It's Official. Jordan Williams Is Going Pro

2011-05-04T09:35:41 The Washington Post is reporting that Jordan Williams has signed with agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/terrapins-insider/post/jordan-williams-plans-to-sign-with-agent-enter-nba-draft/2011/05/04/AFdPKunF_blog.html

Miller represents NBA players like Kevin Garnett and Chauncey Billups among others.

Remarkably, the Post still lists Jordan's height as 6'10".  Enough already!  The guy is 6'8" on a good day.  How can something as easy to obtain as height be routinely misrepresented?  Whatever.  It's pointless now.  He's gone.

It goes without saying that I hope Jordan gets picked in the 1st round and gets a guaranteed contract.  However, there are still mock drafts out there that project him going in the second round.  Without a guaranteed contract; Jordan's decision would be disastrous in my opinion. 

As it stands, he may not see a paycheck until 2012 if the NBA owners lockout the players after the season as is widely expected.  As a second rounder, he won't have much time to prove himself before next year's draft and could find himself out of the NBA as early as next summer.  Hopefully, he'll get the guarantee and won't have to worry about this scenario.

As for the Terps, next year will be a challenge. Even if the Terps receive good news and K-State transfer, Wally Judge, opts for College Park; it is unlikely that he would be eligible to suit up until 2012-13.  I expect the Terps will try to immediately replace Jordan's scholarship with a JuCo (not likely since Robert Goff can't qualify academically to play at UM) or find a diamond in the rough somewhere (read:  Marek Soucek from Czech Republic via the Canary Islands). 

Regardless, Jordan's interior presence and production will not be replaced next year.  Get ready for a guard-oriented offense and a negative rebounding differential.  Finishing above .500 is far from guaranteed for the Terps (excuse me while I go find the business end of a compass to impale myself on).

If there is a silver lining; it is that Gary Williams has positioned himself to survive a rocky season.  With Justin Anderson already in tow for 2012; a commitment from stud big man Shaquille Cleare will give Gary plenty of breathing room as he heads into what is likely to be his most challenging season in 20 years.

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