Inside Darnell’s Head: Mika goes deep on why he left BYU
Eric Mika, from BYU, takes a shot during the NBA draft basketball combine Thursday, May 11, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Darnell Dickson of the Daily Herald
After a short hiatus, “Inside Darnell’s Head” is back.
If you like it, fine. If you don’t, hey, I’ve got a public forum for the things bouncing around in my head in the morning that keep me from going back to sleep.
It’s therapeutic.
His reasons why
We’ve just experienced the Summer of Jimmer, following Fredette, Brandon Davies and Charles Abouo making a run in a $2 million winner-take-all basketball tournament called, “The Basketball Tournament.”
The debate on whether or not Fredette is an NBA player rages on.
The whole thing has me thinking about BYU basketball and specifically the path of former Cougar Eric Mika.
Mika isn’t one to jump on social media much and doesn’t do many interviews. A few weeks ago, he spent a surprising 45 minutes talking to Ben Criddle and Cameron Jensen on ESPN 960’s Cougar Sports program. Mika candidly addressed a number of topics but focusing mainly on the reasons why he left BYU after his sophomore year to pursue a professional basketball career.
Reaction from BYU fans upon hearing the news ranged from supportive (“Do what’s best for you and your family, Eric”) to bitter (“We could have gone to a Final Four if the Lone Peak 3 had stayed together!”) to sarcastic (“Enjoy the smoky gyms and playing for peanuts in Europe”).
Mika is a smart guy. His answers to difficult questions during the interview were contemplative and insightful. He said he didn’t have any regrets about leaving BYU and following this path, though he understands why some Cougar fans would be haters.
After listening to the interview, I think everything came down to what Mika felt he could control and what he couldn’t control.
In a discussion about his sophomore season, he pointed out that injuries to seniors Kyle Davis and LJ Rose in 2017-18 affected the team more than anyone can realize. That there were tipping points during the season that just went the other way, such as difficult losses on the road to Valparaiso, USC and Illinois. He was told if he came back for his junior year he could boost his stock in the NBA if the Cougars made a big run in the NCAA Tournament. But that was a risk.
“There are so many different factors that make a team successful,” Mika said. “By no means did I think we weren’t talented enough. A lot of the guys on the team are going to be paid to play basketball at some point if they choose. We definitely had the talent. But how many teams have a lot of preseason hype and for whatever reason it doesn’t translate to real success?”
Mika is good but he can’t control injuries or the efforts of 14 other young adult males on the team. As Mika put it in the interview, “Not everyone buys in all the way. There’s a good chance someone gets hurt, or suspended or transfers.”
He also couldn’t control his age. At 22, NBA GMs were telling him he needed to get started on his pro career right now.
So Mike went with the path he felt he could control more, the one where he works hard, improves and plays pro basketball in whatever form he could.
There are still things beyond his control with that path. He participated in 15 pre-draft workouts. He flew to Dallas, San Antonio, Miami, Atlanta and Sacramento in an exhausting five workouts in six days saga.
He wasn’t taken in either of the two rounds of the NBA Draft.
“That was a hard day,” Mika admitted. “We were talking to multiple teams on the day of the draft so when you don’t get taken, it kind of crushes you. But then you realize that wasn’t the only way.”
Mika said he felt like the G League is guard-dominated so he and his agent looked overseas. Mika and his wife, Gabrielle, both served LDS missions in Italy and were pleased to sign with Pallacanestro Pesaro of the Italian League. Mika averaged 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game during his first season. Last month, Mika signed a one-year contract with Brescia Leonessa, which operates at the highest level of the Euro League (Lega Basket Serie A) and will compete for the Euro Cup against teams from Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Turkey.
Mika said if an NBA team comes calling, he’ll have leverage.
“What you want to do is work your way up,” he said. “I’m playing on a platform that is followed by NBA scouts and teams and I’ll be making enough money where if an NBA team shows interest, I can control the conversation. I want to negotiate a multi-year deal or a guaranteed contract, or I just keep playing over here. There’s a lot more power to it.”
Bottom line is Mika is pursuing his career on his own terms, and that’s something we’d all like, isn’t it?
If you want to listen to the interview in its entirety, head over to espn960.com.
Going where the air conditioning is on point
Best movie I saw this summer was “Avengers: Infinity War” followed closely by “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and “Mission Impossible: Fallout.” It’s nice to have young adult children who love superhero and action movies and don’t mind their dad tagging along to the theater as a third wheel.
Practice time
In the first two viewing sessions of BYU football practice (about 30 minutes on Thursday and Friday) I felt like Tanner Mangum, Joe Critchlow and Zach Wilson looked really sharp, with nice moments from true freshmen Jaren Hall, Baylor Romney and Stacy Conner. This is the best group of quarterback talent the Cougars have had in fall camp in a long, long time.
Holding on to that quarterback talent will be difficult. Guys want to play, and some of those names will seek their fortunes elsewhere eventually.
I think it’s a two-man race between Mangum and Critchlow. Wilson should redshirt and be the man moving forward. But the battle is intriguing to watch.
Former quarterback Beau Hoge looks really smooth and powerful as a runner and receiver. He’s 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and has the genes to play running back. He was a wide receiver in high school until his senior season, when he moved to quarterback and accounted for 61 touchdowns and 4,300 yards of total offense. Getting him more reps on the field is a good thing.
I know the usual summer rhetoric about players being “bigger, stronger and faster” is overused but I’m kind of buying that hype. A lot of guys look like they have put in some quality weight room and conditioning time during the off-season. BYU coach Kalani Sitake referred to Mangum walking around with a six-pack (not the adult beverages, guys. The abs).
That’s it for now. As we all get consumed by college football for the next five months, remember this: A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.
Humor us, ladies. We need the positive reinforcement.
Have a great week.