Dejuan Blair draft position

I'm guessing Pitt's Dejaun Blair is vaguely familiar with the 80's band The Clash and their 1981 hit "Should I Stay or Should I Go". Soon, the 6-6 sophomore will have to ask himself that very question about whether or not to leave his beloved Pitt and apply for the 2009 NBA draft.



The question is where would Blair go in the draft? Is he a first rounder? Is he a lottery pick? The answer could surely affect his decision but it wouldn't necessarily be the only factor.



There are plenty of reasons for Blair to stay in school. First and foremost, Blair is from Pittsburgh. He went to Schenley High School about a mile from the University of Pittsburgh campus. His upbeat personality combined with his on the court exploits could make Blair one of the city's most famous sons but Pittsburgh doesn't even have an NBA franchise so he may decide to stay home as long as possible.



Some people didn't feel like Blair, at 6-6, was big enough to be effective in major college basketball, especially the rough and tumble Big East conference. Perhaps they didn't take into account his 7-foot wing span or the tenacity that makes Blair college basketball's best offensive rebounder. His loyalty to Pitt coach Jamie Dixon could well be another factor in his decision.



After last season, Pitt forward Sam Young was faced with the same question. Young elected to stay and now teams with Blair to form one of the nations best tandems on one of the nation's best teams. Young, a senior, will no doubt go in the first round of the 2009 draft.



There's no doubt, Blair is under-sized yet the list of taller big men whom Blair has outplayed continues to grow. Blair has erased the doubt in the minds of those who didn't think he could dominate D1 hoops but now the same sorts of questions will arise about his ability to do the same thing in the pros.



I haven't seen all of the NBA prospects. Indeed, I don't watch as much college basketball as I'd like to and I know practically nothing about the European players which creep their way into the draft every year. I watch Pitt religiously and I'll catch a few other games during the course of the season but until March Madness gets underway, my viewing oppurtunities are limited. From what I've seen though, I'd consider Blair as the #1 pick overall. No one, with the exception of Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, another sophomore, is dominating the college game the way Blair is.



One NBA mock draft I found on the internet had Griffin going #1 overall while Blair was way down the list at #23. Granted, the NBA draft is about "upside", a term used to describe what a player will or could be rather than what he currently is. In the same mock draft that had Griffin going #1, UConn's Haseem Thabeet, all 7-3 inches of him, was penciled it at #2. For those of you who saw Pitt and Blair dismantle Thabeet and his Huskies this past Monday, you might question that assessment. Let's just say it's easier to imagine someone 7-3 developing into an NBA star ahead of someone who's 6-6.

Still, some of the players on the list ahead of Blair are ridiculous(Arizona's Chase Budinger?). I have a hard time imagining there are 22 players out there I'd rather have on my NBA team than Blair. The problem for those who search too hard for upside is they sometimes forget to see what's already there.

Success at the college level doesn't necessarily equate to success in the pros. Duke's JJ Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison are two recent players that come to mind. They were in programs which took maximum advantage of their skill sets and I'm surprised they were drafted as high as they were(Morrison #3, Redick #11 in 2006). A long, NBA like body, also doesn't guarantee NBA success(Patrick O'Bryant, Saer Sene, and Hilton Armstrong-#'s 9,10, and 12 from 2006).

NBA teams would be wise to look closely at Blair. Look at what he's done, how quickly he's improved. As a Pitt fan, I certainly don't want him to leave for the pros, but when he does, I've begun to expect him to gobble up offensive rebounds by the dozen, put in the easy put backs, and continue to display the work ethic, attitude, and selflessness that make him an excellent teammate.