Not to beat a dead horse, but it seems like the general consensus on CB is that (1) Mika leaving is an indictment of his potential for the program, (2) Mika leaving indicates that he did not think he could improve his stock more while being at BYU, or (3) Mika wanted to start getting paid to play basketball (he took a chance at going pro with the fallback being Italy).

These are all plausible explanations. However, I think the issue is way overblown for two reasons (and I say this with the caveat that I was a person who was very bummed Mika declared for the draft).

First, I think that perhaps Mika realized that he did not fit well in with Dave Rose's ideal scheme. I don't think having Mika as a post-up player was good for BYU or for him. I believe that he had achieved nearly all of his potential as a post player in terms of draft stock, given his lack of size and elite athleticism. Additionally, when you think about the LP3, those incredible LP teams did not post Mika up all that often. He got a lot of his points in alley-oops, running the floor, rebounds, etc. to make teams pay. I don't remember Mika regularly posting up with his back to the basket in any of those videos. So while I think Mika is incredibly skilled, and was able to show some great prowess on the post, I don't think it played into the skill sets of TJ, Nick, etc.

Second, does anyone on CB (putting selfish interests aside) really think that Mika would significantly increase his draft stock next year? One of two things could happen: (1) Mika is the star of the team again, in which case I think it is safe to say that BYU essentially has a repeat of last season, or (2) TJ and Nick take big steps forward, which would likely make it look like Mika's stats take a step back.

I don't think that losing Mika hurts our offense. I am, however, still concerned about our defense. Mika was an athletic, high-motor defender (e.g., Zach Collins block) and could guard the Zach Collins and Jock Landales. I'm bummed that Mika is gone, and I loved having him here, but I think when we as fans think through how the ideal scenario should play out, it is more likely that we can make it to the tournament by having TJ, Nick, Zac Seljaas, etc. reach their potential and improving our team defense. What we really need to hope for is that Payton Dastrup takes a big step forward defensively and that we improve our overall team defense.