As the Georgia Bulldogs prepare to take on Kentucky at Rupp Arena former Bulldogs high flyer Travis Leslie is expected to be sent to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League by the Los Angeles Clippers. Leslie along with teammate Trey Thompkins both left the Georgia Bulldogs after their junior seasons and were both drafted by the Clippers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft.
Thompkins has played in 13 games this season and Leslie just eight which is significantly less than they would have played had they returned to the Bulldogs. While both are in the NBA and getting paid, neither appears to have a solid hold on their roster spots and we will never know what their fortunes would have been had they returned for their senior season in Athens. Undoubtedly the Bulldogs would have benefited but in a strong draft, both could have slid to the second round anyway.
No doubt Georgia wasn't ready for the early departures of Leslie and Thompkins but you can't really say that either benefited greatly by leaving.