Daye of Defeat?

Most fans of the Gonzaga University men's basketball team might be disappointed about the news that sophomore Austin Daye is passing up on his final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft.

I am not most fans. This is great news for the Zags team and program. And awful news for fans of the NBA team which drafts Daye.

Look - Austin Daye is not ready for NBA basketball. He's not even a year away. He's at least two years away from being able to be a 10-15 minute bench guy. And he's about four years away from starting for a mediocre team. That's his ceiling.

Daye is a stone cold lock to follow in Adam Morrison's footsteps as a huge NBA bust. They're both pure shooters with not much inside game. They're both thin as a rail. Both possess great height, but are one-dimensional and don't bring much to the defensive end. What am I missing?

Meanwhile, in Spokane, the Zags will be better off without his presence. When Daye was on his game, he was a great player, but he was cold more often than not last season, when Gonzaga reached the Sweet 16. He was a hothead who clashed with officials and coaches and didn't exactly fit the mold as a true Zag. His length gave the Bulldogs an advantage on the perimeter, especially on the defensive end, but anyone who weighed 180 pounds could post him up and have his way with Daye in the paint.

Heck, Diamon Simpson might be more upset than Zag fans that Daye is bolting. Simpson was a lock for a 20-10 game anytime Mark Few had Daye guarding the St. Mary's forward.

Anyway, the first Gonzaga player to bolt early since Morrison is gone, but not forgotten. Zag fans won't be seeing Daye taking the floor in Spokane in 2009-10, but they'll see him riding plenty of pine in the NBA for years to come.