Randolph chooses uncertain draft prospects over Duke

[ducks]

Randolph chooses uncertain draft prospects over Duke
By AARON BEARD, AP Sports Writer
June 21, 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Shavlik Randolph has decided to stay in the NBA draft, ending a disappointing three-year career at Duke marked by injuries and unfulfilled expectations.

Randolph met with members of the Duke coaching staff to inform them of his decision Tuesday, athletics spokesman Jon Jackson said. Tuesday was the deadline for underclassmen to remove their name from the draft and return to school provided they had not hired an agent.

Randolph's father, Kenny, said Tuesday evening his son had not hired an agent.

ADVERTISEMENT
``His mother and I made him look us in the eye and promise he would get his degree,'' Kenny Randolph said. ``As long as he had his degree, if (the NBA) was his decision, we backed it 100 percent. He went to college to get a degree.''

Coach Mike Krzyzewski was unavailable for comment, Jackson said.

Randolph's announcement that he was entering the June 28th draft raised plenty of eyebrows. He arrived at Duke as a McDonald's All-American and one of the state's highest-profile basketball recruits in 2002, but he averaged just 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 92 career games.

In a workout with the Charlotte Bobcats two weeks ago, Randolph said he would likely return to Duke for his senior season. He said he had not hired an agent and painted the decision to enter the draft as a way to evaluate his skills and get input from NBA teams.

``This is what I am going to have to do next year, so it's almost like a dress rehearsal,'' he said. ``I felt like it's a situation where if you are a rising senior, you have one year to be able to do this and you don't have anything to lose. Why not just try it?''

But Randolph wasn't invited to the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago earlier this month, a good indication of whether a player is even a blip on the radar for league prospects.

Chris Monter, who publishes an NBA draft newsletter five times a year and edits a Web site devoted to college basketball, said he didn't expect a team to draft Randolph.

``I would be waiting for the phone to ring after the draft and hoping someone would want to bring him in the summer league,'' Monter said.

Randolph's surprise declaration also fueled speculation that he was unhappy at Duke, which returns six of its top eight players from last season's 27-6 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship squad. The Blue Devils also add one of the nation's top recruiting classes, which includes 6-10 forward Josh McRoberts.

Randolph's stats were hardly the kind of numbers people expected when he signed with the Blue Devils out of nearby Broughton High School in Raleigh.

Randolph -- the grandson of former North Carolina State great Ronnie Shavlik -- has rarely displayed the all-around game that made him the target of intense recruiting battles between Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State and several other schools.

Part of the reason could be traced to injuries, beginning with left hip surgery after his freshman season. He played in all 37 games in 2003-04, averaging a modest 7 points while starting just 10 games for a Final Four team. Last season, Randolph missed four games with mononucleosis.

[JMarkJohns]

This is only partly true...

12.2.4.2.1 Exception

Professional Basketball Draft—Four-Year College Student-Athlete. An enrolled student-athlete in basketball may enter a professional league’s draft one time during his or her collegiate career without jeopardizing eligibility in that sport, provided the student-athlete is not drafted by any team in that league and the student-athlete declares his or her intention to resume intercollegiate participation within 30 days after the draft. The student-athlete’s declaration of intent shall be in writing to the ins ution’s director of athletics.

Technically, any early entrant college player can return to school so long as he doesn't sign an agent or get drafted. So, Randolph could go back to Duke, though I doubt Satan wants him anywhere near the court.