O T,,Mich loses McGary for season

[milkbone]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10202078/mitch-mcgary-michigan-wolverines-back-surgery-season-likely-over

[AbovetheRim]

Back issues never a good thing for a big man, let alone at that age.

[BLT]

Should have entered the NBA draft after last season.

[2013UnleashTheBeast]

Should have entered the NBA draft after last season.

No doubt. With Burke & Hardaway Jr. leaving early and guaranteed millions on the table, what's the point coming back? Especially when you're already much older than a regular freshman. Scouts don't look at what grade you're in, they look at your birth certificate. Even without this injury, had he not shown steady improvement for the remainder of his college career, his stock would fall more by the game. If you're guaranteed lotto or even first round, you gotta go.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Maybe, maybe not. I think he would have been drafted, but once scouts started picking at him, I'm not sure he was a first-rounder. McGary made a name for himself with some great play in March, but he really wasn't that great throughout the season. Before the Tournament, he had only reached double-digits in 7 out of 33 games with a career high of 14 points and on the glass had only grabbed 8+ rebounds 10 times with a high of 11.

He was a beast in the tournament. In the five games before the championship game he made his name, averaging 16 points and 11.6 rebounds, but that's an awfully small sample size to base a first-round pick on. I think the hope was McGary would come back and pick up where he left off in the tourney and make himself into a surefire lottery pick. While he's been decent, he hasn't been close to that 5-game run of production. If he can stay healthy beyond this year, I think he'll get a shot, but I'm not sure he ever was (or will be) a first-round lock.