Vander's NBA dreams

[MayorBeluga]

There's an article in today's Journal about Vander's continuing dreams and efforts at getting to the NBA (http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/former-marquette-star-vander-blue-still-hoping-to-catch-someones-eye-in-the-nba-b99697867z1-374227591.html). Interesting read, but there's a negative bit about people's reaction to him leaving.

"In addition to the positive ties, the baggage from Blue's decision to leave Marquette early still follows him. He heard the disgust from fans and even some close to him when he declared for the draft. On Twitter you'll still see negative tweets calling him foolish and mocking him for making a bad decision.

"He had a lot of people at that time that weren't supporting him on his decision to leave Marquette," Rita said. "That bothered him because he liked Marquette, he loved Marquette...."

Ouch. I realize some of this might come from a few MU fans, but if I had to bet, I would say a large percentage comes from those who are connected in some way to a different athletic department. Given his treatment from another athletic department and it's "fans", I think I'm on pretty solid ground with that guess.

[2012Warrior]

I wish I could agree but I doubt it. I was in school when Vander declared and when he comes up, people still kind of make fun of his decision. Personally, I think it has to do with his attitude when he came onto campus. I think he said he was very immature when he got here and part of his success his junior year was due to growing up off the court. He didn't make a lot of good first impressions.

I have been following him a little bit and hope he breaks through. It is a little shocking to me he hasn't gotten called up. He seems to have a great attitude and is playing very well.Hopefully he has a good summer and can latch on like Buycks did with the Raptors a few years ago.

[malfadir]

It came from both fan boards. The crap that people spew, the erroneous stuff about him stopping going to class at all, the fans knowing what is best for him. I never heard Vander criticizing any fan for switching jobs or calling in sick.

[TheSultan]

I wish I could agree but I doubt it. I was in school when Vander declared and when he comes up, people still kind of make fun of his decision. Personally, I think it has to do with his attitude when he came onto campus. I think he said he was very immature when he got here and part of his success his junior year was due to growing up off the court. He didn't make a lot of good first impressions.

I have been following him a little bit and hope he breaks through. It is a little shocking to me he hasn't gotten called up. He seems to have a great attitude and is playing very well.Hopefully he has a good summer and can latch on like Buycks did with the Raptors a few years ago.


I've said this before, but I have a family member who got to know him a bit at Marquette. He liked him a lot. Very nice guy whose attitude was more about his "discomfort" at being a minor celebrity than anything else.

Rooting hard for the guy. No kid should publicly have to go through what he went through when he decommited from UW. Even on MU fan boards his game was ridiculed early on as if he was projected as some sort of one-and-done.

My favorite game of his is when he was a sophomore back at the Kohl Center. I was worried that he was going to be too geeked up, but early on you could see he was zoned in and even got into Jordan Taylor's head. He went from guarding Taylor, to Brust, to Bruesewitz and did a masterful job on each.

[IWB]

The crap that people spew, the erroneous stuff about him stopping going to class at all

This one gets me. Now Buzz was not happy about Vander leaving, and they argued about it. Vander was convinced he was going to the NBA. When I talked to Buzz about Vander leaving early for draft workouts, Buzz said the amazing thing was that he worked two weeks ahead on his school work so that he would be in line with his classwork when he was gone.

So while he did not graduate, according to Buzz, he did not blow off his school work. Could it be that he wasn't going to class because he was two weeks ahead of the class?

[malfadir]

[QUOTE=malfadir;122274]The crap that people spew, the erroneous stuff about him stopping going to class at allQUOTE]

This one gets me. Now Buzz was not happy about Vander leaving, and they argued about it. Vander was convinced he was going to the NBA. When I talked to Buzz about Vander leaving early for draft workouts, Buzz said the amazing thing was that he worked two weeks ahead on his school work so that he would be in line with his classwork when he was gone.

So while he did not graduate, according to Buzz, he did not blow off his school work. Could it be that he wasn't going to class because he was two weeks ahead of the class?

You are absolutely correct. Vander never blue off his school work. He completed the semester successfully. However, if you listen to lots of people, he just stopped going to class and he wouldn't have been able to continue; therefore he had to declare for the draft.

[CaribouJim]

First, I'm assuming we will lose Matt Velazquez - he is too damn good, especially when contrasting him to the prior beat writer - ugh.

Hard to believe that Vander is only 23 so he's got that going for him. I watch the NBA a channel a lot and try to catch the D-Fenders games when I can and he almost always looks like the best or one of the best players on the court. Can't believe all the teams he's been on - there is a book in there somewhere. BTW, Zar looks almost unrecognizable with his hyper thick beard - he must be doing a lot of talking to the dead.

I do wish that Vander stayed another year - as the article said Vander really put his game together his junior year - his mid-range jump shot was money for example and his 3 pt. range had gotten to be respectable (Davidson) and he was closing when taking to the basket. No way to know for sure, but based on his trajectory I think he would have put himself into the 1st round and his team would have had more of an investment in him.

With that said, I think he he catches on with someone next year. I don't think he is that undersized as a 2 either.

[unclejohn]

I have never talked to Rita Blue, so I do not know exactly what she means by people not supporting him. Talking about him not going to class and the like is one thing. But most people, including me, thought it was a mistake. It is his decision, and in the end, perhaps it does not make much difference in his life. Hey, how much money can you spend in a lifetime anyway?

But I did think it was a bad decision. Not only had Vander put his game together his junior year, he had become The Man. He was the guy to take the last shot against Davidson, as everybody knew he would be. He had a great tournament. But as I recall, he was also the guy who scored the last bucket against St. John's to clinch the Big East championship. Coming into his senior year, he would have been the guy everybody was looking at, the guy who always gets the ball in crunch time, the guy who the scouts show up to see. In light of how Wesley, Lazar, and Jimmy had done in the draft (not to mention Jae, but he had not made his mark yet,) he would likely have gone in the first round. People were talking about how those Marquette players turn out better than expected.

But he made his own call. I expect he is going to make it in the league eventually. Perhaps not as successfully, because it seems so much in the NBA is about being on the right team in the right situation at the right time (ala Steve Novak,) but I think he will have a successful career. Then hopefully finish his degree and move on. Not a bad life.

[mufansince72]

I would like to see the Bucks give Vander a shot. I think he is better than a couple guys at the bottom of the roster.

[TedBaxter]

Many American born players aren't given a fair shot at the NBA because the league wants to advance it's international brand.

[Phantom Warrior]

I may be wrong, but if memory serves, very, very few fans on either this board or Dodds's board had anything negative to say about Vander as a person when he opted for the NBA draft.

Many, including me, questioned the wisdom of his decision and expressed the opinion that he was making a huge mistake and predicted he would not be drafted. Many also lamented the impact on MU for the upcoming season.

But, in general, posters's attitudes seemed to be that it was his life and therefore his decision, and almost all wished him well.

There was some speculation by a small percentage of posters that he was not all that interested in continuing the lifestyle of a college student - i.e. continuing to take classes, but that is very different from trashing the kid.

I doubt there is anyone on this board, or JD's board, who is not pulling for Vander to make it to the NBA and hopefully have a productive career.

From a strictly MU hoops perspective, I don't think there is any question that had Vander stayed for his senior season, that the Warriors would have extended their consecutive string of NCAA invitations to nine. MU would probably have ended up at least 13-5 in the league instead of 9-9 as four losses were either in overtime, double-overtime, or on the last possession of regulation.

But that's water under the proverbial bridge.

[BLT]

The kid had a dream to play in the NBA and he achieved it. I think Buzz and most fans were concerned with his choice from a timing and business sense, and they were proved right: He would have been in better draft position for guaranteed money if he waited. He is having a monster year and I hope he gets more than a cup of coffee in the future as he has worked hard.

I also think he finished his course work out of loyalty to his mom and Buzz (APR), and in spite of the two headed Administration d-wads micromanaging Buzz at the time.