Matt Harrelson
The deadline for college basketball players to enter their names in the NBA Draft was April 22, which just passed.
There were some surprising decisions from players both staying and going, with fans hoping that their best players wouldn't pop up in the news.
North Carolina fans thought that they were in the clear, with all non-seniors (most notably Cam Johnson) slated to return. That was until the announcement a day later that junior Luke Maye was entering the NBA Draft.
Now he didn't hire an agent, so he's free to return at any time in the next several weeks, but now, Tar Heel fans will have to wait for the official news.
When I first read the announcement, my initial reaction was to see what Facebook had to say, so I created a poll on my personal page asking friends whether Maye should go pro or stay for his senior year. Overwhelmingly, the verdict was he should remain a Heel for one more year.
Jonathan Clark said, "He should stay... I see him as a poor man's Kevin Love. He can't handle athletic bigs at all, and I'm a Tar Heel."
Amy Denson Harris chimed in with, "He's not dumb... definitely staying. He went to Carolina for an education. No doubt he will graduate from UNC."
Keeping the banter going was Lysander Little who responded, "Why not get a taste of the waters? Just like Justin Jackson. He's not a top pick. Free insight."
And finally among many others was John Bream who said, "Stay. He's honestly not an NBA talent."
I would agree with all these assessments even to the point where this reminds me of just last year when Tony Bradley decided to hit the draft after only one year in Chapel Hill. At that time I felt like he just wasn't ready for the big leagues, and perhaps I was right in that I haven't heard anything from him since he went pro.
However, when really thinking about it, this isn't that too surprising of a move. In his first two seasons, Maye averaged around a few points per game and barely cracked double digits in terms of minutes played.
But after losing a ton of depth in the frontcourt from the season prior, combined with being the only veteran presence that head coach Roy Williams trusted down low, Maye exploded with the increased opportunities. He averaged 16.9 PPG and 10.1 RPG on the season, with several huge performances that had to impress scouts.
The former walk-on will be a senior next season and one of the team leaders if he returns. He will also have to deal with a more crowded frontcourt, which will likely decrease his production. The freshmen bigs will gain more minutes in 2018-19.
Right now, Maye isn't projected to be selected in any NBA Mock Drafts. But with his own stock likely not to get any higher, could he decide to go pro and get as much money as possible overseas? Many players in his position have made the decision to go pro, knowing that they won't get drafted.
By no means should Tar Heel fans feel 100 percent sure that Maye will come back. As a matter of fact, after I conducted my own poll, the RO Sports Show put one up on Facebook, as well. The results were the same as mine with 90 percent saying he should stay and 10 percent voting for leaving.
So just like all the other fans of teams who have players going through the draft process, Tar Heel fans will just have to sweat it out, hoping to see that tweet that says he'll return.
