It was a split-second decision that might have cost Darington Hobson first-round money.
On Thursday night, Hobson was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (37th overall) of thhe NBA Draft.
Back in April, Hobson made the decision to put his name into the NBA Draft lot. At the time, head coach Steve Alford said it was the right decision for Hobson to test the waters and see if he’d be a consensus first-round pick.
But as the deadline approached, the UNM swingman, who initially didn’t hire an agent in the chance that he chose to return to school, didn’t withdraw his name by the league’s May 8 cut-off date, instead choosing to elevate his stock through a series of individual workouts with NBA teams.
Throughout the process, Hobson was pegged as a late first-round to early second-round pick. During an phone interview from his Las Vegas home on the eve of the draft, Hobson said he wasn’t even sure if he’d be a first-round pick, though he was confident that he impressed several of the 14 teams he said he worked out for over the summer.
That being the case, however, Hobson told the Daily Lobo that he wouldn’t second-guess his decision to forgo his senior season at UNM and enter the draft even if he wasn’t taken in the NBA Draft’s first round.
“Just because you’re going in the second round, doesn’t mean your career is over,” Hobson said. “ … Sometimes going in the second round is better than going in the first round.”
Problem is, since he was taken in the second round, Hobson won’t merit a guaranteed contract and instead his contract prospects are contingent on him making the Bucks’ 15-man roster.
Look for the full story in Monday’s edition of the Daily Lobo.
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