NBA Draft: Can't Wait For June 16!

The 2008 version of the NBA Draft will take place on June 26.

I know.

But I'm looking forward to June 16.

Why? That's the deadline for early entry players to withdraw their names from the Draft.

Every day the ESPN ticker carries someone's name across the bottom of my TV screen—D.J. Augustin? OK. Brook Lopez? Fine. Beasley, Gordon, Rose, Love...duh.

But for all of those names that seem logical, two or three seem to pack a head-scratching punch.

The Trent Plaisteds, Robert Vadens, and A.J. Abrams of the world have come out in full force the past couple weeks.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of it. I just sit idly by on my couch, watching one of my team's better players declare for a Draft that might not appreciate them like I do.

Think about it, Memphis fans. Will NBA teams appreciate Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier like you do? Gonzaga fans—can NBA execs really love Jeremy Pargo like you have?

To this I say NO!

So, Trent, Robert, A.J., Antonio, Robert, and all the rest of you who have stuck your toe to check the temp of the Draft pool, choose wisely. I know you want to follow your dreams. Do what you have to do. Find out your draft stock. I know that's why you guys haven't hired an agent yet.

But just remember the thousands of screaming fans who would love to cheer you to lottery greatness in a year's time.

This one's for all the college basketball fans who have been left behind by an above average player who gets pulled into the mesmerizing allure of the NBA Draft...

I can't wait for June 16.