Mississippi State point guard Jamont Gordon announced Tuesday his intent to declare for the NBA draft after three seasons with Mississippi State.The 6-foot-4 junior, who helped secure the Bulldogs’ second consecutive SEC West championship and an NCAA tournament berth while averaging 17.2 points per game, told the Associated Press he wanted to try after being encouraged by head coach Rick Stansbury.
“Right after this season he pulled me into his office and he told me he thought I should give it a try because he thought I had a good year, a good solid career,” Gordon told the AP Tuesday. “He thought I’d go in the first round and everything. He was all positive about it.”
Both Gordon and Stansbury could not be reached for comment, but assistant basketball coach Marcus Grant said other members of the coaching staff share Stansbury’s enthusiasm.
“Why would you want to hold a kid back that has an opportunity to live out a lifelong dream?” Grant said. “Being the type of player he is and the season he had, as well as the success the team had, it made sense for him to test the waters and see what he could get.”
Gordon told Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal sports writer Gregg Ellis he wouldn’t hire an agent, but added that he is confident he’d get drafted.
NCAA regulations state that Gordon could lose his Mississippi State eligibility if he hires an agent.
Mark Broussard, director of communication for the NBA, said early entry candidates would be confirmed after Sunday’s deadline.
“We’ll probably put something out by the end of next week, possibly Thursday, that lists the early entry candidates for the 2008 NBA Draft,” Broussard said.
According to a mock draft on Web site DraftExpress, Gordon would go in the second round as the 16th pick.
Shane Power, former Bulldog forward and Comcast basketball analyst, said Gordon has the potential to make waves in the draft, but a first-round pick isn’t likely given the makeup of this year’s lottery.
“Regardless of what round he’s drafted in, I believe Jamont’s going to make a team,” Power said. “I think it’s extremely risky to go out this year. This year is the best point guard draft ever.”
Gordon could go in the first round, but the amount of point guards and 6-foot-10-inch players going into this year’s draft coupled with high demand for the position could spell second-round pick and a significant salary reduction, Power said.
“They’re saying there may be four or five Jason Kidd-type point guards in the draft,” Power said. “When you go first-round pick, you get anywhere from $950,000 to $1.5 million for a middle-of-the-round first-round pick for a minimum of three years. If you make second round, it’ll be $425,000 for one year.”
Among message boards like SixPackSpeak.com, rumors circulated that Gordon’s departure could have been caused by either conflict between Gordon and other members of the team, or Stansbury allegedly playing favorites with Gordon and others.
Grant said he thinks Gordon’s perceived attitude is a misnomer.
“A lot of people mistake his toughness and willingness to win as an attitude, but we never had any problems with him interacting with any of our players,” Grant said. “If we had problems with that, we wouldn’t have appointed him as a captain.”
As someone who played under Stansbury, Power addressed the allegations of “star treatment.”
“I really feel like Stansbury does a good job of treating players fairly and equally,” Power said. “He leaves what happens in practice between the lines, and outside those lines he treats you like family.”
Though Gordon’s announcement came two weeks after sophomore Ben Hansbrough decided to transfer, Power said he doesn’t view Gordon’s departure as a negative for the team or the school.
“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Power said. “He came in, had three phenomenal years and we won two championships in three years. He’s earned his chance to go.