Freshman guard Gary Harris defends Michigan guard Trey Burke on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, at Breslin Center. Justin Wan/The State News
Going professional in their respective sport is a difficult choice certain college athletes face. Arguably even more difficult is who to listen to when advice is coming from all directions.
MSU sophomore guard Gary Harris and senior center Adreian Payne both faced this decision at the end of the 2012-13 basketball season, and both decided to return. But not without some advice from their own athletics director.
“It’s a tough process for a 17-year-old when deciding where to go to college,” said MSU athletics director Mark Hollis. “And it’s a difficult process for 18, 19 and 20-year-olds when deciding to go pro. There are lots of people out there trying to profit and gain from you.”
Motivation for each player making such a difficult decision is different, the question of “why?” when a decision is made one way or the other is on the mind of family, friends and fans alike. For Payne, one reason stood out.
“The main factor is I want to graduate,” Payne said when he announced his intent to return to MSU at a press conference in April. “I promised that to my grandmother, and that’s the main thing. I promised that to her, and that’s something I’m going to do.”
Last year, a certain ball player in Michigan was deciding whether or not to leave his school and join the NBA, and to a degree of uproar, Mark Hollis tweeted him words of advice.
The player was point guard Trey Burke, formerly of Michigan.
Last May, Burke, who was drafted ninth overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, tweeted “EVERYONE got something to say…smh I thought this was my life!”
Hollis directly responded with a tweet saying “My advice, believe in YOUR heart & mind, everything else is interference. People u seek out is better than those that seek u.”
The exchange received a lot of attention, and responses were mixed. Hollis acknowledged that while the tweet to Burke may not have been the most prudent way to communicate his message, the message itself had sound advice.
Regardless of school, Hollis wants to see young athletes find success.
The message Hollis gave to Payne and Harris, when they were debating their own futures, is the same advice he gives to all his student athletes.
“Step back and get information from people who offer information, and not those who force information on you,” Hollis said to Payne and Harris. “Those you connect with and have faith in and trust, listen to them.”
Hollis indicated that being an athletics director entails caring for the kids, and in the end it all comes down to them and offering resources for the student athletes.
“We ensure that we have support for our student athletes in terms of academics, socially and athletically,” he said.
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