BYU Basketball: Dave Rose was right about Eric Mika and Elijah Bryant

BYU Basketball Head Coach Dave Rose disagrees with the decisions by Eric Mika and Elijah Bryant to leave school early. Assuming they want to play in the NBA, he’s right.

Dave Rose is a master at coach speak.

Nine times out of ten, when BYU Basketball’s head coach is interviewed, he’ll be candid but speak safely. He doesn’t say or do much to rock the boat or stir up controversy.

Last week, in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, Rose did mainly the same thing. He talked about trying to keep Payton Dastrup around, saying “I worked as hard to try to keep Payton here as any kid ever.”

He was open with BYU’s attempt to bring in a few new transfers that would redshirt this year. Soon after the interview, former Utah high school star and Gonzaga transfer Jesse Wade announced he’ll become a Cougar.

But it was his remarks about his two recent players who left early to go pro that stood out. About Elijah Bryant and Eric Mika both going undrafted, Rose said:

“I just don’t see how those guys who left early the past two years will ever find their way into the NBA. I just don’t see it, but I hope they do.”

That’s the kind of subtle dig that you don’t hear from Dave Rose too often. While he wishes his former players well, he certainly believes that they made a mistake in leaving early.

And he’s right.

Rocky Road to the NBA

Assuming their goal is to make the NBA, that is. For Bryant, he wants to play in the NBA. He’s said it himself, and he’s followed the path that keeps that possibility alive.

That’s not quite so clear with Mika. Yes, he played in the NBA Summer League last year with the Miami Heat, but throughout the whole process he seemed just as content to make money overseas as play in the NBA.

Even Rose agreed that both can have long, successful professional careers.

Just not in the NBA.

But let’s assume that both players truly want to play in the NBA. By leaving early, both players put themselves on an uphill path to playing in the association.

Leaving wasn’t what put them in an uphill battle. It’s the fact that both players left with little chance of being drafted.

Last year, just 5 percent of all NBA players were undrafted. That’s a tiny percentage when you consider all of the high-quality basketball players who don’t hear their names called on draft night.

Yet Bryant and Mika both decided to leave BYU early to fight for those NBA scraps. It didn’t work for Mika, and it doesn’t look like it will work for Bryant either.

Bryant performed solidly in the NBA Summer League with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he didn’t do anything to set himself apart in the eyes of NBA teams.

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He may be able to take the path the Kyle Collinsworth took, and earn an NBA spot by excelling in the G-League. Collinsworth was one of that 5 percent who made the league without being drafted, but even his NBA future is in doubt after being waived by the Dallas Mavericks. He may never see NBA action again.

Kyle Collinsworth is a great story about how hard work and persistence can pay off. But he’s the exception rather than the rule when it comes to NBA basketball.

Yet that’s basically what Mika and Bryant attempted by leaving early.

Would an extra year at BYU have helped their draft stock?

Who knows. Maybe, maybe not.

But you leave college early to insure that your draft stock remains high. Theirs wasn’t high.

It wasn’t there at all.

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