Many claim you'd be foolish not to pull a Steve Miller Band after your All-American season. Take the money and run.
A select few, noting your sluggish six-point output vs. Penn State - as well as similarly subpar shooting performances in the ACC and NCAA tournaments - argue otherwise. But only you can settle this Clash in viewpoints, and soon enough we'll know how you responded to "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
It's like the final minute of a really big game, Joe, and the ball's in your hands. All season during these situations, anyone with a thumbnail of basketball knowledge knew you'd fire away. So perhaps Heels fans won't be too surprised to hear that you've allegedly decided to turn pro, as reported Monday by sportstalk.com. Hardly anyone expects you to pass up the biggest shot of your life.
Call me naive, but I think you will, for now. There's no doubt you could go, but there's a question whether you should.
Just say it ain't so, Joe. The money's tempting, sure, but it'll be there later. Why not remain in Chapel Hill for another school year?
It's an opportunity cost, chasing the dough by turning pro or staying in school and risking your draft status. But look at it this way: Whenever you autograph your first contract, regardless how much it is, it'll be mind-boggling more than whatever you've previously had in your back pocket.
Manage that kind of money properly and you can blow your nose in $20 bills the rest of your life and never flinch. You could swim in seas of silver dollars. Heck, you'll actually have a penny for every one of your thoughts.
Although dough can't be all you want out of life. Petty as it may appear beside your trophies, a framed piece of paper stating Joseph Xavier Forte as a graduate of the University of North Carolina is worth something even an NBA-sized contract can't buy.
Besides, what's your rush to leave? We're teeing off springtime in Chapel Hill and the course looks more breathtaking than ever. Every sunny day brings a postcard picture of green grass, blue skies and brick buildings. Why not stick around and enjoy a scene where you'll be a BMOC, times 40?
I know the NBA's calling, but so is history. You're already eligible to have your jersey honored, Joe, but if you return and are named National Player of the Year you'll enter a whole new category of Tar Heel lore. You'll join the likes of Jamison, Jordan, Worthy, Ford and others. Your No. 40 would be retired, never worn again by a player in baby blue.
Don't get me wrong, Joe, you've fared well - your resume includes a win at Duke and a Final Four appearance - but you've only sampled the type of success accustomed to UNC. There's room for more, and Coach Matt Doherty needs you to reach the next level next season. Leaving now would be like walking out on an all-you-can-eat buffet after the first time through.
And right now, your final game is a second-round tournament loss to a football school. That can't be easy to stomach.
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By all means, do what you think is best for you, as Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge have preached and Doherty reiterated Sunday, but please think it through.
It's so easy to jump to the pros, Joe, the so-called experts say you'd be stupid not to - especially since so many Tar Heels who have, including Jamison and Jordan, fared so well.
But there's so much more you can do. It's up to you. Do you want to be an average Joe?
Best,
Dan Satter
P.S. If you go pro, do you need an agent?
Dan Satter, a junior history and journalism and mass communication major from Framingham, Mass., reminds us that Carolina fans are responsible for not only cheering on UNC but also booing Duke. E-mail your
comments to satter@email.unc.edu.
