Arizona basketball: Former Wildcat Grant Jerrett doesn’t regret leaving for NBA after freshman season

Jerrett’s time in the NBA has been non-existent, but he still believes he made the right choice to leave Arizona after one season

Mention Grant Jerrett’s name in Tucson, and chances are you’re going to get a negative reaction.

“He should’ve stayed in school,” an Arizona fan will likely say.

If you don’t know the story behind Jerrett, it’s fairly simple.

The big man was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school in 2012 and signed with the Arizona Wildcats.

And as a freshman in Tucson, Jerrett played 17.8 minutes per game, averaging 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds. The near-7-footer was unique in that he could protect the paint, averaging 1.0 blocks per game, and hit jumpers, knocking down 40.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. He was impressive in flashes, but still rather raw as a player.

But rather than returning to Arizona to continue his development, Jerrett declared for the 2013 NBA Draft, forgoing a chance to be part of a loaded frontcourt of Brandon Ashley, Aaron Gordon, Kaleb Tarczewski and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (maybe it was too loaded?).

"Initially, I was surprised," UA head coach Sean Miller said at a press conference after Jerrett’s decision.

And rightfully so.

Jerrett was ranked as the No. 68 prospect by Draft Express that year — meaning he was projected to go undrafted. It was a head-scratcher.

But fast forward a few years down the road, and we’re still at a point where it’s unclear if Jerrett made the right decision or not.

Despite the projection, Jerrett was selected near the beginning of the second round in 2013 — 40th overall to the Portland Trail Blazers, who later traded his rights the Oklahoma City Thunder.

His ability to protect the paint and stretch the floor turned out to be coveted (which is understandable, given the style of basketball the NBA is gravitating toward).

However, Jerrett’s time in the NBA has basically been non-existent, to say the least.

He’s played in just eight games in three seasons, spending most of his time in the NBA D-League. He was with the Tulsa 76ers (OKC’s former D-League affiliate) and the Oklahoma City Blue (OKC’s new D-League affiliate) for nearly the entire 2013-14, 2014-15 seasons.

He was then traded by the Thunder to the Utah Jazz late in the 2014-15 season. He appeared in just three games with the Jazz, and was eventually waived just before the start of the 2015-16 season.

He was out of the league for the 2015-16 season and, now, heading into the 2016-17 season he’s trying to make the Blazers’ roster, joining Portland on a training camp invite. He’s mostly likely not going to make that team either.

So he should’ve stayed in school, right?

Perhaps, but consider this: According to Spotrac.com, Jerrett has made an estimated $1.72 million in his professional career. He made $28,834 in his first season with the Thunder, made $816,482 in 2014-15, and then made $947,76 in 2015-16 (even though he was not on a roster).

Sure, Jerrett’s NBA career has been a failure in terms of playing time and the ability to hold down a roster spot, but $1.72 million is nothing to scoff at.

And you could argue Jerrett actually took the safe route.

Enter Tarczewski, for example, who was the other prize in Arizona’s 2013 recruiting class. Tarczewski has taken the opposite path to the pros as Jerrett.

Instead of declaring after one season, Tarczewski stayed all four years at Arizona. Now — just like Jerrett — he is trying to find his way in the NBA, joining the Thunder (funny how that works) on a training camp invite.

Both players are 23 years old and both are on the outside looking in at an NBA roster spot. The difference is Jerrett has already made a pretty penny. He left school when he had “upside” and therefore an NBA team took a shot on him.

If Jerrett returned to school and his development didn’t go as planned, there’s a good chance he’d be in the same position as Tarczewski — undrafted and without the $1.72 million that he’s made.

Meanwhile, the counter-argument says if Jerrett returned to school and did develop into a better player, he’d be on an NBA roster, making even more money than he already has, and would have a better career outlook than he has now.

There’s also the persisting debate about whether or not it’s easier for players to develop in college or the pros.

It surely makes for an interesting conversation but truth be told, we’ll never know if Jerrett’s decision to jump to the NBA was the right one.

It was in his mind, though.

"I'm happy with my decisions," he told The Oregonian. "I don't regret anything. I've been able to do what I love, so I'm blessed.”

And perhaps that’s all that matters.

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