We've seen and heard the rumors that Scottie Reynolds may test the waters of the NBA over the past 3 days and figured it was time to start a discussion.
We don't mark ourselves as NBA scouts but a number of sources have touted the 2009 Draft as a weak one for The League. Prevailing thoughts are that Scottie should declare before the April 25th deadline and not sign with an agent. This will give him the opportunity to attend workouts and tryout for clubs. As long as he withdraws his name by the June 15th deadline, he'll be able to come back to Villanova for a Senior season and use the feedback given to him from the NBA decision makers to improve his game for 2010.
If Reynolds is guaranteed some money by an NBA team, I have no problems with him taking off. Scottie has been a gift to Villanova Basketball and I would never hold him back if he was able to get major $$$ elsewhere. He really owes 'Nova nothing at this point.
With that said, there are some downsides to doing this. First, of course, there is the increased possibility of an injury. Besides that, the only other concern is that a bad performance in training sessions can taint the view that some NBA scouts and GMs may hold of a player into the future.
Villanova will be a Top 5 team to start the 2009-10 Season if Reynolds is at the helm. With out him? The squad would probably be ranked in the high teens-low twenties. When Scottie does return to the Main Line next year, he will work on his game and he will continue to leave his mark as a Wildcat.
At 1,620 Career Points, he is currently #15 on the All-Time Scoring List. Kerry Kittles is at #1 with 2,243. To become the All-Time Leading Scorer in Villanova History, Scottie would need to average 20.8 points in 30 games. In 35 games, he would only need to average 17.8.
So, what do you think?
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