2 Comments
Didn’t realize he was 6’5″, best of luck
He’s not even close to NBA ready what a shame.