Budinger Returning to UofA for Another Year

University of Arizona forward Chase Budinger announced his decision to stay at with the Wildcats for another season last Tuesday.

The decision was announced after weeks of speculation following Budinger’s decision to declare his eligibility for the NBA draft but not to hire an agent and therefore forfeit his amateur status. By hedging his bets, Budinger managed to pull out of the draft as his prospects of being selected in the first round dropped lower and lower.

This is probably a good decision for all parties. The Wildcats get their star sophomore forward back, Budinger gets another year to develop under the tutelage of Lute Olson, who might actually manage to coach a full season, and whatever NBA club eventually picks up Budinger in next year’s draft will get an improved player with more experience in a leadership position.

Once considered a certain first-round pick, Budinger was kept off a list of elite draft picks at a pre-draft camp, and his stock fell steadily with each camp appearance. As late as a week ago, Budinger seemed poised to stay in anyway, telling the Arizona Daily Star that he had “received ‘good enough’ information to justify leaving.” The tone of these comments, at least as they came across on the written page, carried much the same quality as that of a man describing his “foolproof” money-making scheme: overly optimistic, with a hint of desperation around the edges. When I heard of his decision to stay, I breathed a sigh of relief, figuring that someone had smacked some sense into him.

Lute Olson probably breathed a sigh of relief as well. Olson (whose biography on the UofA website, hilariously enough, ends with the announcement of his marriage to Christine Toretti, the woman he divorced on the first day of his season-long hiatus) has to prove that he hasn’t lost any ground after a season away from the game. And with guard Jerryd Bayless already lost to the draft and a slow recruiting year leaving his 2008-2009 squad hobbled coming out of the gate, Olson needs all the help he can get.

In fact, I’d be surprised if Olson didn’t use every ounce of his influence as a coach to keep Budinger on the team for one more year.

He certainly sounded optimistic. “[Budinger] immediately makes us that much stronger as a team,” Olson said after hearing Budinger’s decision. Budinger’s stats last year were impressive even as the team flailed around him; he averaged 17.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

This strong sophomore showing made pundits bullish about Budinger’s draft prospects- ESPN.com listed him as the probable number 21 pick.

But Budinger showed commendable maturity in allowing himself to develop in college another year. With any luck, that maturity will pay off for Budinger in the 2009 draft- and for the Wildcats in the 2008-2009 season.

Sources: Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Wildcats Official Website

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