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Xavier sophomore guard Semaj Christon told ESPN he is heading to the NBA. Story coming.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 28, 2014
Semaj Christon appears to be headed to the NBA draft, per ESPN's Jeff Goodman. Goodman has been a fairly reliable source for information about Xavier, so there's not real reason to doubt this report.
I dislike this news for a couple of reasons. The first is that - obviously - it robs Xavier of their most dynamic player. Christon had his ups and downs this year, but there were certainly more of the former than the latter. Now he is headed to the draft and leaving Xavier's backcourt in the lurch.
I also don't like this from Semaj's point of view. I'm sure that he is making the decision that he feels is best for himself and his family, but I'm not sure he's ready to make the jump at this point. His outside jumper is a serious work in progress and likely could have benefited from another year in college. The NBA is a running and jumping league, though, and those are two of the things Semaj does best. His speed in the open court is elite, and his athleticism plays on that level.
Despite that, I haven't seem him highly rated in any mock drafts. NBADraft.net has him going at the end of the first round. DraftExpress.com has him going in the middle of the second round. Two of CBS's three mock drafters have him going in the second round, and none have him going earlier than 28th. You can Google mock drafts until you're blue in the face, but you likely won't see Christon going earlier than the very late first round.
Maybe Semaj knows something I don't. Surely he has talked to scouts, NBA execs, and agents as much as the rules will allow. Hopefully for him he has great workouts, moves up the board, lands in a good position and makes lots of money. But I don't see it, and I don't like seeing a kid jump as a sophomore who isn't projected to go in the first round. Both Semaj and Xavier would have profited from one more year on campus from him.
