Brandon Bass It was perhaps telling -- and certainly symbolic -- that Brandon Bass canceled his workout with the San Antonio Spurs to return home to Baton Rouge on Thursday to decide his basketball future. Home, in Baton Rouge and at LSU, is where he decided to stay, pulling his name off the list of early entries for the June 24 NBA draft. Bass, now officially a sophomore-to-be at LSU, said he was comfortable with his decision. But he admitted it didn't come easy. Or early. "I made it at the last minute," Bass said. "About 3:45 (p.m. Thursday)." That wasn't literally the last minute, but he only had about 15 left. Otherwise the only way he could have returned to LSU was to not sign with an agent or go undrafted. Bass was adamant that he didn't fall into the trap of doing the former and was unlikely to have fallen completely through the two-round draft on the latter. But as much as he might have wanted to turn pro, Bass finally realized what so many others said about him: He might have been a decent draft pick this year, but could be an exceptional one next year with another college season's worth of experience. "At the beginning I wanted to be a top-20 pick," said Bass, a 6-foot-7 forward. "I had offers from teams after the 20th pick. I got a lot of good feedback from them. "But with another year I think my stock can rise." Bass' return means the stock on LSU's upcoming basketball season will rise as well. "It's Mardi Gras come early," said LSU coach John Brady, his happiness coming through over the telephone. Happiness, Brady was quick to point out, for both the LSU program and LSU's top returning player. "He said he learned a lot. I knew he would," Brady said. "This process matured him. Now he can look at things with more of a sense of urgency and knows what's at stake for him. "If you think he played hard and was driven before this, add to it him continuing to want to be the best he can be. That's good for our team." Bass' stock in this draft was a matter of conjecture. He was invited to the NBA's pre-draft camp earlier this month in Chicago and reportedly improved his standing. Bass also worked out individually for several clubs, including Boston and Indiana, and had the workout lined up with San Antonio before he canceled it. A Web site devoted to the NBA, www.hoopshype.com, rated Bass as a second-round bubble pick in the upcoming draft, meaning that he could possibly go undrafted. Brady said he didn't believe that would be an issue for Bass after another season at LSU. "This time next year we won't be having this conversation, whether he would be a late first-round or second-round pick," Brady said. "We're going to be figuring his number in the top 15. We'll know that he should be putting his name in the draft." Bass, the 2003-04 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, is LSU's top returning scorer and rebounder with 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He was the only Tiger to start all 29 games for LSU. Brady said he is already counting on Bass to be the centerpiece for the 2004-05 Tigers. "I talked to Brandon a couple of times (Thursday) afternoon. I told him it was time to get back with the team in the Monday, Wednesday, Thursday workouts, take the lead and be the focal point of our team," Brady said. "He said he was ready to do it." Brady said he is ready to deal with more early NBA departures in the future. "If these situations occur in the next couple of years it means we're getting good players," Brady said. "It's nerve-wracking, but at the same time it means you're recruiting the right kinds of players and they're improving once they get here. "In this case it worked out. And Brandon made the best decision for him. I tried to tell him to look at every side. At times he thought I was being negative. But he gets the big picture." Bass had little criticism for how Brady dealt with the situation. "I think all coaches number one don't want their underclassmen to leave," Bass said. "Other than that, I think he (Brady) handled the situation pretty well."
