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F DeShaun "The Diesel" Thomas (Panathinaikos - Greece)

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I think the X-Factor for DT and bouncing for the pro leagues is that he is a proud father to a little baby boy. (Saw him on a Big Ten Channel show)

I hope he makes the best career decision that will help in basketball and beyond.
 
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Jake;2323779; said:
If DT comes back next year the Bucks will be loaded for a run at a title. I honestly don't think he's as NBA ready as ET was and it took ET a couple years to figure it out.

I really think DT should stay, and as an alum/fan I sure hope so.:)
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ET still hasn't figured it out and really struggles to get open looks. DT isn't nearly on the same level that ET was in college and the NBA draft rankings reflect it. I have doubts that he gets drafted, which scares me considering how weak the draft class is this year. Usually I have a pretty good feeling with this kind of stuff, but DT still baffles me in every facet of his game.
 
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I hope he's getting word he could be a late 1st rounder. Only thing I can think of to improve his stock is bulking up a little if he can. Draymond Green found a nice little spot with the Warriors.

He has a nice plan B though, If he doesn't stick in the league he can flourish in some of the top leagues overseas imo
 
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I admit I don't watch that much basketball - even Buckeye basketball - outside of the NCAA Tourney. Given that limited perspective, the only Buckeye I saw play this year that I believed was ready for the pros - as is - was Aaron Craft.
 
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cincibuck;2323853; said:
I admit I don't watch that much basketball - even Buckeye basketball - outside of the NCAA Tourney. Given that limited perspective, the only Buckeye I saw play this year that I believed was ready for the pros - as is - was Aaron Craft.
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yah you dont watch much basketball then
 
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DT has no reason not to do his due diligence at this time and check his stock and evaluate his options. He will surely get that feedback from the NBA advisory board that projects where he might be taken this year and go from there. The NCAA deadline for withdrawing from the draft is like April 16th, so we should know his decision about two weeks from now.
 
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cincibuck;2323853; said:
I admit I don't watch that much basketball - even Buckeye basketball - outside of the NCAA Tourney. Given that limited perspective, the only Buckeye I saw play this year that I believed was ready for the pros - as is - was Aaron Craft.
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Aaron Craft would play at most a couple of minutes a game in the pros. Now after another offseason of developing a competent shot (instead of one he avoids at almost all costs), he could become a role player.

Q is the clear NBA talent and that is obvious after about 3 plays. The difference is that he has a ton of room to improve and reduce/remove his red flags (defense, consistency, turnovers). In contrast, Deshaun is never going to improve his very poor leaping ability, weak quickness, tweener size (too slow for SF too small for PF)... and is unlikely to erase his defensive weaknesses given how far he has to climb just to be projected as 'poor' on defense in the league.

He is a scorer, but won't be longer and stronger than a lot of players he faces in the league. There the league is stacked with 6'5" swingmen that play the 2 or 3 and can jump & run with the best athletes, and there are too many mildly less athletic 6'7" athletic forwards, let alone the 6'9/11" face up 4s and 5s. It's why Terrelle Pryor was a dime a dozen in bball but a superstar recruit in football.

At this point, Deshaun is who he is as a prospect. It's unlikely to change with another year. He can possibly shift his very poor defense to passable, but he'll still be very limited physically and will probably go right back to the bottom of the pile defensively just by switching to a much more athletic pro caliber of player.

He needs to do what is best for him. You can't ask for much more from a guy who was an all-world player from the time he hit puberty. Three years is more than anyone could have expected.

Thanks for a great career Deshaun. If Matta sneaks you back for another year, it will be gravy.
 
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DT's got a tough decision. On the one hand, he probably won't increase his draft stock much even if he stays another year. Which would make you think he'd leave. But on the other hand, I haven't seen any recent mock draft that projects him being selected in the first round. Which would make you think he stays. If he's a mid- to lower-second round pick, I don't know why he'd leave OSU early.
 
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DeShaun jumping to the pro's will count on a number of factors. Knowing that he has a baby boy and not knowing how well off his family is financially (even though he is only projected as a mid 2nd rounder to undrafted), he could still leave depending on his feed back from teams that are interested in his services. With the NBA becoming a perimeter/wing/guard oriented league, for all his limitations, scoring wings who can shoot and rebound like DT can carve out a nice niche for themselves. Whether he stays or leaves, I don't foresee DeShaun turing into an all-star (or even a long term starter), but if a team like Memphis or Charlotte (teams with athletic, defensive wings who can't score) want to take him in the 2nd round and turn him into scoring spark off the bench, I can see him leaving.If he could stick around in the league for a few years and earn a couple hundred thousand dollars that might really help his family out. He could even go overseas and make a pretty penny. At the end of the day, I can see DT going both ways. Wouldn't blame him for leaving at all, but would be super excited to see him stay. If he does come back, defense, ball handling, and conditioning (might slightly improve his athleticism) could potentially get him into the late first-early second. Don't see his money value changing much, so I see this decision coming down to whether he wants to be a kid for one more year or get a head start on is pro career. Wish him the best either way and Thank him for his time as a buckeye

P.S. Im a newbie, this is my first post. I've been a visitor to the site since I was in undergrad, but just recently decided to take part in the conversations
 
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I would have stayed last year if I were Deshaun and I'd go this year. There just isn't much he can do to improve at the college level. If he wants to make a living playing basketball (whether here or overseas), he needs to start now. Every year he gives away his talent for free is money out of his family's pocket. Go get paid young man.
 
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jwinslow;2323932; said:
Aaron Craft would play at most a couple of minutes a game in the pros. Now after another offseason of developing a competent shot (instead of one he avoids at almost all costs), he could become a role player.

Q is the clear NBA talent and that is obvious after about 3 plays. The difference is that he has a ton of room to improve and reduce/remove his red flags (defense, consistency, turnovers). In contrast, Deshaun is never going to improve his very poor leaping ability, weak quickness, tweener size (too slow for SF too small for PF)... and is unlikely to erase his defensive weaknesses given how far he has to climb just to be projected as 'poor' on defense in the league.

He is a scorer, but won't be longer and stronger than a lot of players he faces in the league. There the league is stacked with 6'5" swingmen that play the 2 or 3 and can jump & run with the best athletes, and there are too many mildly less athletic 6'7" athletic forwards, let alone the 6'9/11" face up 4s and 5s. It's why Terrelle Pryor was a dime a dozen in bball but a superstar recruit in football.

At this point, Deshaun is who he is as a prospect. It's unlikely to change with another year. He can possibly shift his very poor defense to passable, but he'll still be very limited physically and will probably go right back to the bottom of the pile defensively just by switching to a much more athletic pro caliber of player.

He needs to do what is best for him. You can't ask for much more from a guy who was an all-world player from the time he hit puberty. Three years is more than anyone could have expected.

Thanks for a great career Deshaun. If Matta sneaks you back for another year, it will be gravy.
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I can't say that I actually disagree with anything that you say here, but I do think that DeShaun can improve his draft stock significantly by putting on a bit more lean body mass, playing much more from the inside out, and giving full energy on the court much more often. Guys like Adrian Dantley, Mark Aguirre. and Carols Boozer have done very well, and I think that Deshaun can be a successful sneaky quick scoring power forward IF he's willing to bulk up a bit, give up the dream of being a perimeter player, and start doing a lot more hustling dirty work.
 
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