It looks like all the guesswork and rumors can come to a stop for right now. Mario Austin will enter the NBA draft this year and forego his final season at Mississippi State.
While I appreciate what Austin did in his time here at MSU, I have a couple of things I would like to say about his departure.
First of all I want to try to be as fair as possible to Austin. I understand that the ordeal at the beginning of the season was a disappointment. I doubt I would want to put up with the NCAA anymore, either.
From what I understand, he has told members of the media that he wants to go ahead and ink a contract because his mother is suffering financial difficulties. While that seems to be a common reason for athletes to leave early, I understand wanting to take care of his mother if she is having trouble with the bills. I know in these tough economic times a lot of families are struggling, so if someone is able to earn some money as a professional athlete, go ahead.
But should Austin leave for the NBA? I think not. What is he going to do? He does not have the size for the center position. I’m sure Shaq and Yao are “firing up the barbie” as we speak and getting ready for the feast to arrive. The power forward position is a possibility, but spending more time on your backside whenever someone makes a move to the basket and then checking your lip for possible lacerations is not what the scouts are looking for. Austin can pass, he has great hands and I love his talent. What I do not love is the fact that I saw minimal improvement from his sophomore season to this past campaign.
Rick Stansbury said at a press conference last year that Austin does not owe this university anything. In that case, I want my money back. While a lot of people were proud of the this year’s Western Division crown, I was aggravated that we were so excited with a record good enough for fourth place in the Eastern Division.
For a program to achieve great things, it has to want great things. That starts with the superstar. I once heard Dick Vitale say a star is a great player; a superstar is a player that makes everyone around him great. I’m not sure I can let Austin into either one of those categories.
At the beginning of the year Austin had a couple of 20 point games against Xavier and Oklahoma. He even made his free throws. But at the end of the season, I would rather have had the water boy at the line.
How come when I watched the bottom line in February I saw names like Kyle Korver, Nick Collison and Josh Howard, but no Mario Austin.
The role of team leader is something that comes with greatness, and I think Austin seldom realized either one.
I have seen countless players leave early to go sit on a bench somewhere at the next level. A lot of guys can drop 15 in a college game, but that is as far as they will go. Is that the case with Mario? I don’t know. I’ve seen bouts of inconsistency the last three years. While I usually say a player should stay in school and improve his game, staying this past year did not seem to make a difference. Even though I will not be here next year, I’m not upset that he will not be either.
Give me a bunch of over-achievers next year instead of more busted hopes that I will continue to fall for.
Mario, good luck, in the one-on-one game that is the NBA, but I will keep watching college hoops. Good luck to the remaining Bulldogs next year, I’ll be cheering you on from wherever I sit next season.
One more piece of advice: Mario, keep Tang Hamilton’s number with you. In a couple of years you might have to call him up for a spot on his team’s roster. For those of you who do not know what team that is, look it up.