Breaking down Mbah a Moute's decision

After just four NBA workouts (Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte and Dallas), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute decided Monday to leave his name in the NBA draft. He will forgo his senior season, but is just a few classes from graduating and expects to complete his degree in one or two summers. He's doing fine academically and wont' hurt UCLA's APR.

Mbah a Moute, who has at least two more workouts scheduled with Portland and Detroit, spoke with the media Monday, as did UCLA Coach Ben Howland. Some quotes after the jump lend some insight into the decision. Also, for more on the story:

• Diane Pucin's article in The Times.
• Official UCLA news release.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute:

• Obviously it's a little gamble. There's nothing guaranteed. I'm not going out in the first round for sure ... but I feel pretty confident with my skills, my mindset and my mental toughness.
• Winning the championship would have been the best way to go out. That's the only thing I regret about college. But I feel like I've done a lot, going to three Final Fours, winning a lot of games, to where I can start to take on another challenge.
• The thing I need to continue to work on is obviously my jump shot ... It's coming along pretty well. I've been a pretty good job shooting the ball during camps, workouts, and all that stuff.
• I was very close [to coming back]. We woulda' had a chance to win a national championship again. We have a really good class coming in and a good senior core staying in.

Ben Howland:

• Luc's the kind of player that I think will be appreciated more by a coach than by a scout. What I mean by that, the intangibles he brings to the table are truly special. You don't see them on a one-day workout. You see it every day, having him in your program: day-after-day, bringing his work ethic and his discipline, how he sacrifices, and all the little things.
• I expect him to play. When he gets in the right system ... he can play in a lot of different programs.
• The decision is made. We're moving forward. Luc's moving forward. We wish him the very best. Again, I can't even express how appreciative I am for everything he's done for our program ... he did all the little things that sometimes don't show up on a stat sheet.
• What always happens, it opens up opportunities for us. We expect that others in our program will seize the opportunity and take advantage.
• [Luc] was really set on trying to put his name in the draft last year, so this is not a surprise to me, that he has left his name in, by any means.
• The biggest thing that I'd like to stress is how appreciative and thankful I am that I got to coach Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. I'm going to miss the fans in Pauley Pavilion yelling out "Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc!"

Comments

[Michael in Vegas]

Absolutely absurd decision by Luc. For him to acknowledge that he is not going to get drafted in the First Round, yet still keep his name in, makes zero sense. The rule is simple: no guaranteed contract, stay out of the draft.

Kevin Love killed Luc's rebounding numbers last season, but Luc has a chance to put up significantly better figures this coming season. Not to mention the fact he MUST improve his offensive game beyond hustle points and occasional put-backs (which is why he is not going to be drafted in the First Round!).

Shoulda stayed in school....

[Shane]

I agree with Michael. Very poor decision. I have seen some projections that say he won't even be drafted and all the reasons why comes back to the fact that Luc does not have all the offensive tools that he needs to be successful in the NBA. He should have come back for his final year to work on his weaknesses.

[Steve M.]

Luc has been my favorite UCLA player for these few years. He plays great D, great team player, I'm sorry to see him go.

[Steve M.]

Luc has been my favorite UCLA player for these few years. He plays great D, great team player, I'm sorry to see him go.

[westwoodonehero]

They should hire Luc to write this blog. He'd do a better job than the current idiot. Hey adam, post some more links to real sites haha tool.

[Luis]

"not going to get drafted in the First Round, yet still keep his name in, makes zero sense"

That statement makes no sense. His decision makes perfect sense to me. He wants to play professional basketball and start making money. It's not like he's fooling himself about being a 1st round pick like DaVon Jefferson. He knows he'll go 2nd rournd or undrafted yet he would rather take the a risk than return to UCLA. I'm happy he's doing what makes him happy and wish him luck

[Michael in Vegas]

Luis - perhaps you are not aware, but people who are drafted in the First Round of the NBA Draft get guaranteed contracts, while those who go in the Second Round are not even guaranteed to make that team's roster.

Therefore, for an underclassman in good academic standing -- which Luc is -- it makes zero sense for him to leave college early and enter the Draft. Look at the rest of my post -- Luc has glaring deficiencies in his offensive game and really, really could use another year at the collegiate level to work on things. If he had come back, and had put up big numbers in his senior year, then he would be a First Rounder and make big bucks. As a Second Rounder, if he gets cut at the end of training camp this fall, he will be scratching and scrambling.

I will echo Steve M. and say I loved everything Luc brought to the team, and I am sorry to see him go. I just think he is making a very poor decision.

[VA Blueblood]

I understand about following dreams, but I just hope he got some straight advice about the huge risk he's taking. The average NBA career is only 3 years long, and if you're going in as an afterthought, well, you're not going to get a lot of chances to work on your weaknesses. Hence, it would have made a lot more sense for him to come back for another season where he's guaranteed playing time and can improve on his game. It is now most likely that he'll end up the last man on a team's roster, play a few minutes a week in garbage time, and then fade away off any NBA roster after only a couple seasons. I sincerely hope he beats those odds and develops into the great player he could be, but indeed, the odds are now very much against him with this decision.