USC's Gibson seeks family input on his future
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The sophomore forward will return home to Brooklyn to 'powwow' with relatives on whether to enter the NBA draft.
Taj Gibson's mother, Sharon, said the USC sophomore forward was returning home today to Brooklyn, N.Y., to "have a family powwow" about whether to declare for the NBA draft.
Gibson announced at the team banquet late last month that he would return for his junior season, but his mother said today that he remained undecided and wasn't leaning one way or the other.
"That's why he's coming home," Sharon Gibson said.
Asked who would help counsel the 6-foot-9 standout on his decision, Sharon Gibson said, "It's strictly family so far." Though the deadline to declare for the draft isn't until April 27, Sharon Gibson said she expected the family to reach a decision by Sunday or Monday.
Gibson is projected as a second-round pick on nbadraft.net, and one NBA executive said he could be selected anywhere from late in the first round to late in the second depending on which other players declare for the draft.
"Gibson could be [picked] 42 or 22," the executive said. "There are a lot of guys ahead of him; the question is how many keep their names in."
The executive said that although Gibson should have declared for the draft after a freshman year in which he generated a lot of buzz, he would be better served to return for one more college season after a sophomore year in which he played well but didn't wow NBA decision-makers.
"Taj last year came out of nowhere, and everyone started touting him as a first-round pick, and he should have left," the executive said. "He came back and now he can only disappoint you."
Gibson averaged 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds last season for the Trojans, who lost to Kansas State, 80-67, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He set a school single-season record with 84 blocks, and his two-year total of 153 blocks trails only Sam Clancy's school record four-year total of 195.
ben.bolch@latimes.com
