NBA Draft 2012: Austin Rivers Has Tough Road Ahead

Austin Rivers is leaving the comforts of Duke and is headed to the NBA, making the next couple of years the most difficult of his basketball life. 

The news came early on Friday morning by way of CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman. From there, the Twitter world was on fire with opinions on the young guard and how he would fare in the NBA. 

For the most part, the thoughts were that Rivers had gone and made the worst possible decision of his life, and that he needed at least another year to mature into an NBA prospect. 

I agree with the latter; the former is absurd. 

If we are looking for one opinion that was on point when it comes to Austin Rivers, it came from Jay Williams, who gave a measured and correct assessment on the fallout.

"

People, stop hating on Austin Rivers. He will be a top 20 pick & gets paid millions to do an NBA internship. You would do the same....

— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) March 23, 2012"

All wrapped in one tweet, Williams hits on what awaits Rivers and the allure that not many would ever dream of passing up. 

We can't fault Rivers, who is, as of right now, expected to be a lottery or near-lottery pick at the NBA draft. He will be guaranteed a contract and will live out his dream of playing in the NBA. 

The worry of a sophomore injury is gone and all that is left is the certainty of playing at the next level. It would be near impossible for any competitor to pass that chance up. 

That brings me to what lies ahead, because the cheers of Duke fans will vanish, left by the pressure to live up to the expectations that comes with a high draft pick. 

Rivers will not enter the draft as a player that will make a starting lineup and start racking up 20-point games. 

He can drive as well as any prospect, but his shot is far too inconsistent to expect anything more than flashes of brilliance out of the gate. 

Another year in college would have served him well, possibly making him a top-five pick in the next year's draft. 

Instead, he is going to go through an internship, to borrow Williams' term. With that comes the hardships of such an endeavor. 

The NBA is never an easy prospect, but Rivers just made it a whole lot more difficult on himself. 

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