...on Criddle's show he gave some great perspective on the situation with some really sage advice for both. He said due to covid Euro leagues (especially the lower leagues) have been financially affected and that salaries for the time being might be only a fraction of what they used to be so the pull for players to go pro might not have the same sense of urgency.

In Matt Haarms case he felt it would be in Matt's interest to come back for another year to work on the hole in his game if he wants a chance to play in the NBA. Said Matt needs to be able to hit that 25 ft shot at the top of the arc in pick and pop situations and said that's the game at the next level for a big. He said Luis Scola made his career on being able to hit that shot in the PNR.

This past season Matt's shot from the top wasn't ugly or awful looking, he just consistently would hit the front of the rim (he shoots a flat shot). He's a really good FT shooter and that translates to 3pt shooting potential. He started the year off with that cold streak (hit only 2 of his first 22 three pt attempts) but by the time we entered conference play he improved a llttle (hit 3 of 11). I definitely think he has the mechanics to be a good 3pt shooting big and another season could help him get there.

For AB he said that this past season clearly showed his reads in the PNR aren't there yet which is a huge part of the NBA game. Coming back to BYU for another year would give him time to learn to make the reads better in the PNR and then focus on adding NBA range to his 3pt shot. He said he sees no reason why both players couldn't get an opportunity in the NBA if they could fix those aspects of their games.

I found it interesting when he talked about advice he got from his Dad (iirc) that he would make more money in his career after basketball than from his contracts in the game. Travis said at the time he scoffed at what his Dad said but now he laughs about it because he's making way more money now since he's left the game. It's pretty cool that former successful BYU players return and hang around the program, get to know the coaches and players and share their wisdom on things like this.