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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, you didn't have to worry about your second-best player bailing on you after his Sophomore year.
But that was then and this is now, and losing Point Guard Darren Collison to the NBA was a real possibility... until yesterday. D.C. has now made it clear that he is returning to UCLA for his Junior Season.
There's not that much need for analysis here -- Almost everyone reading this probably agrees that Collison is great, but not quite ready for the NBA grind. And DC himself is the first one to know that with Kevin Love coming in, the Bruins are primed to do something really special this season, beyond just returning to the Final Four for a third straight time.
With a Final Four 3-peat, DC would be just as hot of a commodity as he is this year. However, that 3-peat is certainly not a SURE thing. One injury could end those hopes. Worse yet, an injury to Collison could keep him off the NBA map entirely.
So we need to commend Darren, because he IS risking something by coming back, even though it will probably end up working to his advantage, financially and otherwise (especially if he collects a Title).
When a Bruin Point Guard contemplates leaving way early, he makes fans remember Baron Davis, who left early, but had trick knees that made his risk of sticking around too great. Coincidentally, Baron, like Darren, also made Bruin fans proud yesterday, when he, along with teammate and fellow Bruin Matt Barnes, got the Golden State Warriors into the Playoffs.
Getting into the NBA Playoffs may sound like no big deal to you, seeing as many of you are used to the Lakers, who have made it about 43 of the last 47 years. But the Warriors had been suffering the longest Playoff Drought in the NBA -- They hadn't made it in THIRTEEN YEARS. So all it took to break the slump was to put two Bruins in key roles. Oh -- And it didn't hurt that the team that they had to beat out was the Clippers.
The Clippers, thanks to several key injuries and a lack of late-season composure, missed out on the Postseason by one game, and will be watching the Warriors, and Jordan Farmar and the Lakers, on TV. Yes, Farmar was also a Point Guard who left way early, but he just Started for Rookie-hater Phil Jackson and the Playoff-bound Lakers, so maybe, just like D.C., HE also knew what he was doing.
One consolation for the poor Clippers is that they would have had virtually no chance in a match-up with either Dallas or Phoenix. Now they can watch the Lakers and Warriors suffer that same fate, from the comfort of their own homes.
Below are a couple of tribute shots in honor of D.C.'s D.Cision to D.Lay his D.Parture for D.League (and a few stragglers from the Pool)
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