Rabb expected to be chosen, but when is uncertain
Ivan Rabb once seemed a lock as an NBA draft lottery pick, with the attendant cachet and riches. But then Rabb decided he needed another year in college, so he returned to Cal and spent his sophomore season fighting off double teams.
And now he wades in uncertainty on the brink of Thursday’s draft.
This still could work out in his favor. Projections on Rabb’s status are all over the map, but several mock drafts peg him for late in the first round, which probably would leave him with
an established team rather than a struggling one.
That’s not exactly a bad outcome for the player who carried Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland to the Open Division state championship two years ago.
“I think Thursday is going to be a great day, and Ivan is going to find out his new future,” said Lou Richie, Rabb’s coach at O’Dowd. “It appears he’s going somewhere — you hear one thing and then another, everywhere from 14th to early second round.
“In his mind, it doesn’t matter when he goes but where he goes, to the right culture and somewhere he can continue to grow intellectually and emotionally.”
Richie is right about the wide range of pre-draft projections. Rabb surfaced as high as 15th to Portland in one mock draft this week (Bleacher Report), but also as low as 34th to Sacramento (CBS) and 37th to Boston (ESPN).
Two other mock drafts (Sports Illustrated and Draft Express) slotted Rabb at No. 29 to San Antonio. Just imagine playing for head coach Gregg Popovich and one of the most widely respected organizations in the league.
“That would be great,” Richie said.
If nothing else, Rabb no doubt hopes to hear his name called in the first round, where the 30 players selected are assured guaranteed contracts. If he slips into the second round, his future becomes murky.
Rabb offered no regrets about his decision to bypass last year’s draft, when he would have been a much higher choice.
“I thought I needed it,” he told reporters last month at the draft combine in Chicago, referring to another year at Cal. “I thought it was very mature for me to go back. The plan is to stick in the league for a long time, not get there as soon as possible, so I feel like I made the best decision for me. I feel like I got better.”
Even if Cal’s 2016-17 season went sideways, Rabb remained productive. He averaged 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game (both improvements from his freshman season), despite relentless defensive attention.
Rabb’s shooting percentage did fall, from 61.5 percent as a freshman to 48.4 percent last season. His pre-draft measurements also might work against him; though listed at 6-11 in college, he measured 6-8¾ in bare feet and 6-10 with shoes.
Rabb preferred not to talk publicly in advance of Thursday’s draft. He will watch the draft at a friend’s East Bay home with family and friends.
“This is about becoming a professional,” Richie said. “He needs to do anything in his power to conduct himself as a professional. Part of that is knowing things don’t always go as planned. So how do you react?”