Wisconsin's best player last season was arguably Nick Boyd, and he has NBA ability written all over him, but he failed to be drafted in either round of the NBA Draft. This was mostly expected, as many mock drafts had him falling out of the draft, and most big boards had him as a fringe NBA player. So, it didn't come as a shock, but the disappointment is very real. The biggest setback for Boyd's draft stock was the fact that he's already 25 years old.
That age comes with some baggage for the NBA, namely that a player has to be pretty much immediately ready to go. They can't be a work in progress at that age, and almost every college player is, even the lottery picks.
However, Boyd's dream is far from over. Boyd will now have a chance to sign as an undrafted player with any team that offers him a contract. He will get to wear a chip on his shoulder and prove all the NBA teams that passed on him wrong.
Nick Boyd worked out with over 15 teams ahead of the NBA Draft and still has plenty of hope
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He didn't immediately sign with an NBA team after going undrafted, which is neither good news nor bad news. Sometimes contracts and competition between teams drag out a few days, or, of course, it could be that he's getting less interest than many suspected or thought.
The latter doesn't feel true, and it's simply because 15 teams worked him out ahead of the draft, and there was plenty of interest. He wasn't some player that wasn't getting any NBA interest; in fact, he had a bunch. It helps that he was a star at Wisconsin and a proven winner. He averaged 20.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds a game last season.
He was also a player who could be trusted with the ball in his hand at the end of games.. While the final taste in Wisconsin Badger fans' mouths was bitter with the NCAA game against High Point. The Badgers came up short, and Boyd worked his hardest to will them to victory, but it came up short.
Wisconsin fans and Boyd can look back on some other big moments, like against Michigan or Michigan State. He is a winner, and an NBA team will definitely take a flyer on him. Greg Gard believes that to be true. The other day, Gard mentioned, "whether he gets drafted or signs as an undrafted free agent," he will get a chance to prove he's an NBA player. Gard was confident in Boyd's NBA ability and knows that there's something there.
Now, Boyd just needs a team to sign him so he can prove it to the world and all the teams that passed on him and didn't want to sign him.
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