Hickson Gone (sortof)

According to 850 The Buzz, the Sporting News is reporting that J.J. Hickson is entering his name into the draft.

As college basketball players have the option of doing, Hickson will not be hiring an agent during this process. This allows Hickson the option to return to the Pack if he learns there is not enough interest in him from teams to warrant an early departure.

The real shock would've been had Hickson not declared, frankly. He had been very open about exploring his pro options from the day he arrived on campus, and most pundits figured him for a one-and-done player from the start.

The question is, will Hickson be the next Josh Powell? Powell, if you'll recall, had a fantastic ACC tournament his sophomore season, and despite a low projected draft position decided to sign an agent regardless, ending his college career. He went undrafted, relegating himself to Europe ball on a long road back stateside. He's now on an NBA roster (the Clippers), but it's a road that few players successfully navigate. I'm happy for Josh, but it was nevertheless a mistake for him to declare when he did.

Whether it will be a mistake for Hickson to enter now, assuming he doesn't return to State, is as of yet unknown but there's a good chance he'll get drafted outside of the first round. There's no guaranteed money past the first round, meaning Hickson could find himself out of an NBA job just months after getting drafted if he isn't careful.

I wish him well. He played great at times, but disappeared at others. It's tough to say if that's entirely his fault (the rest of the team disappeared for most of the year, quite frankly), but he's got a lot of growing to do before he'll be starting in the NBA.