It always seemed a bit of a long shot for any Pitt players to be taken and on Thursday night, the Panthers officially went without a player selected.
Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown were the most likely to be taken, but no team decided to take a chance on them - and we all know the reasons why. Brown, while athletic, was never as consistent as he needed to be. And Wanamaker was a solid all-around player, but didn't really do any one thing well enough.
Wanamaker, in particular, had been making the rounds, auditioning for a bunch of teams including some championship caliber ones such as the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics. And then there was the talk about the Miami Heat being a possible destination.
Still, hope isn't lost.
It can easily be argued that it's better to be a free-agent than a second-rounder, where there's no guaranteed money. As an undrafted free agent, a player can choose his own destination and pick the best fit. Some players may want a chance at more playing time while others could value a championship more. The choice is up to the individual and while going undrafted could equal a one-way ticket to the NBDL, that's not always the case.Europe is also always an option and all three are capable enough to earn money playing basketball overseas.
Wanamaker, Brown, and Gary McGhee may have preferred to be drafted, but it's certainly not the end of the world that they weren't.