Potential Positive Situation for Blue

[bleedbluegold03]

From NBC's Early Entry Winners (http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/29/nba-draft-early-entry-winners-there-are-a-lot-of-them/) article:

Point guards in this draft: The biggest name to pull out of the draft was Marcus Smart, meaning that guys like Trey Burke, CJ McCollum and Michael Carter-Williams will slide higher up the list of available point guards. That’s good news for them. But with borderline first rounders like Shabazz Napier, Jahii Carson and Russ Smith also returning to school, guys like Shane Larkin and Ray McCallum find themselves in a better position to sneak into the first round.

In no way am I suggesting Blue's best position is at PG (that remains to be seen as far as I am concerned) but if he can convince a team that that is his position in the league, this year could end up being a better situation for him. Time will tell...

[IWB]

On top of that, I was told that with missing classes in preparing for the draft, Vander has been proactive and is working ahead on class work to finish the semester strong and is doing very well in his classes. That is great to hear.

[TulsaWarrior]

I was something I was wondering about. Thanks for the update.

[Mark Miller]

On top of that, I was told that with missing classes in preparing for the draft, Vander has been proactive and is working ahead on class work to finish the semester strong and is doing very well in his classes. That is great to hear.

Awesome news. Very happy to hear.

[Markedman]

Thanks Jim.....when I wished Vander luck and thanked him for the last 3 years on twitter I said to him I hope you can find a way to finish your degree.

Looks like he is going to try....great to hear



Awesome news. Very happy to hear.

[bleedbluegold03]

From Chad Forde earlier this week, seems my theory is not all that far-fetched after all...

Vander Blue, G, Jr. Marquette

Blue had a breakout season as a junior, averaging 14.8 PPG. He is a terrific athlete who can guard multiple positions and exudes the sort of toughness we've come to expect from Marquette players. He's coming off a strong NCAA tournament run that helped carry Marquette to the Elite Eight. However, he still lacks a consistent perimeter jumper and is considered undersized for a 2-guard. Most likely, he's a second-round pick. But some scouts project him as a big point guard, so there's a chance he sneaks into the first round.

The farther the Bulls go in this post season, the better draft odds Blue has as far as I am concerned. The current emergence of Jimmy Butler in the Bulls system is a huge reinforcement of the type of player GMs hope to gain from the Buzz William's Marquette system: a tough, versatile defensive guard that plays within himself and contributes efficiently without plays being run for him. In short, the perfect glue player. This type of player is called out in Grantland's article this week Who Are the New Age Shane Battiers? (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9225802/players-shane-battier-harder-find-conventional-wisdom-suggests) and shocker, Matthews and Butler both make the list (with Crowder as an honorable mention).

Great teams that are normally drafting at the end of the first round are looking for these types of players that will compliment the stars already winning for their rosters. One could argue that the success of Matthews directly correlated to a team taking a late first round flyer on Hayward and Butler. Jimmy Butler's emergence (and Crowder's promise) have cemented our program as one that contributes a wanted player. Hopefully this correlates to someone taking a flyer on Blue...

[TheSultan]

In thinking about this over the past couple of weeks, I think he is going to look back on this as a good decision. Coming off a great year...weak draft class... This might really work out for him.