(REUTERS) — As expected by most people in and around the Minnesota men’s basketball program, sophomore Rick Rickert announced Tuesday he would make himself available for the NBA draft after two seasons with the Gophers.
So is he ready for the rigors of an 82-game season, big enough to bang underneath and fast enough to play outside?
“The way the draft is set up,” coach Dan Monson said, “it’s not about being ready. You look at it and see very few guys where you would say, ‘Yeah, they’re ready.’ That’s our job as college coaches, to get our players to that level.”
Monson believes he’s done that.
“I know he’s going to be a great NBA player,” he said.
Rickert won’t immediately hire an agent, relying for now on his father, Lew, to set up workouts with teams and network the pro basketball world for insight.
That leaves Rickert the option of returning to the Gophers for his junior season if he doesn’t sign with an agent before the June 19 deadline for withdrawing from the draft. But nobody is anticipating that.
“He’s not approaching this as it’s not going to work out,” Monson said. “We all plan on him having success.”
The draft is June 26, and Rickert said he thinks he’ll be taken in the first round somewhere been pick numbers 10 and 17.
At 6-foot-11 with a soft shooting touch, Rickert’s offensive ability will be the reason for his selection by an NBA club.
But at a lithe 215 pounds, he’s got some serious work to do this summer in the gym. He’ll need to add muscle and improve his quickness, since rebounding and defense are not his strong suits.
Against Georgetown in the NIT semifinals last week, 6-foot-8, 260-pound big man Mike Sweetney had a monster game — 32 points, nine rebounds, four steals, four assists and three blocks — matched up against Rickert.
“I know I have to get stronger. I know I have to get quicker,” Rickert said. “I look at that as just another challenge.”
Rickert was no slouch, though, leading the team with 15.8 points per game and also averaging 6.2 rebounds.
“I’m glad for him,” forward Michael Bauer said. “I think he’s making the right decision. He’ll be going high enough that he’ll be able to make it work.”
Monson knew he wasn’t going to be coaching Rickert at Minnesota for that long when he persuaded the spindly prep star from Duluth East High School to ignore his verbal commitment to Arizona two years ago.
Though the Gophers celebrated his decision in the fall of 2000 to join them, they were prepared for the fact that he wasn’t going to be with them for four years.
“Certainly, what he’s done for this program, we owe him a lot,” Monson said. “This is his dream, and we’re going to support it.”
Minnesota’s two seasons with Rickert were disappointing. Beginning this season in the top 25 and picked to finish in the Big Ten’s top three by several publications, the Gophers finished 19-14 after losing to Texas Tech in the NIT third-place game.
But he was all smiles at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
“This has been quite an experience — playing for the University of Minnesota,” Rickert said. “I haven’t regretted a moment of it. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve just had this dream to play in the NBA, and now I have the chance to fulfill it.”