Spartans excited but anxious on draft day
Draft day has finally arrived. Various experts give Paul Davis, Maurice Ager, and Shannon Brown a good shot of all being drafted in the first round of the NBA draft today. A first round pick means guaranteed money and a three-year contract.
However, some mock drafts have each of the three out of the first round. None of them were among the 15 players invited to sit in the green room in Madison Square Garden, but all three were invited to attend anyway. Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal writes that one way or another, all three Michigan State players just can’t wait to get draft day over with. Many fans couldn’t agree more.
The definite answers aren’t coming, so the knot in the stomach tightens with each day. It’s not easy to be the parent of an NBA draft prospect at this time of year. It’s “frustrating” and “nerve-racking,” said Joe Davis, Paul Davis’ father. It’s maddening and exciting and frightening all at once.
“All of the above,” said Chris Brown, Shannon Brown’s dad. “I’m just waiting for this to be over.”
It finally will be tonight. The speculation and mock drafts will be rendered useless. Davis, Brown and Maurice Ager will earn their payoffs for weeks of auditioning for NBA teams - and years of excelling on the court for Michigan State.
Shannon Shelton of the Detroit Free Press reports that even though Maurice Ager wasn’t invited to sit in Madison Square Garden’s green room with probable lottery picks, Ager will be there to see it live nonetheless.
The NBA doesn’t bring every draft-eligible player to the event, but league brass extends invitations to players likely to be selected in the earlier part of the draft based on information gathered from various teams.
“I was hoping I’d get to be in the green room, but at the end of the day, I’m just looking to shake hands with (league commissioner) David Stern,” said Detroit Crockett product Ager, who flew to New York on Monday night.
On MLive.com, Steve Grinczel writes that the draft status of Paul Davis has fluctuated wildly over the last year.
Spartan teammates Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown, who decided not to return for his senior season so he could be available in tonight’s draft in New York, are generally expected to be taken in the first round.
But Davis’ draft stock has fluctuated so wildly, he could be a lottery pick, according to NBA director of scouting Marty Blake, and he could have to wait until the second round or even go undrafted, according to cbssportsline.com analyst Tony Mejia.
True to an unflappable demeanor that saw him through a seemingly endless series of ups and downs at MSU, Davis won’t let the speculation distract him from what he has heard from sources really in the know — the scouts, coaches and general managers.