It appears both Gerald Henderson and Gani Lawal are putting their names in the NBA draft. Both appeared 50/50 on their decisions but the lure of the NBA money appears to have swayed both.
Henderson's departure leaves Duke a bit thin on the wings unless they are able to secure John Wall and move Nolan Smith to a combo type roll. It might allow Kyle Singler to play more 3, a role that would be ideal for Singler to show off his own NBA potential.
Back to Henderson, who definitely has NBA athleticism, but I would have liked to see him polish both his perimieter jump shot and ball-handling before making the leap to the next level. It is unknown yet whether Henderson will hire an agent, but it appears the NBA scouts believe Henderson's draft stock is high enough that a return to Duke is unlikely.
Just as it looked Georgia Tech might have a strong season ahead with a devastating frontcourt of Lawal and Derrick Favors, Paul Hewitt will have to re-think things. Lawal is a really good player and a great rebounder, but is he NBA ready? My opinion: his perimeter shot needs some work to become solid NBA contributor. Lawal has not hired an agent, so it is possible after assessing his draft status that he may elect to return to Georgia Tech.
This post comes to you from my web-enabled Palm Treo Pro.
