Mika announced his intentions to enter draft but not hire an agent. He really needs one more year in college…
Yes and as a BYU fan - 2 more years
My new favorite team is Cal State Bakersfield. If BYU would have spent even a part of the season playing as hard, as much like a team or with the desire and effort that the Roadrunners team does, they would have made it to the ncaa tourney and maybe even won a game.
I hope somebody else has been watching NIT games, the NCAA games are scripted and boring. It is clear which teams are meant to be there. A chosen team only has to play average to make it. Duke was getting all the calls vs. South Carolina and couldn’t throw a pea in the ocean. Villanova was bounced because they won it last year. Wisconsin is a joke and has no business being in the 16 left. It’s always the same…
Cal State Bakersfield, as an 8 seed is a half away from going to the final four and even if they don’t make it, it has been fun watching them play basketball the way it is meant to be played. Great coach, unselfish players and teamwork. They destroyed Cal and Colorado State on their home floors and they are doing the same to UT Arlington after one half. Go Roadrunners!
The crappy officials are working against CSUB with 8 minutes to go… and so it goes… the officials just can’t help themselves for anything. They can’t control their emotions, they can’t control their 5 second counts, they are a mess. They keep putting UTA on the free throw line.
Seriously, this is incredible how many times they have whistled CSUB for fouls and giving UTA chance after chance after chance.
And somehow they survive…
Now, back to true reality.
explain…
That was as real as it gets and just cool to watch a team that actually plays hard, something we didn’t see at all this past season. Even in the win against Gonzaga, the effort was only acceptable. It’s difficult to play hard when you expect your opponent to roll over every time you step on the court, because of the fear a mythical high school championship is supposed to instill.
That is reality.
So much for the famed LP3. I selfishly hope that Eric decides to come back next year. From a practical point of view, its better to jump to the NBA rather than risk an injury. Still, the thought of Mika leaving after such a deflating season just frustrates me. We had the tools to do so much better and it looks like we won’t have a chance to grow and improve the way we had hoped.
I bet part of the reason he is throwing his name in the NBA hat is his total frustration with this team. He is putting them on notice. He won’t get drafted but he is making a statement.
He is not committed to the draft.
The way it works is by declaring without an agent he can still come back to BYU and play.
Given his lack of NBA level skills. He probably will be back.
Some teams will invite him for workouts. He’ll prove he is inadequate and they will tell him what he needs to do to improve for next year…Several green and talented players do it every year.
Harold is right and probably accurate as to exactly what will happen.
That felt really good to say. I hope you appreciate it… 
He’s doing what Haws and Jimmer did. I think he will be back.
“I bet part of the reason he is throwing his name in the NBA hat is his total frustration with this team. He is putting them on notice. He won’t get drafted but he is making a statement.”
So says you, the oracle of all things BYU sports!! You put an interesting spin on any situation. I think the situation is that Eric Mika is married and sees an opportunity to secure his financial future and not risk an injury by playing another year in college. He is 22 years old and most guys that are going to play in the NBA get drafted at age 21 or younger. Every year he stays in college is another year he won’t earn the big dollars. That is all there is to it. That’s what he said and it makes sense. I am sure Mika wasn’t the only guy on the BYU team that was frustrated by the results of last year. I suspect all of them were. I think you are exercising your imagined powers of discernment regarding BYU athletes.
I was disappointed to see that he is entering the draft because it certainly lowers expectations for next season if he actually is drafted. He has some things to work on but he might get drafted based on his potential. He has size, quickness, and runs the floor extremely well. He works very hard at improving his game. He went from being a liability at the foul line to an asset. He improved his mid range jumper. His upside is tremendous. I think he will do much better than past BYU NBA big man busts like Shawn Bradley and Rafael Araujo because he is much more athletic. I don’t think he is a Trent Plaisted who was convinced he was NBA material, and he wasn’t, and ended up leaving a year early. Even so Trent has probably made a very good living playing in Europe.
The state of college athletics is that the best players won’t stay in school four years. I would rather see a team stay together but if you get a blue chip player you better brace yourselves for the likelihood that they won’t be around to play 4 years. I am sure that the Mika that dominated Karnoski up in Spokane can play in the NBA. That is what he can become. Most of the time he was pretty dominant against the guys he faced. He had some bad games but NBA coaches can help him get rid of some bad habits.
I would hope that if he is told he won’t go in the first round that he sticks around another year. Very few guys not drafted in the first round actually do anything in the NBA. He is not gone yet but don’t be surprised if he leaves. As a fan I hope he doesn’t but he has to do what is best for him and his family.
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I can’t blame him if he decides to leave and play in Europe if the NBA doesn’t come knocking. He is married, has the potential to make enough money over the next 10+ years to be set financially. He can come back and finish his degree or just work on it in the off-season. I understand he’s an excellent student so that shouldn’t be hard for him. He’ll have options to develop his second career for when his playing days are over. He’s ready to start living the dream. You can’t fault him. Maybe he’ll come back and work on his game another year but it wouldn’t surprise me if he moves on. If Mika is gone next year, it sure takes the wind out of the sails for Rose and the prospects for improving next year.
I am not certain being married had anything to do with it. Emery and Haws are married as have been many others over the years. If BYU were poised to make a run in the NCAAs next year and Mika believed they would, he wouldn’t declare. I hope he does get drafted, but I don’t think he will. His back to the basket and passing game need much work. But he has decent upside so someone may take him. Bottle line is his draft stock would go through the roof if BYU made a run into the tournament next year… But Mika knows that is not likely to happen and isn’t buying the hype of mission rust and inexperience. The bench was undeveloped and Emery and Haws just aren’t that good at the D-1 level. Mika wants out now… So even the small chance of being drafted is better than no chance.
You are going to base his ability by how he did against Karnowsky? I wouldn’t. He’s most likely going to play the forward position and be defended by quicker players. He has to develop a 3 point shot or he will end up in Europe. I would like to see the NBA do what hockey does. Let them get drafted early but still have to play college 4 years. Let the NBA pay them to stay in school and develop.
For some people, finding your soul-mate is a big part of the BYU culture. You hope to find someone who shares your faith and wants to make a life with you. You also want to get a degree that will enable you to make a decent living to support a family. Mika is in a unique position to be able to make a nice living without getting a degree so he has options. Emery and Haws may be married but they obviously don’t have the same options that Mika has.
I agree with you about Mika’s development. He has flaws in his game still. But, notwithstanding his current limitations, he could contribute right away for teams in Europe if not the NBA and make a very respectable paycheck. Professional teams may see his upside and try to lure him away from college ball if they think they won’t get a chance to draft him next year.
I guess we should expect that Haws and Emery will put their names into the nba draft as well then, correct?
Our culture and society has an obsession with being financially well to do. We make it our primary goal in life and then settle when it comes to the rest. It is no different within the church. For whatever reason, we elevate people with money to celebrity status. That is a focal point for the adversary, if he can get everyone to focus on that (and he has unfortunately) then they forget about what it really means to “prosper” in the land.
Mika is not ready for the nba but I’m not sure staying at BYU is going to get him any closer to being there. Honestly, I’m not sure I really care all that much if he leaves. I don’t really want to be disappointed again next year after the hype wears off and the team underperforms again.
Besides, my new favorite team is in the final four of the NIT as an 8 seed in their bracket. Go Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners!
Another one of Satan’s deceptions… that there is a “soul mate” and we must find them or stay single until we do. Just another big part of why society is clueless when it comes to what life is all about. I didn’t “find” my soulmate… I found a person with a similar background who was a returned missionary, loved the Lord and the gospel and wanted an eternal family. We have become one anothers’ soul mates. I was at BYU 4 years and found it a relatively unpleasant experience searching for a soulmate… 
Soul mates are deceptions? Where exactly is that found in the scriptures again? Or, perhaps you could point out where it is located in Doctrines of the Church?
Well, I think the Brethren teach to be financially secure. I don’t think it’s an obsession like you think with someone like Mika. He has some gifts that make it possible for him to earn a great income. But, we also have to remember that he worked hard for many years to develop his talent.
Seems like you were ridiculing me about Collie leaving early when I objected. Now it’s okay? The key is whether Mika will continue to be faithful to the Lord and be a good steward of his success. For us to assume he’s looking into going into the NBA because he’s greedy is quite unfair. You chose your vocation and he’s chosen his. Both have to be good stewards.
Not what I said Mr. Reading comprehension problems.