Kam Chatman declares for NBA draft

[Rogobob77]

Not hiring an agent, so good chance he’ll be back as a Titan next season:

http://detroittitans.com/news/2018/3/21 ... agent.aspx

[TitanTarHeel]

It is true Kam won't get drafted this year, and he has very low odds of getting drafted after next season.

But, from a career perspective its probably a smart move to go thru this process. As the article notes, he will get to compete with other players and receive a lot of feedback about his game by going thur the draft combine. He should come out of learning a lot more about what he needs to do and work on to make it in the NBA. Most likely, he'll have an overseas career when his collegiate career is over, and going thru this process could potentially raise his profile to folks overseas. It's also 100% risk less and cost less for him to do this, with only upside to his longer term career.

[Tacitus651]

When I first read the headline today, I had not recalled the new rules about being able to declare but not hire an agent and then withdraw from the draft. Which then led me to think maybe BA was on his way out.

At any rate, I never blame people for taking opportunities to measure themselves or test the waters. I don't follow the NBA and have little understanding of the draft. After reading Tony Paul's article, it seems there's a chance Chatman might not get invited to the NBA combine? If he's not invited to the combine, is he allowed to workout with individual teams? Hope this ends up being a positive experience for him and not a negative one.

[Titans96]

It sounds like BA and Chatman stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[upbasketballfan]

I wish him well and hope a NBA team picks him up. I think he is getting some really poor advice here and should spend the summer over on Lake Michigan running in the sand and doing a lot of conditioning and strength work. In fact our whole team should be over there and learning to play together. Scrimmaging would be great in the sand as they would need to cut and pass to score.

[titanmike]

It sounds like BA and Chatman stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Seriously, tell me how you lump BA into this?

[Titans96]

It sounds like BA and Chatman stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Seriously, tell me how you lump BA into this?

Because BA said this...
"Kam is a special talent and has been throughout his college career," said head coach Bacari Alexander '99. "I'm excited for him to go through the process of discovering where he is in his pursuit of his dreams to become a pro player. We will help guide him through the process moving forward. The NBA advisory process has proven to be very enlightening to many in my experiences dealing with pro caliber prospects like Kameron Chatman."

[NC Titan]

I wish him well and hope a NBA team picks him up. I think he is getting some really poor advice here and should spend the summer over on Lake Michigan running in the sand and doing a lot of conditioning and strength work. In fact our whole team should be over there and learning to play together. Scrimmaging would be great in the sand as they would need to cut and pass to score.

Kam will have until the end of May to withdraw from the draft if he decides to come back. That'll still leave him plenty of time to run in the sand.

[upbasketballfan]

I wish him well and hope a NBA team picks him up. I think he is getting some really poor advice here and should spend the summer over on Lake Michigan running in the sand and doing a lot of conditioning and strength work. In fact our whole team should be over there and learning to play together. Scrimmaging would be great in the sand as they would need to cut and pass to score.

Kam will have until the end of May to withdraw from the draft if he decides to come back. That'll still leave him plenty of time to run in the sand.

He should have started 2 years ago not in two months!

[Commissioner]

I wish him well and hope a NBA team picks him up. I think he is getting some really poor advice here and should spend the summer over on Lake Michigan running in the sand and doing a lot of conditioning and strength work. In fact our whole team should be over there and learning to play together. Scrimmaging would be great in the sand as they would need to cut and pass to score.

Kam will have until the end of May to withdraw from the draft if he decides to come back. That'll still leave him plenty of time to run in the sand.

This is a smart move--he'll get some feedback that may be useful to him in hoping to get drafted a year from now, or playing overseas. He's only getting bad advice if he decides to stay in--which I doubt--and does so on the advice of people other than NBA scouts.

For the Titans, it's really a can't lose, too. If Kam actually got drafted, that would be good for the program. More likely he doesn't, so nothing really gained or lost. Maybe he'll learn something. Maybe he'll learn he has to spend more time running on the beach.

[Titans96]

This isn't a smart move in any way whatsoever. Chatman was just a 2nd Team Horizon League player. The HL is one of the worst conferences in D1 basketball. There will be roughly 30 kids drafted this year into the NBA, of which 15 may make a team. There are easily 200+ players in D1 hoops wanting to go pro who are much better than Chatman. Also, add the International players and Chatman may be considered a top 400 player. There will be no coaching given to Chatman in this process. Pro coaches and scouts won't waste their time on him.

A good coach and advisor would tell Chatman the facts and let him know that there is NO CHANCE he will get drafted this year or next year. Not BA, he thinks Chatman is a "pro caliber" type player. Maybe I should try to go pro? My odds are just slightly worse than Chatman's.

He should focus on getting great grades in school and improving his game through hard work, getting in shape and improving his game. Having dreams is one thing, but being realistic is a whole other thing. He should realize that his best chances are to come out of UDM with a great degree and get a nice job and have a super career. BA should properly advise his players, not mislead them.

[TitanTarHeel]

And then Mark Twain said to Titan96..."Better be thought a fool, then open one's mouth and remove all doubt"

[dtowntitan]

This is a very smart move on Kam’s part. There is zero risk here. He gets the opportunity to meet with coaches and team personnel, get feedback from nba advisory board and then will come back to school. Makes all the sense in the world to do. He would be kind of foolish to not take advantage of the opportunity.

[NC Titan]

It is rare these days for a coach to discourage a kid from at least testing the pro waters. If he does discourage the player, he looks selfish. I would expect that every scout who talks with Kam tells him to go back to college, advises him on what he needs to do to improve (a value right there) and Kam gets good enough to make a living as a pro in Europe or someplace else. We've had less-talented players leave UDM and get a pro career abroad.

[The-Dude]

It sounds like BA and Chatman stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

This is accurate. They are recruiting together and stayed here:

http://english.ctrip.com/hotels/reykjav ... s-c831b22/

[Rogobob77]

From The Detroit News:

“Detroit Mercy’s Kam Chatman declares for NBA Draft
The redshirt junior forward, who averaged 17.8 points a game last season, won’t hire an agent.”

http://detne.ws/2HSJlJf

[Tacitus651]

It sounds like BA and Chatman stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

This is accurate. They are recruiting together and stayed here:

http://english.ctrip.com/hotels/reykjav ... s-c831b22/

BA can pick up a recruit and Kam can get evaluated by the pro Iceland league scouts.

[Titans96]

BA had his chance to get one of Iceland’s greatest star hoops players, Jon Axel Gudmundsson, but he decided to pass on him and wait for JJJr.

Instead Jon Axel Gudmundsson decided to attend Davidson, become the next Stephen Curry and be an assist machine. Oh well, we got JJJr!

BA didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express!

[MooseGuy1]

Much ado about nothing. There's no problem here. At best, I think he'll get some realistic appraisals of his strengths and weaknesses. At worst, he'll be mostly ignored by the NBA staffs and scouts and get his feelings hurt. Either way, it gives him a more accurate gauge than he's getting from Bacari of where he is--and more importantly--how far he has to go to be considered NBA caliber, or even overseas level. It could be the impetus towards working on his weaknesses. He won't get drafted, of that I'm quite sure. So he'll exercise his last year of eligibility here and might well become a better player for the Titans. I can't see how this is a bad move in any real way.

[HSScout1]

Per ESPN' S Jeff Goodman

Detroit’s Kam Chatman will sign with an agent and remain in the NBA Draft, his father told ESPN. Began his career at Michigan.