What A Knucklehead

    

     

    How do you say “I told you so” in Spanish? I am sure Vander Blue will be able to tell me in a couple months as his basketball journey has taken the turn for the worse after going undrafted. 

    After declaring months ago that he would forgo his senior season to test the NBA draft waters, Blue finds himself in the same situation as me: without a degree, not associated with an NBA team, and suddenly craving Marquette Gyros. While I do not know the latter for sure, (let’s face it he probably likes Dogg Haus much better) I do know that Blue made the stupidest decision of his life. Sure Blue could latch on to a team in the summer league and make an impact in the NBA. However, the odds of this happening are slim to none. 

    As I watched players from every land in the world get selected last night, I felt a burning feeling in my stomach. (it could not have been the ten piece chicken nuggets I had earlier because I already took TUMS for that)

    It was anger over Blue's decision to leave the greatest opportunity Marquette has had to win in years. Everything was set up for Marquette to have a break out year with the best recruiting class in school history coming in. Players like Davante Gardner and Jamil Wilson were coming into their own which would have been excellent compliments to Blue. 

   Why leave a school that has been nothing but great to you to pursue a career in Croatia or Poland? Why throw away an opportunity to improve your leadership skills and lead your school to the promise land all to not hear your name called on draft day? I have not spoken to Vander and I do not plan on ever sitting down with him, but let me give you my opinion on why he did it (it is very simple really).

   The thought process behind his decision can be broken down to one word: GREED. You may be asking yourself “Nick you are just a hater who dislikes all the basketball players because freshmen women adore them and not you”. Yes this is true. I am jealous of the basketball players' ability to be more appealing to women than hot cookie night. While I do envy the “ballers”, I am also a realist.

   Blue saw the opportunity to make a few million and jumped at the chance. He thought he could capitalize on an above average junior campaign. Instead of tuning up his shooting deficiencies, Blue thought he could just transition to the point guard position like the process was a walk in the park. Would I do the same? Hell no. Why not you ask: because I would want to finish what I started. 

    I would have wanted to lead Marquette to the championship. I would have wanted to be known as “the guy” on campus. I would have known that having a stellar senior year would have laminated myself as a sure fire draft pick. But, I am just a below average athlete that will never get to make the decision Vander did. 

    Oh well life goes on. I will still get to enjoy stuffing my face with cheese curds while Vander explores interesting food choices in places like Albania and Finland. Best of luck to you Van, I hope you have your passport updated.

Follow Nick on Twitter @KapN93

Nick Kapetan hosts The Sports ReKap on MarquetteRadio.org along with DJ Vogt.

The Sports ReKap will start airing again in late August

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