One of my favorite things - sports or otherwise - is the NBA Draft.  We've celebrated it at the Wilson Ranchero in grand fashion for the last half dozen summers, gathering in late June to enjoy fancy suits, crying moms, overwhelmed translators and the beauty of potential unfettered by the chains of reality and the regular season.   The NBA's draft is so much better than any drafts that you almost can't compare them.  Unlike baseball or football, you don't have to worry about giving giant contracts to players who haven't proven anything at the professional level (but good luck with Matt Stafford, Detroit!).  Rookies can have an immediate impact (this does happen in the NFL, but almost never in baseball - plus you can't trade picks in baseball), and as soon as their names are called, you can envision the prospect filling a role for whatever team just staked part of their future in them.  Unlike the NFL, where there are so many players sprawled across the country and so few games relative to basketball, you've seen most of the players at the top of the draft play multiple times.  Raise your hand if you watched a lot of Eugene Monroe over the course of his career.

The NBA draft is of particular interest to Notre Dame fans this year because one Mr. Luke Harangody, former Big East Player of the Year, is testing the waters.  If you've been checking on on Mike Brey's Twitter feed - highly recommended, funnier than any fake Brey Twitter we could drum up - then you realize Luke's been participating in all sorts of workouts for the league.  Due to the fact he didn't sign an agent, Big Luke has until June 15^th to decide whether or not he wants to stay in for the festivities ten days later (I'd just like to thank the NBA and MTV for arranging the premiere of Real World: Cancun and the draft on back-to-back nights, which is all one could ask for in life).

There's been a lot of debate among Irish fans about whether or not Harangody could make it in the league, but as someone who watched him play for three years and follows the NBA about as closely as one can, I think it's safe to say with some confidence that he can fit into the pros quite nicely.  Is he going to be an All-Star?  No, certainly not, but Harangody's got far too many skills that can work on the next level to not make a team in some capacity.

Perhaps the skill that translates best from college to the pros is the ability to rebound, a trait which Harangody obviously possesses, regardless of whatever size limitations some would like to point out (more on this in a bit).  Luke also has done a great job of developing his jumpshot, especially when you consider the progress of his face-up game from the start of his career up through the end of last season.  If you can bring a big man off the bench who can knock down open shots, rebound and annoy the hell out of the other team with his effort, I think that's a nice piece to have in the rotation.  Whether he's more of a Matt Bonner/Brian Scalabrine or Chuck Hayes/Craig Smith (or somewhere in between), there is a place on a NBA roster for ‘Gody.

Oh, don't believe me?  Let's take a look at what some of the preeminent draft sites around the internet are saying.  First, let's look at NBADraft.net and some of the combine measurables:

A big man that helped himself a lot is Luke Harangody. He turned out to be the strongest player at the combine (23 reps) while posting solid numbers in the sprint and agility tests.

Obviously the league is more about how you can perform in some random exercises, so how is he looking in workouts?  DraftExpress, go!:

The two things that stood out the most about Harangody were his conditioning and overall skill-level. He appears to have dropped a decent amount of weight and looks to be in very good shape now, even if he's clearly not the most athletic power forward you'll find in this draft. He may very well be the best shooter, though, at least from what we could see here-he was knocking down NBA 3-pointer after NBA 3-pointer with unorthodox mechanics but a very quick release. Harangody's scoring instincts shine through even in a setting like this, he has great touch around the basket and can even make some shots of the dribble it seems. Teams will want to get a better read for how he projects defensively at his position, which is not something we could really evaluate in this particular setting. 

I think it should go without saying I want Luke Harangody to come back to Notre Dame.  I'd love to see a starting line-up of Tory Jackson, Ben Hansbrough, Scott Martin, Luke Harangody and Ty Nash taking it to a depleted Big East (Harangody would be the only player returning from the All-Big East First Team).  I think another year at school could only help his status, as a solid round of workouts would have NBA GM's following him all of next year, where he'll get to show off what I presume will be a sleeker frame and extended offensive game.   But obviously, if Luke's dream is to play in the NBA and there's a good chance he's going to go in the first round and guarantee himself a roster spot, who are we as Irish fans to wish him anything but the best?

Andy Katz had a rather extensive piece earlier in the week regarding the pros and cons of Harangody's choice.  His main point is that by returning to Notre Dame, the big man has a chance to set scoring and rebounding records not just at the school, but for the entire Big East conference.  Katz's piece sort of angers me because it really dismisses Gody's chances at the next level ("Or he can choose a more pedestrian career route relative to his hoop world" - I'm not even sure that's a real sentence).  He makes a big deal about size, but unlike a certain 1998 summer blockbuster, size isn't the end all and be all in the pros, plus Katz is just cherry-picking certain numbers to fit his theory. If you did want to push Katz back on that one way of assessing viability in the League (and it's a pretty crappy way to do assessing), Harangody's standing reach is an inch higher than that of soon-to-be number one overall pick Blake Griffin and only two inches below presumed lottery pick Jordan Hill.  Much like DeJuan Blair dominating Hasheem Thabeet both times they matched up last season, if you can rebound you can rebound, no matter what the tape measure says.

Not suggesting in any way that Harangody will become Charles Barkley, but they didn't call him the Round Mound of Rebound because of his towering height.  Plus , "The Warrior."  Enjoy.

So with less than two weeks to go before he makes his choice, it's safe to say it will be coming down to what Harangody feels is the best choice for him.  Etch your name in Irish lore forever, or get to your dream one year earlier?  Neither choice is a bad one, but it certainly would be a difficult one.  Brey's being supportive (as he should be), and I think the NBA front office folks are only going to become increasingly impressed as additional workouts are completed.  Best case scenario for Irish fans?  No one at the bottom of the first round can guarantee ‘Gody that they'll take him, leading to an angry, even more determined LFH making his way back to campus for one more crack at a Big East title.  Worst case?  You get to see ‘Gody suit up in the NBA along the likes of Troy Murphy, Rob Kurz and Chris Quinn next season.  All in all, a win-win situation for those involved.