Ater Majok Declares For Draft

[angry ant]

http://nbl.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=77827

[MAIN_MAN]

Media realease from UCONN
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/042309aab.html

[stylin]

Wow! Very unexpected. But a good idea to get himself on the radar. Seeing he doesnt have an agent it cant hurt him.

[Clips]

What's the highest level he has played? NSWSL?

[MAIN_MAN]

What's the highest level he has played? NSWSL?

Yes, he's played for Parramatta Wildcats Youth league team, and played 1 game for the ABA team.

A short snippet on youtub about him declaring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd4yhRXdoaI

[Clips]

So let's hope they aren't looking for game experience then... ;)

[PyroCross]

Waste, should've used his burn card when he actually gets some consistent game-time at the Huskies.

[Casein]

Waste, should've used his burn card when he actually gets some consistent game-time at the Huskies.

Consistent is not the word, hasn't even stepped on the court yet.

Wonder how Uconn feel about his decision to nominate, even if only having a peek, after the hassle of getting his elegibility confirmed and allocating a scholarship.

Then again with the cloud of NCAA investiagtions looming they may have bigger things on their mind.

[stylin]

Then again with the cloud of NCAA investiagtions looming they may have bigger things on their mind.

What investigations? Players being paid etc?

[Casein]

What investigations? Players being paid etc?

A sample from many references:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11553195
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ys-uconnphone032509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[Clips]

http://www.draftexpress.com (http://www.draftexpress.com/)Who Is Ater Majok (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ater-Majok-5255/)?

Lost in a crowded day of early-entry declarations (Stephen Curry (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Stephen-Curry-1170/), Ty Lawson (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ty-Lawson-485/), Wayne Ellington (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wayne-Ellington-482/)) last week was a curious statement from UConn freshman Ater Majok (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ater-Majok-5255/), announcing his intentions to enter his name in the 2009 NBA draft.

A very highly touted high school recruit (#13 Rivals, #28 Scout), Majok didn’t play a single game for UConn this past season, as question marks about his transcript did not allow him to even practice until the end of the first semester. His transcript is obviously a bit more complicated than most, as he hails from the Sudan, spent time in an Egyptian refugee camp, and also lived in Australia. He won’t be eligible to actually play until the second semester of this upcoming season.

With that in mind, Majok decided to enter his name in the draft regardless, reportedly under pressure from his family, who were disappointed in how little exposure he received this past season. He will conduct private workouts with NBA and likely elects to return to Connecticut when it’s all said and done, but he no longer will have the option of testing the waters next year or later, since he already decided to burn his lone draft card.

We had a chance to watch Majok work out at the Adidas Nations camp, and also were able to speak to others who have evaluated him closely and more recently, specifically an NBA scout that spent time recently watching UConn practice.

From what we’ve seen and can gather, Majok will always be considered an interesting prospect thanks to his excellent combination of size (6-10), terrific length, and the competitiveness he brings to the floor. While he fancies himself somewhat of a small forward prospect, his skill-level is extremely limited at the moment by how raw of a player he is. He lacks a great deal of strength, balance and coordination, and possesses very little in the ways of experience or feel for the game. His perimeter jumper is incredibly streaky and he struggles to finish around the basket in traffic. Defensively, he appears to be a long ways away from contributing, beyond his ability to hit the glass, as he just doesn’t have a great understanding of how to operate on this end of the floor. Since he only began practicing with UConn in January, he’s obviously still very much beyond the curve. Athletically, he is solid, but not out of this world, looking somewhat stiff in his movements at times.

Majok is the type of player who could very well develop into an interesting prospect in the next few years, but he’s way too far off from contributing to even be thinking about the NBA at this point, as weak as this draft may seem. Any team that even considers drafting him would only want to do so with the intent of stashing him overseas for the next few years.

[Wallitron]

I read that the value of declaring and then withdrawing will be greatly diminished in future drafts, as you'll need to withdraw early May. Without a chance to workout with the NBA folks, it's kind of a pointless exercise.

No harm using this opportunity now, given that next year it would be essentially worthless.

[alleyoop]

From Chad Ford (ESPN):

Majok sat out his entire freshman season at UConn when the NCAA ruled him ineligible. He clearly has the raw talent to be a NBA player, but the key word is RAW. Majok really needs a couple of years of college ball under his belt before even thinking about the NBA. He's got a lot of tools to work with, he just doesn't know how to use them. If he stays in the draft, he's probably a late second-round pick.