Isaiah Joe took a calculated risk in leaping to the NBA this season instead of staying at Arkansas for his junior year. If he was still in college, he could be pouring in nearly 20 points a game against Arkansas’ early-season SEC opponents. His steady leadership and deadly shooting likely would have meant the difference in what was a close loss at Tennessee.
Instead, after some back and forth, Joe bolted to the NBA. He was picked lower than he would have hoped (No. 49 overall), but the payoff was he landed in Philadelphia — an Eastern Conference contender where he can learn from a championship-caliber head coach in Doc Rivers.