Morgantown, West Virginia – Bob Huggins loves to win. While he certainly has his players’ best interest in mind, has he ever told one of his players that it was a good time to leave early and go to the NBA?
Huggins is old school and cautious and again, he wants to win.
But Miles McBride absolutely made the right decision by remaining in the 2021 NBA Draft, ending his time in Morgantown.
McBride was absolutely sensational at last month’s NBA Combine. He exceeded expectations in every way. He was bigger, stronger, faster and more mature than NBA executives previously thought.
McBride showed that he could shoot from the NBA three point distance (23 feet, 9 inches), his athleticism was off the charts, and his measurables (height, size of hands, wingspan etc.) were far better than expected. Defensive drills showed what we already knew, that he can play defense.
In other words, McBride proved that he’s ready.
McBride worked out and interviewed with several teams and he made an intelligent decision. When teams are impressed with a player – like several teams were with Deuce – they often make verbal promises to draft the player if he’s available when their pick is up.
McBride worked out with the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics, and then he skipped the Combine scrimmages. That was pretty clear indication that McBride felt confident that he had nothing left to prove. While other players battled it out in scrimmages, McBride was clearly told that he didn’t need to participate.
While many people will selfishly say that McBride should have returned for another year at West Virginia, it’s very, very unlikely that he would have improved his draft stock and he would have risked injury. An injury – even a relatively minor one – would have put his chances at millions of dollars at risk.
Miles McBride will certainly be missed in Morgantown, but he absolutely made the right decision for himself and his family.
