NCAAM: LaVine, 5 players who could have used another year

Mitch McGary: Power Forward, Michigan

Draft position: 21st pick, Oklahoma City Thunder

Honestly, I don’t see it with McGary. He had one good stretch of games in the NCAA tournament last season for Michigan. McGary missed all but eight games of his sophomore season due to a back injury. Basically, McGary became a first-round pick based because a ten-game stretch when he played with at least four NBA players who were better than he was. That’s not to diminish his success in the NCAA tournament, but it’s not like he was the focal point of opposing defenses. I would have liked to see McGary come back for another season as “the guy” and prove he can carry a team by himself. Like Grant, McGary never had to do that in college. Another year of focusing on his offense would definitely help McGary to transitioning to the NBA, which I think is going to be really difficult for McGary. He’s undersized and his best strength is rebounding. In the NBA, he’ll be playing against bigger, stronger, more athletic guys, so we’ll see how much success McGary has on the glass. It’s easy to see why the Thunder took McGary. He’s virtually a carbon copy of Nick Collison. McGary should be able to match some of Collison’s production next season, but I don’t see him being much more than that next year or in the future. Another year in college could have helped McGary take his game to the new level. In the NBA, he may never get there.