Dedan Thomas Jr to LSU
- Thread starter RebelSoldat
- Start date
Probably gave him like 5-7 million. Matt McMahon is on the hotseat
can’t blame him at all.
Way more money.
But spare me being a legend or being loyal.
Way more money.
But spare me being a legend or being loyal.
Or the "he gave us 2 years, we should be glad he came back"...
It's transactional. He got paid, he played games. That's it
Games from before he even got here. Calculated.
It’s a business, he treated it as such.
Has LSU been any good since Wade was fired there? Finished 14-18 and they don’t have a great coaching staff, imo. Almost like the same situation as CKK was here.
Like someone said, transactional move. Winning? basketball move? Nah.
Like someone said, transactional move. Winning? basketball move? Nah.
If dj was loyal he should have waited for kruger to be hired and followed him to his new school..
which one of us wouldn't take a huge raise. No guarantee you ever make it as a pro, but you get 7 figures in college. That's a big head start on life. If you think staying home and being a hometown hero is worth more, look at our former players and see what Las Vegas has really done for them. How well off are Freddie, Hunt, Scurry, Kambala, Mark Wade, LJ and Robert Smith. These guys are well liked, but no real financial benefits from LV. Not really different than if they attended NM or Fresno State.
I love Vegas and UNLV, but its pure homer mentality if we think were still a special place to play- even for a local kid and alumni kid.
I love Vegas and UNLV, but its pure homer mentality if we think were still a special place to play- even for a local kid and alumni kid.
At least he will be playing in a top conference.
His pro prospects are slim, maybe less so overseas. I get it, getting paid to play basketball isn't an easy thing to do, so If you can get your biggest paycheck while in college while improving you slim pro prospects? I get it.
So it is kind of a basketball move.
I'm not mad at him, he didn't have to come to UNLV at all. He probably would have made more in college if he didn't. So I appreaciate that he did, even if it feels like a wasted opportunity.
Not a critique of your comment.. just a comment in general...
I think people undervalue what being on a team full of stars and being utilized correctly will do for a players draft stock... Its not like Dedan wasnt good- he led the team in scoring both seasons, and averaged like 5apg, while Kevin was trying to use him as the "hero" in a hero ball style of play. Now hes going to the SEC, where eyeballs will be on him and he will be surrounded by better talented players without the expectation of carrying all the load (even with the higher expected NIL dollars). Im not saying hes a definite NBA player, but if LSU manages to have some success by adding tons of NIL talent around its basketball team and makes the tournament for next 2 years, he will be on draft boards.
Some of the offers he was getting were better programs than LSU. He’ll get paid but LSU only had 3 wins in the SEC. One of the worst teams in the SEC.
I would have taken less and joined Florida or Houston. At least you’re guaranteed to go to the NCAAs and be seen all the time as a winner. Not to mention you lead them somewhere but I don’t think he cares about winning games. Basketball is transactional for him, A red flag for any scout or pro coach.
Why would players that played 20 plus years ago still be entitled to a "financial benefit" from Las Vegas? That makes no sense. Either way, good for Dedan because it's not like he is going to missed a whole lot around here, and with good reason. Players with his skill set are a dime a dozen anyways.
I think he is limited just because it is tough as a "traditional" sized guard in the NBA. He is a bit short and he isn't over the top athletic.
It is very tough to break through just from that in itself.
I think there is a chance he get in the NBA, and I do think it is more likely in the SEC for sure, so I agree with you there. But I do think odds are that doesn't happen.
There have been much better PGs in college that didn't get drafted then him, that is for sure.
My point was there is no tangible reward for these guys taking less NIL just to be perceived as loyal to Vegas. We as a whole, haven't ever really rewarded this loyalty.
As for the age of these guys, can't think of a recent freshman recruit that stuck around for a few years outside of Curtis Terry and Carlos Lopez. They are back +/- 17 years.
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All of these kids are transactional. Hell look at the NBA, zero loyalty and that goes both ways. Zero red flag for scouts or pro coach or else they wouldn’t give half these guys contracts. He’s not a NBA player, so he is going to make as much money as he can during his 4 years as he can. I can’t say I blame him. Anyone of us being put in a similar situation would take the better bottom line dollar. He stuck it out here and was on a middle of the road MW team. We all need to just accept the current and future of college sports and unless there are some people who start caring again about Rebel basketball, we are going to be in the have nots portion of things.
I don’t look at DJ as I do as Anthony Marshall, not really a hometown hero type. So I don’t get bent out of shape that he’s gone.
Fair points, though I think Houston is a bad fit, though I know they were interested last year. They want physical guys that can really guard, Dj hasn't shown that type of mindset, and I think he gets relegated to the bench.
I think things are similar at Florida, but probably to a lesser degree.
I think minutes would be more of a given at a place like LSU.
The #2 prospect in the draft went to Rutgers and they won 3 games in the B10. Not to say that DJ could ever get to that level, just saying that it is enough to get the exposure.
Dedan's son did it smart. Go play as many minutes as you want at a lower level school, this one just happened to be in his hometown where his dad played then parlay it into a bigger stage and bigger payday.
The Rutgers guard has size, at 6-6 and 215-220, DTJ is 6 foot and 185 (maybe). Closest comparison is Boogie Fland and he’s going mid-second, maybe but Boogie has real leadership traits and qualities that scouts love.
Getting an owie in the MWC play and sitting the rest of the season isn’t going to impress the pros. Being afraid of competition at a bigger stage is also a big red flag. Good luck to him but clearly winning ball games and trying to win a championship isn’t a priority. LSU sucks and is the safe pick.
They will suck next year and it’s back in the portal once their coach also gets shitcanned.
I think we agree that his number 1 priority is not winning a championship or going to the final four.
His number 1 priority is trying to get paid for playing basketball as a career. That may only take him as far as the next couple of years in college.
My point was that LSU will get him paid and minutes in a top conference. Those minutes will help his numbers and maximize potential to get paid past college.
I don't think scouts care about where someone plays. As for competition in a bigger stage? He will be playing in the SEC. He may not have as much competition within the school, but he will have the competition within the league.
Honestly staying here would be potentially seen as ducking competition vs leaving.
If he stayed here he wouldn't be making millions, probably wouldn't get drafted, and would lose his one shot at making enough to ensure he doesn't have to work the rest of his life(at least, not like us regular 9-5ers). If he can manage a 4 or 5 million his last two years of college good for him. Try pro ball, if it doesn't pan out come back home and cruise it coaching high school.
You actually need a degree to be a coach in high school, and most of these current college basketball players move around far to much to finish their degrees anymore.
Why do people still talk about loyalty and Dedan not wanting to make the tournament. Those days are long gone but it seems like its being harped on day after day. Teams change annually and a bad team last year can be a good team next year and vice versa. The kid wasnt great here because of the way KK wanted to use him and it doesnt help when you are playing with scrubs. Dedan will look better with LSU. Look at all of the kids they were able to grab in the portal to go along with him. It just seems as if theres a lot of misdirected "anger" or whatever people are feeling.
Agree with you 100%. A little on Harper; he went to Rutgers because of family ties and the proximity to home. He was going to get drafted top 5 wherever he went and gotten minutes anywhere. What they didnt accomplish this year is because of their coach, who got Harpers commitment and Bailey commitment a long time in advance of this season. He failed to build a roster through the portal that would compliment their game.
Again, LSU has been bad for 3 years since Wade left, only have an NIT appearance to show for it.
DTJ didn’t lead unlv or his teammates anywhere, it simply wasn’t a big deal to him. Did he make his teammates better, is UNLV better off? If there was loyalty, those questions would be answered.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it, he was overrated and overpaid here. He’s local, dad played at unlv, I get some people are protective and want to use kid gloves on him but there’s a reason why the team looked better with a non-PG like Henley running the show, it was simply because Henley was a leader.
LSU is a football school, why would they be good at basketball every year? You and I know that basketball isn't their focus at all. Wade did what he did because of his ability to recruit, whether that be legal or illegal. (It's all legal now obviously).
If we are being 100% honest, let's say this too...his dad was overrated as hell too and only got a boost because of his son being a top recruit. "Dedan Sr was so good and now his top recruit son Dedan Jr is going to continue his legacy." Let's keep it solid across the board.
As for your point about Dedan being overpaid and overrated, I 100% agree, but let's not act like Dedan wasnt playing with scrubs and a coach who had the brain of a pre schooler. That contributes to his lackluster play too. It's well known in recruiting circles that his dad pushed for UNLV. Mom wanted him at Houston. Not sure Dedan even wanted to be here in the first place.
Perhaps if KK recruited better and was more personable and had a clearer vision, we wouldn't have had to overpay for Dedan's services and could have spread that money out amongst better transfers and players. Ex: Pharaoh and his team laughed at KK's pitch. Pharaoh is also close to Dickel. Guess who shut Dickel out and wouldn't even look at him? KK. Lots of factors to consider here. Just tired of the old heads on here continuing to harp the "there's no loyalty" bs when we already know that. This isn't directed at you, but if the no loyalty bothers people so much, stop watching college basketball.
Agree, saw Dedan Thomas Sr. play live in the early 90's and thought he was just a good PG, not a great PG.
Nothing, like Danny Tarkanian, Mark Wade or Greg Anthony.
Nothing, like Danny Tarkanian, Mark Wade or Greg Anthony.
Pastner has, historically, been better locally. It's been embarrassing to hear the stories regarding local recruiting (and misses).
You make a great point bringing up Pharoah.
Not going to lambast a legacy who followed in his father’s footsteps and tried to resurrect the program. Totally get that fans have soured on the program given its ineptitude over the years but let’s not begin eating our own. The kid tried to make things better, not his fault it didn’t work out, that would like with CKK and his staff.
The word loyalty is thrown around because it’s STILL a team sport. The reason why Tark was so great wasn’t because so much that he had great Xs and Os, it was his incredible loyalty to people. There’s nobody in history that’s been more loyal to their players than Tark, in turn his players were loyal to him and more importantly to each other. Tark was extremely smart and his psychological abilities to get his team to respond has been unmatched.
That loyalty to each other and team camaraderie has been missing for over a decade. You’re more than likely to have success when a team plays for each other. When they play for themselves and ONLY for themselves, you will not get very far.
Which brings me to DTJ, he only plays for himself, that was evident last season and it’s on CKK to spot an issue like that, and he never did with anyone else either because he never got close with his players. Hence some of them openly mocking him over the years.
My only point here is that DTJ, is NOT a guy you want as a cornerstone for your team. Not a guy you build around to make the dance. When you think about it, he ripped off UNLV and therefore I hope he bombs out at LSU.
You need a player that cares and is willing to help his teammates on and off the court. It’s nice that Pastner retained some talent, not proven talent, but he’s now he’s got to find the Royce Hamm’s, Justin Hawkins, Amundson, Rosegreens, Mike Mosers etc in the portal.
