Over the years, college basketballunderclassmen have decided to leave school early for the NBA for all kinds of reasons. Some have done it because they've wanted to start getting paid for playing basketball as soon as possible. Others have done it because they haven't wanted to risk injury by continuing to play in college. And then, there's the reason that Michigan forward Mitch McGary just provided for deciding to do it.
Because of a back injury, McGary only played in eight games for the Wolverines during the 2013-14 college basketball season and definitely could have benefited from another year in school. But he just announced that he's going to make himself eligible for the 2014 NBA Draft. And why is he going to do it? Well, it seems McGary failed a drug test last month after smoking marijuana and was hit with a one-year suspension by the NCAA. So rather than sit out for a year, he's going to go pro.
"If it had been a Michigan test, I would've been suspended three games and possibly thought about coming back," McGary told Yahoo! Sports. "I don't have the greatest circumstances to leave right now [due to injury]. I feel I'm ready, but this pushed it overboard."
As McGary mentioned, had he failed a "Michigan test," he only would have been subjected to a three-game suspension, which is essentially a slap on the wrist. But because he failed an NCAA drug test (the NCAA typically only drug tests during the postseason), he was given a one-year suspension. So he's made the decision to head to the NBA—and to come clean about his failed drug test and not risk having the news about it leak out later.
"I'd rather come out and say I messed out," he said. "To all the Michigan fans out there, 'I'm sorry.' I did not want to end it this way. Basically, I just messed up."
You've got to give the kid credit for coming out and 'fessing up at this point in time. Had this come out later, it would have looked really bad. But it's crazy to think that he's essentially making a huge life decision based on the fact that he decided to smoke weed one night last month. And one way or another, he'll have to live with that decision for the rest of his life.
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[via Yahoo! Sports]
