With the 13th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft
- Thread starter IUhaterade
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How did the Bulls manage to get ayo dosunmono at 38? I thought he was a round 1 lock. Seems they got lucky. Maybe an IL fan knows more.
At this point I have come to feel sorry for Nojel. His mom is clearly off her rocker and trying to live vicariously through him and it is just too bad he doesn't see it.
You are right a degree doesn't define you, but having the character to finish what you started does. And that isn't a knock on anyone that didn't get a degree, that is a knock on people manipulating their children to fill a selfish need.
Goodness gracious, I hope they weren't watching the draft and saying to each other "Next pick, next pick" as each team made a selection.
Instead I hope that they realized weeks ago this wasn't happening and planned and prepared for Nojel to finish up and get a degree somewhere so that his employment options can expand.
I'm just thankful this woman wasn't my mom. Delusional at best. I looked at some of the articles she retweeted. Wow...
You know that is exactly what they were doing. If they (foolishly) believed he was going top 20 then they must have felt 1st round was a lock. I hope they can finally move past the delusions and start living in reality.
Hopefully he has the money to go back and finish his degree. He could have done that for free had he stayed with Purdue or finished up at Howard. There was really no need for him to go pro at that point. It wasn't like he was giving up $ by waiting a year or two.
Illini fan here. I too thought Ayo would go in the 1st round but quite happy the Bulls were able to draft him (he gets to stay home ). The only thing I can think of as to why he dropped into the 2nd round is he does sorta have an unorthodox shot (at times at least) and he played like absolute shit in the embarrassing loss to Loyola-Chicago in the Big Dance (I think he had like 5 or 6 turnovers in that loss smh)
Anyways I am rooting for Ayo big time and I am confident that he's going to make the most of this since he's such a hard worker.
it was never just a game for his mother. basketball was going to be his job, occupation, and life. the only reason he went to college was to play basketball, and get drafted. he didn't go to purdue to get an actual degree. I doubt he has a fall back plan. I am reminded about that movie of those two boys from Chicago who were going to be stars. I'm reminded of the boy from Michigan who despite the advice from many decided to enter the rpos out of high school, and then went undrafted.
I'm reminded of a 17 year old who went to purdue to study computer science, but was not an athlete. he's now about to retire with a retirement income of $ 6,000 a month.
it's sad. you say basketball s just a game. and he could become a coach somewhere. You have to have an actual college degree to be a basketball coach at a major college. the same applies for the majority of high school coaching jobs.
as a child, i wanted to be an architect. Fortunately, i had a back-up plan. many children do not.
a couple of michigan players received invitations to NBA camps. It's nice to know they have a coach wit h NBA connections. I'm confident Painter would have been able to get Purdue's seniors a tryout if they had wanted one. I'm confident if eastern had stayed at purdue, he'd be able to at least get a tryout somewhere. the same applies to haarms.
He got a work out with the Nets and the Hawks, and I did find something from the Hawks that actually listed him as being worked out.
And for those bored with no life, like me, hoopshype.com has a running list of Summer League signings.
Hasn't been mentioned yet.
hoopshype.com
Hasn't been mentioned yet.
Summer League Rosters | HoopsHype
hoopshype.com
I was surprised OSU's Duane Washington Jr. didn't get drafted. So I was very happy to see the Pacers were able to sign him to a two contract. I think he could eventually become a rotational type player for them.
I also feel sorry for him. Nojel is a good guy, a hard worker and a big part of our success when he played for Purdue. One of the best defenders we've ever had ... and we've had some really good ones. I hope the best for him. I think he can still make a good living playing ball in Europe/G League/etc and if he can refine his shooting and mental game, who knows what can happen for him.
In my opinion, he needs a trusting, loving father figure that he lets in. Supportive, but tell him straight up the truth in the world. That voice needs to be heard on equal levels or higher than the role his mother's voice has for him. Unfortunately, this is a common issue with boys raised by single mothers.
Physically Nojel has all the tools to be an NBA player. He's tall, strong, super athletic, intelligent, hard working...he just doesn't have the right people around him.
Wow - looking at Tamala’s Twitter feed, it’s pretty clear her life revolves around two people - Nojel and Donald Trump. She needs to find some other hobbies because Nojel’s bball career is going nowhere and Trump no longer holds office.
Yes, though I question whether he really has the mental fortitude that is needed to succeed and I blame that on his mother. Seems a really strong case of being taught to listen to her because she knows best and not enough push to think for himself.
It seems her thinking is all of what he has should've been more than enough and always pushed him to continue to work on his strengths instead of working on his weaknesses and those are what leaves the huge holes in his games.
And yes, I would love to see him succeed and not rooting for him to fail, I just not sure I like his odds though. I keep following what's going on because I am hoping I am wrong, but unfortunately, so far I haven't been.
If that all makes sense.
Lol damn... I haven't followed Eastern in the slightest since he left, but from what I saw, he made his living being an athletic freak against smaller/weaker competition. It got him a high ranking and scholarship to a big 10 basketball powerhouse (that's FN right, I said powerhouse). He has a very emotional mother who wants the best for him, but uses her emotions instead of logic.
At some point, he's going to have to see the writing on the wall and become a man, and I don't mean that in a bad way, but men make their own decisions using facts, not opinions/emotions.
I know it's a first world problem and I do feel bad that Nojel (and even more so, his mom) have probably had semi-realistic dreams of him playing professional ball since he was in 7th grade. Fast forward 8-9 years and they (again, more she) need to realize that dream is no longer realistic and it's time for Plan B in life.
Getting his degree from Purdue is a pretty damn good Plan B if they'd take advantage of it.
I agree, but there aint no way in hell Nojels mom is letting some guy into their life at this point with the ability to influence the decisions she makes.
Yeah, it would've been a good plan B and a degree from Howard would've been a good plan C. Those ships have pretty much sailed, so time to find a plan D and that is the issue. No ability to comprehend that you can work on your backup plan while chasing your dream, to her, there is only one plan and she doesn't seem to care how many bridges are burned in pursuit of it.
Based on issues with his transfer to Michigan, not sure he has the academic standard to transfer to very many schools now that he no longer has athletics to helps open doors and not sure they have the financial means to pay for it on their own.
I've seen a couple of his recent training clips on Twitter. The world knows his downfall was a lack of a shot beyond 5 feet. Looks like his "training" has centered on dunks. There are a thousand young guards that can dunk. Many of them can also shoot. Unless he can play for a novelty team like the Globetrotters I'm not sure what he can do.
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As someone else said- they continually double down on his strengths while failing to address the weaknesses. At some point you have to address the weaknesses or admit that you can’t
It would be interesting to know how many more hours he needs to get his degree from Purdue. There's plenty of tuition financial options available for someone in his situation but something tells me that mama isn't going to be too keen on paying tuition when she believes her son should be making millions in the NBA.
I agree. What you wrote is a very common scenario in single mother households. It's a form of control by the mother. Often not done maliciously or intentionally by her. It just happens.
In general, boys of single mothers who are controlling like that, if they ever want to be their own man, will likely need to break away from her as a individual choice by him ... but's it's usually only done in a rock bottom moment (because they do not realize the unhealthiness of the situation, or how it has affected him, until they get to a bad, bad place ... they fully believe they are on the right path ... and why wouldn't he? he loves his mother and his mother loves him). Separating can be one of the hardest things to do since the mother is his often the only support network. It would probably do boys of single mothers well to reconnect with their father, where ever he is, and to forgive his mother from turning him away from his father. It's very tough to overcome the anger and hate that develops in children in single parent homes (from the void felt by their absence), but it is possible. Then, the boy can turn into the man they were meant to be and can be.
I wish them well and hope it turns out for the best. Hope all boys who didn't have their fathers around growing up are able to forgive and overcome.
The issue is, he transferred so would have to transfer back in since he is no longer a student. I don't know how much leniency admissions give in that situation. They never seemed to give any leniency to me, but for the most part, I've always been a nobody.
I have an entirely different take on this, IMO, the NBA is hurting the black community and Nojel is a poster child.
Nojel is being perverted by the NBA. Yes, it is a great sport, fun to play, and a way to understand teamwork. But what the heck are you doing with your life? How long can you play it? What if you do make $50 million? How many young black men had the dream that they could play in the NBA and worked hard to improve their game at the expense of their academics??? The odds are slight that they can make it and if they put all their hopes and dreams into this, what happens to the vast majority who don't make it?
Shouldn't the goal of any person be to figure out what they are doing with their life, what are they trying to achieve, and what will be their legacy? Number 1 is to improve yourself and build your knowledge. Use basketball to get a degree and learn as much as possible.
Right now, everyone is talking about how this is Ivey's last year. He has improved a lot and if this year goes as predicted it will put him in the lottery because he has the athleticism the NBA wants to market. If Ivey delays entering the NBA , he risks becoming a year older, injury, and not fitting the NBA prototype. If he stays in school, he may only make $20 million instead of $50 million.
However, what if he does make the NBA but doesn't become a starter. Will his life go down the toilet? Or, will he say to himself that he gave his best shot and it is time to move on and do productive things with my life. How many professionals want to give back. If they took advantage of a great college life, continued to study hard and take advantage of the academic opportunities they can have means the best of both worlds. I may be in the minority but I think Nojel's story will hit Ivey's family hard. Both Ivey's mother and father have had successful careers. And they may be fine with their son staying an extra year and becoming a better all around person before joining the NBA. I think Nojel will make good money playing basketball whether he makes the NBA or not but I hope he also wakes up and starts taking courses to improve his mind.
Nojel is being perverted by the NBA. Yes, it is a great sport, fun to play, and a way to understand teamwork. But what the heck are you doing with your life? How long can you play it? What if you do make $50 million? How many young black men had the dream that they could play in the NBA and worked hard to improve their game at the expense of their academics??? The odds are slight that they can make it and if they put all their hopes and dreams into this, what happens to the vast majority who don't make it?
Shouldn't the goal of any person be to figure out what they are doing with their life, what are they trying to achieve, and what will be their legacy? Number 1 is to improve yourself and build your knowledge. Use basketball to get a degree and learn as much as possible.
Right now, everyone is talking about how this is Ivey's last year. He has improved a lot and if this year goes as predicted it will put him in the lottery because he has the athleticism the NBA wants to market. If Ivey delays entering the NBA , he risks becoming a year older, injury, and not fitting the NBA prototype. If he stays in school, he may only make $20 million instead of $50 million.
However, what if he does make the NBA but doesn't become a starter. Will his life go down the toilet? Or, will he say to himself that he gave his best shot and it is time to move on and do productive things with my life. How many professionals want to give back. If they took advantage of a great college life, continued to study hard and take advantage of the academic opportunities they can have means the best of both worlds. I may be in the minority but I think Nojel's story will hit Ivey's family hard. Both Ivey's mother and father have had successful careers. And they may be fine with their son staying an extra year and becoming a better all around person before joining the NBA. I think Nojel will make good money playing basketball whether he makes the NBA or not but I hope he also wakes up and starts taking courses to improve his mind.
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I used to hear him after games. Please don't tell me he changed to try and sound more up-to-date. If so, that only strengthens my belief.
I suspect he needs more hours than he should. He was not academically qualified to get into Michigan, leading me to believe he was not taking a degree seriously.
That’s exactly right. His story of credits not transferring makes no sense. Let’s hope his grammar is better than his moms. It’s just painful to read.
I think you're probably right. With his mom managing his career, I'm sure she was telling him to do the minimum academically and focus more on hoops. Feel bad for the kid.
A very insightful analysis of the situation. Thanks for posting this. It helps me understand a little more about these types of family situations. I was lucky enough to never go through this type of thing, so I'm blind a bit to the symptoms and cures.
It actually does make sense. He was in a major at Purdue that is not offered at UM. As such, his course credits weren't applicable (and didn’t transfer) to the major he was looking to switch to at UM. They didn’t do their due diligence when looking into a transfer, and we saw how that turned out for them.
