One of the guys on II said this, but it turned out to be incorrect and he's hired an advisor which still allows him to return.
Idk if it would be smart for him to return. He's got an ND degree and will easily be making 150K+ tax free in Europe if he wants. He will never be an NBA player so what will he really be returning for?
Maybe I'm overselling it for my own sake, holding out hope he will return, but $150k a year for 5-10 years isn't going to sustain you for life, so why not get two free semesters of grad school?
If he is only interested in playing in Europe idk why he wouldn't just hire an agent and announce he's gone already. It seems to me like he's (realistically or not) testing the NBA/G-League waters before making an informed decision.
I don't agree that Nate "is the same player he was two years ago." I think he's improved on both sides of the floor, especially shooting from the FT line and behind the arc. Two years ago he was shooting a measly 31% from 3, and he was well above 40% the past two seasons.
His stat line was pretty consistent with his 20-21 season but he was also banged up this past January/February with a lower body injury. He played extremely well down the stretch (especially against Rutgers in that crazy game) at an important time when Goodwin seemed to lose all sense of confidence.
Why we wouldn't want a stretch forward back shooting > 45% from the arc and > 85% from the FT line...that's a valued asset right there. Not to mention the lack of F options on this team currently.
Make no bones about it, we need him back. That would be a huge blow.
247sports.com
