Does McDermott stay 4 years or go pro early?

[glm38]

As much as I hate it, if he becomes a lottery pick, he has to go.

If he's a second round pick, he comes back.

The gray area is if he's a late first round pick.

I think that sums it up perfectly.

[DoubleJayAlum]

True. Playing him against him is always bittersweet for me knowing what could've been. I hope he goes to the NBA and really makes a name for himself but for now I wouldn't mind him laying a few eggs against the Panthers next season (and maybe the next one). It is an interesting situation for him compared to most players with his talent who usually have little connection to their school (and education) outside of playing basketball, so they take off early

The bold is very true. Doug also hasn't fathered any children yet and doesn't come from a family where he is expected to support his parents and all of his siblings. A lot of the time, kids turn pro for these sorts of financial reasons, even if they aren't ready or don't really want to.

[achrist70]

As much as I would like to see him go after 3 years, so the Panthers do have to put up with him for a 4th year, I think that he needs to stay in College as long as he can, I think he will be sort of a Shane Battier, great college player, but in the NBA game he will probably be more of a role player.

[shockem]

Shane Battier has had a nice career. A lot of NBA players would kill to have the career of Shane Battier. It's amazing how long you can prolong a career by having a reliable 3 point shot.

[Ali]

I'm surprised at his NBA prospects. How many guys his size in the NBA play below the rim?

[glm38]

Shane Battier has had a nice career. A lot of NBA players would kill to have the career of Shane Battier. It's amazing how long you can prolong a career by having a reliable 3 point shot.

Battier is far from just a 3 point shooter. He's also one of the better defenders in the entire league. Doug has a long way to go to match Battier at that end of the floor.

[Chicagojayfan]

Shane Battier has had a nice career. A lot of NBA players would kill to have the career of Shane Battier. It's amazing how long you can prolong a career by having a reliable 3 point shot.

Battier is far from just a 3 point shooter. He's also one of the better defenders in the entire league. Doug has a long way to go to match Battier at that end of the floor.

They are very different players. In general there will always be a demand for 6-7 guys who can rebound and who can shoot from the outside. In addition there are always demands for highly skilled 6-7 guys who can really do a lot with the ball. So, McDermott is an NBA player already in my opinion. At the very least he's a stretch 4 and big-3 who can play situationally to stretch the floor against 4's in a small lineup and to mix it up in the paint against 3's who can't exploit him defensively.

What he does in the league will depend on what he does to develop as a player. He needs to work on a few things:

- Wing skills - more creativity off the bounce setting up a mid-range game off of his 3 pt shooting. More dribble-drive, dribble-pass. We know he can score, now let's see if he can create for his teammates and add an entirely new dimension to counter teams who can match him inside and pressure him on the 3 pt line.
- More quickness and agility - he'll never be Battier defensively (but Battier will never be McDermott with the ball either), but he needs to be able to defend better outside the paint
- More general strength and core strength - this will help him with his agility and will also help him with mixing it in the paint. If he's going to be a starter and a high level player, he needs to make his living as a true combo-forward who is good enough with the ball to make his own role on a team that wants his skills. (interestingly, I think he wore down a bit last year due to the international play the summer before. It want to see if his late season play is even better this year)

How good can he be? It's hard to say. He has unique skills and the level of improvement from Fr to So year was pretty amazing. If he's anywhere near that level of improvement from So-Jr then we could all be surprised again.

[glm38]

I wasn't putting Doug down at all. He's a great college player. Was just pointing out that Battier is much more than a 3 point shooter.

Doug will be in the Nba. But I don't think its clear yet if he can stick for more than a year or 2? So much of his current game is post play. Don't see him making a living down there in the pros. But he's young and certainly capable of expanding his game.

[achrist70]

I didn't mean that Shane Battier hasn't had a nice NBA career, and I know that defensively Doug isn't at his level, but I was more pointing to the fact that he was a four year college player, and most that come out are the so called "superstar" players, that get drafted high, but don't always turn out. I think Doug has the chance to have a nice pro career, but I really don't see him being a high draft pick.

[cu8493]

I think it depends on how much stronger he gets over the course of this season. Its one thing to make those spin moves, up and unders and various other post moves that he uses against the average college post player. Its a whole other game to work inside against the best and the biggest in the world. IMO his greatest advantage at the college level is his ability to play inside and outside. Put a big guy on him, and he can take that man outside the paint and drop the three if the big guy doesn't guard him out there. Put a smaller, more athletic guy on him and he takes the guy low and schools him in the post.

How does that translate to the NBA? He has good range, but has no where near the quick release that has enabled Korver to become a three point specialist. He doesn't have the speed of a Kevin Durant to take guys off the dribble. Not saying he isn't successful against a lot of big guys down low also, but those guys down low in the NBA are more than just a little faster, longer and stronger than the average MVC post player (or college post for that matter). IMO, he will have to be able to go inside and outside. I don't see that happening untill he develops Carl Malone/Dwight Howard type shoulders (or at least something close to that) so he can bang down low when he needs to against NBA posts and power forwards. I think that is going to take a couple more years.