Tigers Coach John Calipari does it the right way. When his underclassmen want to explore the option of the NBA, Cal lays out a game plan in which his players are given all the pertinent information they need to make the right choice.
When Darius Washington left school early, only to get passed up in the NBA draft, Calipari helped him gather the information and work out with the necessary people who would give him an honest evaluation. Washington was told there was a good possibility he wouldn’t be taken, but he had already made up his mind that he wasn’t going back to school. D-Wash has said in the past that he needed to turn professional to make money for his family, and like it or not, there wasn’t anything Calipari could do to sway his decision.
Friday afternoon Tigers Guard Antonio Anderson announced he would return to Memphis for his Senior season. Anderson did not look like a young man who was distraught about not making the grade this off season. Instead, he looked like a player determined to improve and become a first round selection next Summer. And with that said, I wish him well.
Anderson came prepared to speak to the media, having already decided his future in a previous conversation with Coach Calipari.
Also on hand Friday was Forward Robert Dozier who was very gracious in talking to the media about his situation. Dozier said very bluntly that he will work out for a number of NBA Teams (At least 5 that we know of) when he returns from China. Dozier said he is going to test out the waters but will not leave for the sake of leaving. In fact, Dozier said to me that if he’s projected as a second rounder he’s coming back to help Memphis try to win a National Title.
It’s not that I haven’t had people pull the wool over my eyes, but he seems to be very sincere about this. The word I’ve been hearing and reading about is that Robert needs another year and is not even on the first round radar. So if that’s the case, and he’s true to his word, than Robert follows Antonio back to school, and oh boy, what a difference that will make.
