When Donovan Mitchell announced he would be signing with an agent and remaining in the draft, this was his statement:
.. I want to thank all the coaches from Coach Arjay to Coach Smith and everyone on the Louisville staff for helping me become the man that I am today and of course my sister Jordan who I love more than anything ... with that being said I have decided to forgo my junior season and stay in the 2017 NBA Draft #L1C4#BeHumble
Not bad, sounds like a good kid. But it seems like something is missing. Let's compare it to part of Diallo's announcement that he was withdrawing from the draft:
“The one thing I’ve learned through this whole process is how grateful I am that I came to the University of Kentucky. Coach Cal and the entire staff have had my back throughout this entire journey. They were honest with me from the start, had my best interests at heart and walked me through every step. I couldn’t have asked for a better support system.
What stands out to me is that even after two years of playing for Louisville, Mitchell didn't mention Pitino by name. He probably did on other occasions, but not when he announced. Fast forward a couple weeks and Cal is flying to private workouts and meeting with NBA teams *with* Hamidou, while Pitino admits that Mitchell's NBA decision took him by surprise. His exact statement is:
“I didn’t think Donovan was leaving, but I thought there was a possibility,” Pitino said. “It’s much more difficult to plan in this era than it was 10 years ago.”
Those are the words of someone who did not encourage, advise, or participate in the NBA process with his star player. They reflect a "do what you're gonna do and let me know" attitude. When he says "it's much more difficult to plan," he's talking about his plan, and bemoaning the fact that young athletes have an accelerated opportunity to reach their goals.
To me, this is a tale of two coaches and two clashing perspectives on college basketball.
.. I want to thank all the coaches from Coach Arjay to Coach Smith and everyone on the Louisville staff for helping me become the man that I am today and of course my sister Jordan who I love more than anything ... with that being said I have decided to forgo my junior season and stay in the 2017 NBA Draft #L1C4#BeHumble
Not bad, sounds like a good kid. But it seems like something is missing. Let's compare it to part of Diallo's announcement that he was withdrawing from the draft:
“The one thing I’ve learned through this whole process is how grateful I am that I came to the University of Kentucky. Coach Cal and the entire staff have had my back throughout this entire journey. They were honest with me from the start, had my best interests at heart and walked me through every step. I couldn’t have asked for a better support system.
What stands out to me is that even after two years of playing for Louisville, Mitchell didn't mention Pitino by name. He probably did on other occasions, but not when he announced. Fast forward a couple weeks and Cal is flying to private workouts and meeting with NBA teams *with* Hamidou, while Pitino admits that Mitchell's NBA decision took him by surprise. His exact statement is:
“I didn’t think Donovan was leaving, but I thought there was a possibility,” Pitino said. “It’s much more difficult to plan in this era than it was 10 years ago.”
Those are the words of someone who did not encourage, advise, or participate in the NBA process with his star player. They reflect a "do what you're gonna do and let me know" attitude. When he says "it's much more difficult to plan," he's talking about his plan, and bemoaning the fact that young athletes have an accelerated opportunity to reach their goals.
To me, this is a tale of two coaches and two clashing perspectives on college basketball.
