A year ago, Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton was a first-round MLB talent who wasn't on the radar of NBA scouts. So when his representatives told MLB teams that he intended to pursue the NBA if he had a chance, what was the response?
"Some thought we were a little crazy," his baseball agent, Sam Samardzija said.
Connaughton's vow to play out his senior season for the Irish cost him money—he slipped to the fourth round—but there really wasn't a fear from MLB teams that basketball beyond Notre Dame was realistic. The Baltimore Orioles took a chance in the fourth round of the 2014 draft and agreed to let Connaughton leave midway through the summer to return to the Irish.
Now Baltimore will wait to see if he ever returns.
A perfect storm has given Connaughton a realistic shot at the NBA and convinced him to put baseball on hold. He's projected to go 42nd to the Utah Jazz by both ESPN.com's Chad Ford and DraftExpress.com.
If Connaughton were to get drafted, he would become the first player since Mark Hendrickson in 1997 to get drafted in both the professional basketball an ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by C.J. Moore
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