No amount of begging, pleading or reasoning can ever sway the decisions of a man who has made up his mind. That's been exactly the case with Jeremy Pargo during these past few days.
Through his actions, decisions and attitudes surrounding his decision to enter the NBA Draft, Pargo suddenly grew up before our eyes, from a talkative, headstrong kid to a full-grown man.
Gonzaga should be proud of him, and proud of who he has turned into during his three years here.
Pargo made no hoopla surrounding his decision to test the NBA Draft waters. He didn't stage an elaborate press conference or attempt to hype up this monumental decision. Instead, we saw the matured Jeremy Pargo, who quietly made his decision to friends, politely answered the media's inquiries about the rumor and quickly went to work to handle his business.
In his decision to professionally play a kid's game, he acted like a man.
A kid is rarely equipped with the maturity to handle a decision like this. A kid would believe every yes-man and every hanger-on who baited him with false promises and delusions of success. A kid would buy into his own hype, overestimate his skills and ultimately fail in his quest to go pro.
But a grown man, one who has developed a level head and maturity, wouldn't. Pargo is showcasing those qualities right now, during one of the most important periods of his life. He didn't have to think this over, he didn't have to weigh his options while many others were voicing their own opinions, but it is the fact that he did that is important.
After a season in which he won WCC Player of the Year, Pargo could have easily decided to turn pro and never look back. But a mature person knows his abilities better than anyone else, and Pargo is using his knowledge to help himself even more. By not hiring an agent, he can still opt to withdraw his name from the draft if he senses that his draft position would be lower than he thought. He's not putting all his chips on the table unless he's dealt a good hand. Now, if he realizes that he may need another year to develop, he can return to Gonzaga for his senior season.
Sure, he could come back, but I suspect Gonzaga would be even more proud for him to go pro and succeed. A return by Pargo to the Bulldogs would no doubt help the basketball team, but with the level-headedness that Pargo has demonstrated, it is evident that this is also a man who is ready to succeed in the real world. Gonzaga would be proud to cheer him on as he carries himself to the next level.
His ability to make it in the NBA game remains to be seen, but it looks like he has the attitude it takes to thrive, and sometimes that's just as important as basketball ability. He's not buying into his own hype, he knows his limitations, he knows what's at stake, and through it all he is showing a level of maturity far beyond that of a normal 21-year-old.
You have to root for a guy like that.
The Jeremy Pargo we've seen on the court is one of youthful enthusiasm. He was the kid who was always talking, playing, having fun. But when the time came for him to make decisions regarding his life as an adult, something happened in him:
Jeremy Pargo manned up.
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