We woun't have Stuckey to kick around anymore!

[mslacat]

Well it looks like Rodney Stuckey finally got tired of slumming it at the Brick Breeden and Harry Addams field houses. Stucky has declared for the NBA draft.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug ... &type=lgns

He will not hire an agent so there is still a chance we will have to deal with him next year. I really can not blame him, or any kid for that matter who has the opportunity to set himself and his family for life if he goes first round. On the other hand though there are a huge number of underclassmen who have declared this year (about 35 last I checked), which could push him to the second round. On the plus side there are a huge number of quality big guy's, but it seems to be a little thin at the guard.

I wish him the best, sorry to see you leave...... (well maybe not that much)

[lifeloyalsigmsu]

Well it looks like Rodney Stuckey finally got tired of slumming it at the Brick Breeden and Harry Addams field houses. Stucky has declared for the NBA draft.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug ... &type=lgns

He will not hire an agent so there is still a chance we will have to deal with him next year. I really can not blame him, or any kid for that matter who has the opportunity to set himself and his family for life if he goes first round. On the other hand though there are a huge number of underclassmen who have declared this year (about 35 last I checked), which could push him to the second round. On the plus side there are a huge number of quality big guy's, but it seems to be a little thin at the guard.

I wish him the best, sorry to see you leave...... (well maybe not that much)

If he's not happy with his potential draft status, there are rumors from writers at rivals.com that he is considering a transfer to a Pac 10 school. I'm not too sure about how that would benefit him since I am still under the understanding that he'd have to sit out a year and then he'd be eligible for a senior year. Or, I guess he could use a redshirt. Are any of those scenarios possible?

[mslacat]

Well it looks like Rodney Stuckey finally got tired of slumming it at the Brick Breeden and Harry Addams field houses. Stucky has declared for the NBA draft.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug ... &type=lgns

He will not hire an agent so there is still a chance we will have to deal with him next year. I really can not blame him, or any kid for that matter who has the opportunity to set himself and his family for life if he goes first round. On the other hand though there are a huge number of underclassmen who have declared this year (about 35 last I checked), which could push him to the second round. On the plus side there are a huge number of quality big guy's, but it seems to be a little thin at the guard.

I wish him the best, sorry to see you leave...... (well maybe not that much)

If he's not happy with his potential draft status, there are rumors from writers at rivals.com that he is considering a transfer to a Pac 10 school. I'm not too sure about how that would benefit him since I am still under the understanding that he'd have to sit out a year and then he'd be eligible for a senior year. Or, I guess he could use a redshirt. Are any of those scenarios possible?

Stucky had to sit out his first year at EWU because of grades. He has since become a pretty good student. I believe if he is of good standing (GPA 2.5+) he can be given a 6th year to finish his 4 years of eligibility. To be honest though after sitting out one year and then playing one year I don't really know if he would want to sick around for a sixth year (his senior year).

[Bleedinbluengold]

It's a red flag if he had academic problems and Eastern...I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

How's he compare with the other guards in the draft? Wasn't he up for some national honor that put him in pretty rarified air?

[mslacat]

It's a red flag if he had academic problems and Eastern...I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

How's he compare with the other guards in the draft? Wasn't he up for some national honor that put him in pretty rarified air?

Eastern took a chance with Stuckey, there was no doubt. WSU was recruiting him hard and U of W were showing lots of interest also, but both backed off when it started to become clear he might be a non-qualifier (ACT problem). Eastern liked the kid and stoke with him. WSU and UW have both signed non-qualifies before but chose not to this time. Everyone I have talked to has said Stuckey's ACT problem was a fluke. He has been an excellent student, if not one of the basketball team best academic performers. It would be a red flag to me if continued to struggle academically. To sit out a year and become an excellent student after being labeled as a "non-qualifier" would become a green flag. Remember 60-70% of all JC players were "non-qualifiers" out of high school.

[El_Gato]

mslacat,

Do you have any links to NBA draft projections? I'm just curious where Stuckey would fall. With NBA teams only drafting 2 rounds and Stuckey not hiring an agent, I wonder if he might go undrafted?

[Au Blue]

"There is a name that surfaces each time Rodney Stuckey is discussed. It's always qualified with a "when he was in college, not now ..." stipulation, but any time you can have your name linked with Dwyane Wade's, well, you're doing something right.

"He's my favorite player," Stuckey says.

The Eastern Washington guard may join Wade in the NBA soon enough. Stuckey is close to completing his second collegiate season, and there are indications it will be his last. When you average more than 24 points a game in consecutive seasons, moving on to the next level is only natural.

"I'll probably declare for the [NBA] Draft and not sign with an agent to see how things fall," Stuckey says. "That's the best way to do it."

Things may fall very well for the Seattle native. An NBA source has said Stuckey's game is ready for the next level.

"He reminds us of Dwyane Wade when he was at Marquette," the source said. "A big guard, kind of a combo. Wade handled the ball really well, as does Stuckey. He is an unbelievable passer. He has a great basketball IQ. He's very strong, physical, athletic. He's not a great shooter, but he's a great scorer. Wade is still like that, and more so in college."

Stuckey ended up at Eastern Washington because he was a non-qualifier coming out of Kentwood High. Pac-10 schools were interested, but the league does not allow non-qualifiers. So, Stuckey stayed in-state to play for the Eagles.

"In high school, I wasn't focused on the school part," Stuckey said. "It was just me having fun and hanging out with my friends. That kind of stuff got me off track."

That's changed at Eastern Washington, where Stuckey has flourished in the classroom, earning a 3.34 GPA in his three years on campus with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies and Criminal Justice.

"He's done a phenomenal job in the classroom," coach Mike Burns said. "We're proud of his on-the-court accomplishments, but we're even more proud of his high GPA and how he's done academically."

After sitting out his first year to get his grades in order, Stuckey has dominated the Big Sky conference for two years. He averaged 24.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists and was named Big Sky Player of the Year as a freshman, and has followed that up with 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season en route to what undoubtedly will be another Big Sky Player of the Year award.

"He's done a better job of handling the ball. His assist-to-turnover ratio is better," Burns says of his star's improvement. "The numbers he has in conference play -- 87 assists and 52 turnovers -- are pretty good considering all the attention he gets from the opposing defenses."


This is just part of the story from SI.com.... here's the link to the entire story. It sounds like he's doing well academically. I used to be from the school of thought that athletes should stay in school so they had something to fall back on.... now, I believe if an athlete has the ability (minus the attitude), why not give it a shot? Sign a multi-million dollar contract, and set some money aside in the off chance they have a career-ending injury. Good luck to Rodney.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/w ... index.html

[mslacat]

mslacat,

Do you have any links to NBA draft projections? I'm just curious where Stuckey would fall. With NBA teams only drafting 2 rounds and Stuckey not hiring an agent, I wonder if he might go undrafted?

I have not seen one in a few months but after this week end they will be coming out our ears (filing dead line is the 29th). Last I saw Stucky was in the 25th-30th pick range. 1-30 is first round. Stuckey I think need to go to the NBA pre-draft camp and solidify if not improve his stock to make sure he stays in the 1st round. There are so many under class men creating pressure at the top of the draft, and then there will be 3-4 sleepers who will come impress folks at the pre draft camp, you could see him get lost and shoved deep into the second round if he does not watch himself.

[MTBobcatFan]

I wouldn't be suprised to see Stuckey withdraw from the draft. I would be suprised if he were a first round pick. I read a quote by him today that said he does want to get a degree...a promise to his mom.