NCAA Tournament Performance and Draft Status
Around NBA front offices, there is an understanding that a player who shines and excels in the NCAA post season improves his draft status. I certainly agree that any performance in a high pressure situation should be a factor when projecting whether a player will be "a successful" NBA player. However, I feel that too much weight is given to the NCAA Tournament.
The NBA season is a long season and so a player’s consistency, longevity and how he manages himself over the course of the season is an important factor in projecting "NBA ability". The NCAA season can be a brief glimpse into the life of a future NBA player. Is he consistent over the course of the college season? Does he play every game with the same intensity? Does he get injured? How fast does he return from bruises and small injuries? How does he take care of himself over the course of the year?
These are just some of the factors that can be taken into consideration, along with his NCAA Tournament performance when evaluating future NBA prospects. To give so much weight to a couple games, as in the Tyrus Thomas situation, discounts the value of watching an entire season/career worth of performance.