Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports spoke with Nerlens Noel’s brother Rodman Noel and he would be surprised if he came back to Kentucky next season.
“I’d be surprised if he comes back,” Rodman Noel told me from his apartment in Raleigh on Wednesday afternoon. “Right now people still say he’ll be a top-five pick. It would only be smart to take it while you can.”
Rodman, a starting linebacker at NC State, said that his brother was clearly dejected when he finally spoke to him on Wednesday minutes after Nerlens learned he suffered a season-ending torn ACL. It’s an injury that could also prematurely end his college career. Noel’s draft stock, according to 10 NBA executives I communicated with in the last 48 hours, may drop a spot or two — but he won’t fall out of the top five and could still be taken with the No. 1 overall pick. The rehab is expected to take anywhere from six to eight months, according to Rodman, who also said that his younger brother “tore a little bit of his meniscus.”
“What devastated him more than anything else was not being able to finish out the season,” Rodman said. “Especially being his first year of college. He really wanted to play in the NCAA tournament.”
Nerlens will be prepared to handle this since it’s not his first go-around with a season-ending injury. He broke his leg during pregame warmups just a handful of games into his sophomore campaign at Everett (Mass.) High and missed the remainder of the season.
“That will help him,” Rodman said. “He’s already been through it, he’s experienced it and he’ll have the right mindset going into the surgery and the rehab. He can handle it.”
In my honest opinion, I would go to the NBA as well, because I would rather get hurt getting paid than not.
