Adama Bal and the NBA

Recruiting News
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We thought this might happen, though at least he is retaining college eligibility for now. He is still a 2nd rounder on many draft boards. And it would be neat for SCU to go 3/3 in as many years on NBA picks. Recruits with those aspirations will take notice.

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Addition by subtraction for SCU? I like Bal, but the iso game was exhausting to watch

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I agree somewhat. Except that I think that Bal being told that he needs to work on POA defense and team offense to realize his NBA dreams could bring him back as an incredible player for SCU. It just depends on whether he will develop his game to eliminate his weakest points with another season of heavy minutes. And Bal is still very young for a junior, so playing another season doesn’t get him slapped with the “old” label that leads a lot of front offices to pass on talented senior players.

I think this is a win-win for SCU in the long run. Either Bal comes back with redoubled effort to showcase his NBA talent by patching the holes in his game. Or he gets drafted in the 2nd round, and SCU starts becoming a major destination for extremely talented players left on the bench at elite programs. And that latter bit might be what SCU needs to overcome considerable NIL gaps with some of the big dogs.

Best of luck to Adama, either way. I have to imagine, like Podz, he is grateful to SCU for giving him the opportunity to show how good he can be.

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Not surprised.
These announcements almost always sound like the player is gone but the: ‘retaining college eligibility’ is key. Many players test the waters but decide to return…GU’s Anton Watson comes to mind.

Here’s the thing…a player doesn’t need all 30 NBA teams to believe in their potential; all they need is for one team to see something in them.

If Bal gets some strong interest from a team or two, even if not a 1st round guarantee, that may be enough for him to go. That doesn’t mean he’ll have a Jalen or Podz first year impact…a two-way contract and/or going back-forth between G League and NBA is more likely.

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Isn’t this more of a Herb problem than a Adama Bal problem?

Genuinely asking.

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