NIL is changing the landscape substantially.
These guys can make significant money to play college basketball and develop their game if they're not quite ready for the NBA.
There were a few guys that left early, that I believe never would have left if NIL was where it is now.
- TSA
Kyhri
Zegarowski
Patton
All of them had things about their profile that led me to believe their time in the NBA would be short lived and all would have benefitted from another year at CU. They were amazing college players that left before they were truly ready as they thought they would be better served developing in the league. The amount of international players that are on the scene now is taking away the fringe opportunities.
TSA and Zegarowski didn't have enough size or athleticism to have a great shot at the league
Kyhri had the athleticism, but wasn't a good enough ball handler for his size
Patton didn't have enough maturity to his game
I view Kalkbrenner and Trey the same as the guys above...as great college players but the chance of them making the league isn't great. Trey has yet to put on the strength and develop the ball handling to really do the things he needs to do in the league. Kalkbrenner also doesn't have the strength to play NBA centers in a man to man setting, or the offensive game to score against NBA Bigs.
I hope both stay, they could make a lot of money...continue to develop and then evaluate next year, but my gut tells me we've seen the last of them.