Dave Sez

Shavlik Randolph To Enter CBA Draft

Man, I didn't see this one coming. Duke's Shavlik Randolph has declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft. It looks like GoDuke.com has a typo there. They misspelled C-B-A.

I bet the pro scouts are positively drooling over Randolph's inability to stay healthy, stay in shape and score points. Nothing says Turkish League like 6.4 ppg average in college.

The only explanation I have is that the rumors of Randolph and his family's unhappiness with Mike Krzyzewski must be true. I'm guessing that he just got to a point where he wanted out. He's a junior who's on track to graduate (as far as I know), so he is unwilling to transfer and sit out a year just to play one more college season.

If you recall, back when he was a high school stud, many people projected that Randolph would be a lottery pick if he'd skipped college. By now we know that he would have been a bust. He hasn't even been able to make an impact in college. In fact, his slide started in high school. He was one of the top two or three players in the country as a junior, but wasn't even clearly the best player in the Triangle by the end of his senior year (Eric Williams was considered by many to be better).

Despite my criticising him, Randolph really does seem like a good kid, the kind you'd want representing your school. I hope it works out for him, but short of a miracle, he's never going to play a minute in the NBA.