Utah St's Jaycee Carroll to enter the draft!

[vcboy2000]

Utah State's Carroll enters draft, won't hire agentAssociated Press

LOGAN, Utah -- Utah State's Jaycee Carroll, 10th in scoring last season at 21.3 points per game, said he will enter the NBA draft but also retain the right to withdraw by June 18 and return for his senior season.

Coach Stew Morrill said the "wise decision" would be to return to Utah State unless Carroll is guaranteed to be a first-round pick on June 28.

"I think it is important for the development of my game to see how I compare against the best collegiate basketball players in the country," Carroll said in a statement released by the school Monday.

He will not hire an agent, which means he can withdraw his name from the draft.

NBA teams will evaluate players at a camp, May 29-June 4, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Carroll, a guard from Evanston, Wyo., was the leading scorer last season in the Western Athletic Conference.

"Our coaching staff understands and supports Jaycee on his decision to explore the NBA," Morrill said.

[mickeyb]

he's not going anywhere ... declaring early gives him (and others like him) a great opportunity to showcase their abilities in preparation for next year's draft.  Plenty of players do the same thing.

[ORU Eli]

I kinda wish he would...it'd make that trip to the Spectrum a little more enjoyable and a little less challenging next year.

[Old Titan]

I'm not suggesting that Carroll is doing what I'm about to describe, but did anyone else hear what Randolph Morris from Kentucky did in regards to the draft?  Check this out:

Knicks sign Kentucky center Morris to 2-year deal

Updated: March 24, 2007, 2:17 AM ET  ESPN.com news services

The New York Knicks signed Kentucky center Randolph Morris, who played his junior season as an NBA free agent, to a contract Friday.

The Knicks did not announce terms of the signing, but an NBA source told ESPN Insider Chad Ford that it is a two-year deal worth $1.6 million.

Morris joins the Knicks in their fight for an Eastern Conference playoff berth, which took a hit with a 90-68 loss in Cleveland on Friday. There is no immediate word on when Morris would join the team.

"We said all along that in terms of building this team we would have to find unconventional ways to try and find talent and get out and beat the bushes," said Isiah Thomas, the Knicks' coach and director of basketball operations. "This is a very unique situation and I don't know if there has been something similar to this. The rules allowed it, and here we are."

Thomas said the 6-foot-11, 260-pound Morris will soon join and practice with the Knicks.

"It's another guy we can add to our young core,'' Thomas said. "We're very happy to have him. It's another big and it's almost like another pick in this year's draft -- just a little early."

Thomas said several other teams were "chasing" Morris.

Morris declared himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft after his freshman season at Kentucky, but he did not sign with an agent. After going undrafted, he returned for his sophomore and junior seasons under Tubby Smith. Morris sat out the first 14 games of his sophomore season because of an NCAA penalty related to contact with an agent.

Due to a provision in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, Morris is prohibited from re-entering the draft and had free agent status throughout the 2006-07 season at Kentucky.

According to the NBA rookie contract scale, Morris' $1.6 million deal equates to first-round money; his salary is on par with what the 26th pick received in last year's draft and what the 30th pick will sign for in 2007.

According to Kentucky, Morris met with athletic director Mitch Barnhart on Thursday night and was asked to wait until Smith's replacement was hired before deciding whether to stay in school. A Kentucky spokesperson told ESPN.com that Morris told Barnhart he would do that.

On Friday, Morris apparently changed his mind. Morris told Barnhart on Friday afternoon that he had signed with the Knicks, Kentucky spokesperson Scott Stricklin confirmed.

So, basically, this kid circumvents the entire NBA draft by going through it before he was a hot commodity, therefore making himself a free agent able to negotiate with any team, not just the one that would have enevitably drafted him this year.

I don't know if he was actually that smart, or just lucky, but they say if you're not going to be a lottery pick in the draft, it's almost better to not get drafted at all, so you have some bargaining leverage as a free agent.  Morris not only had that leverage; he also was able to sign and start making some money before most of these other guys had even turned in their college gear.

Wonder why more "draft marginal" players don't do this early in the hopes of NOT getting drafted?