TJ Warren Headed to the NBA…Or is he?

The “Good luck, TJ” tweets were out in full force today as Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Wolfpack sophomore had decided to declare for the NBA draft.

N.C. State sophomore T.J. Warren has decided to enter the NBA Draft, sources tell Yahoo. Formal announcement will come early this week.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 24, 2014

There were no questions asked about this report as this was a decision that most expected from one of the nation’s top scorers. But things are starting to get a little interesting over the past few hours. Local media has reached out to Warren to see if the reports are true and it seems as if he’s not willing to confirm them quite yet.

. @T24Warren tells me he is yet to make a decision on his future.

— Mandy Mitchell (@MandyWRAL) March 24, 2014

WRAL’s Mandy Mitchell tweeted that TJ Warren has told her that he’s still undecided. That tweet was then retweeted by TJ Warren himself. Warren also got in on the action with this…

Undecided

— TJ Warren (@T24Warren) March 24, 2014

We were told that Warren was at a team meeting today and he did not notify the coaches or any players of any decision. This leaves a tiny bit of hope in Wolfpack fan’s hearts that their star player might come back for one more season despite being ranked top 20 in the most recent mock drafts.

So what do we think?….

The Case For Him Leaving…
Well, I’ve been on record over and over saying that TJ Warren is as good as gone. I don’t have any inside info on this situation other than the fact that I know most around the program expect him to go. I just think that he’s proven what he can do. He just had the best scoring season in NC State history and led a team that was supposed to finish 10th, into the NCAA tournament. It’s going to be tough for him to top what he just did. I think someone in his circle leaked that he’s leaving and it was just too soon for Warren, who wants to talk to his coaches and team first. I think he’d love to stay, but the money’s on the table and it’s hard to pass up on being a millionaire at 20 years old. That’s why I think he’s gone (and honestly, I don’t don’t think you can blame him.)

The Case For Him Staying…
Warren saying he’s ‘undecided’ is a little confusing. If you read the last paragraph then you’d think that if he knew he was leaving then he might have mentioned it to his team and his coach when he had them together today at the team meeting. He didn’t as far as I’m told, which leads me to believe that maybe he really is undecided. Maybe he’s seen Julius Hodge make a career for himself as being the most loved player in NC State history simply by coming back when everyone thought for sure he’d be gone. Maybe Warren could get better. He does needs to improve his shot and improve his FT shooting if he wants to be a dominant scorer at the next level. He also might want to see what he can do here with a real supporting cast. He’s got another legit scorer in Trevor Lacey, a legitimate scoring threat on the blocks with Abu, and an entire roster (outside of Vandenberg) that is returning. In theory, Warren could return and make a run at an ACC championship, get a ton of exposure and still score at the clip he was scoring this year, in turn, improving his stock to lottery status (if it’s not there already). His family isn’t hurting for the money, so what’s another year? I think he knows that if he leaves he might always wonder “What if…” That’s why he could stay.