How long has Baye been playing basketball?
Since he was 14. He’s not THAT new to the game — he’s got both hands, solid touch, good footwork, etc. Obviously needs to improve his jumper and get stronger but you can say that for most 18 year old power forward freshman prospects. It just so happens that our freshman prospect is 21.
Does this make an assumption on where he'll make more next year?
IMHO part of the equation - the other part is where does he have a better chance to develop and demonstrate the perimeter shooting skills I expect he is being told he has to develop. Will GT allow him to expand his game to show the perimeter skills - most likely by moving him to the 4 spot or at least adjusting the offense to incorporate more pick and pop if he stays at the 5. He will get some level of NIL compared to G League but he knows he will be featured at GT - just needs to know how. In the G League he will be paid but he is there to develop a specific perimeter shooting skill. Will he get enough PT at the 4 spot to be able to both develop and show the improvement in shooting. He doesn't totally control where he goes so he likely won't be featured, won't be the only player trying to get minutes to show/improve skills and may not get the ball from guards in the spot he needs to show improvement. IOW there is a risk he gets lost in a G League full of players trying to do exactly what he is trying to do.
I don't think he is a sure bet for the G League at this point. It's not just his ability to shoot threes. He looked very uncertain about where to be and what he was supposed to do as a 4 during the Sunday game. Plus, he lacks the size to be a pro 5.
With a birth date of Jan 1, 2003, he was an older freshman. I was 21 when I graduated from Tech after 4 years. Times have changed for sure with the advent of basketball prep academies extending beyond the normal high school years. I can understand why he wants to go pro after his freshman year, rather than stay to graduate and be 24. At 24, he would be two to three years older than the average graduate in the NBA draft. I see his logic in trying now for the draft. He is still a good draft candidate by age and pro longevity if he stays at Tech for a year or more. Coming to the US from Senegal and attending three prep schools also could have resulted in his older start to college, committing to Rutgers and then signing with Tech after Coach Hobbs joined the staff last spring.
I’m not buying the exposure argument. G League is the NBA’s minor league and its talent is showcased to every NBA team. The players in G League have numerous paths to the NBA and 50% of the NBA’s starting rosters for this season had G League experience. Much of the NBA’s coaches, trainers & front office staff come from G League. If the priority is exposure to NBA teams, G League is the obvious answer. TV & sports announcers/analysts are not needed for exposure. There is a daily game by game pipeline from G League team to NBA team. If it’s $, the college NIL package should easily beat G League. If it’s skillsets that need further development, then maybe another year of college ball is the better choice, assuming you are returning to coaches and a team that the player has enough trust in for getting those skills developed to a pro level. Baye Ndongo’s priority is the NBA & CDS seems to be supportive of any decision he makes. Hopefully, that kind of support generates a trust level that might influence BN’s decision in favor of returning. And if so, maybe a NIL package could ice that decision. We will know soon enough.
Yeah probably. But I really hope, for his sake, that how much $ he makes in this next season is far down his criteria. I’m sure he’s factoring in how this decision will result in how much he’ll make long-term. The opportunity cost of giving up 1 year of pro basketball is more than just the difference in college vs pro earnings in that 1 year.
Wanna mention he's likely to make more at GT under multiple Pro vs. college scenarios.
A lot more fun to have that discussion after an appearance in the NCAA tournament. I hope we can get there.
I suspect he was "discovered" in his home country of Senegal (one of the 12 teams in the NBA's Basketball Africa League (BAL)) and then attended three basketball academies in the US, being highly recruited as an academy "graduate". It appears he wanted to go to an academic oriented US college, so he committed to Rutgers and then to Georgia Tech. He is in the catbird sear on choices for basketball, and is at the top of the list to go be one of the 480 G-League players on 32 teams for development and pay. Since the NBA owns the BAL, they could send him home to Senegal for further development for pay over a 6 month contract. Either would shortcut his education. I do think that is a consideration for him, or at least his parents.
Obi Toppin was a lottery pick a few years ago. He was at the time a 22 year old college sophomore. Age can provide some limitations but it won't keep a player from being drafted or drafted high if they do what's necessary to make pro teams believe that there's a place for them in the league. And the player can do that without toiling away in the G league for however long.
Sure. But it needs to be explicitly stated that he’s not making this life-altering decision based on his earning potential over the next 200 days.
Well said
