Goldman Sachs called. They’ve heard that you’ve been doing great things in the MSB and offer you $1 million to leave Georgetown a year early and work for them. All your life you have prepared to work at Goldman Sachs, so you seriously consider their offer. You assume that all Georgetown students and alumni will be ecstatic you have this chance and would advise you to take it.
Unfortunately, you’re wrong. People you’ve never met tell you how much they love you and want you to stay another year. Editorials, columns and even songs in student newspapers plead with you to defer until next year. Everyone pelts you with arguments like, “You’re such a part of the Georgetown family that you should stay here as long as you can.” Or, “the MSB is such a fantastic tradition; if you spent one more year in it you would add so much to its incredible legacy.” You’re end up bewildered: You think, shouldn’t everyone want me to do what’s best for me?
Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball junior Mike Sweetney has a decision to make by May 12. That day is the deadline for underclassmen to declare themselves eligible for June’s NBA Draft. But everyone already knows that. What everyone also knows, but would not like to admit, is that it makes sense for Sweetney to leave. The 6-8, 260-pound power forward averaged 22. (xanax) 8 points and 10.4 rebounds this year, made All-Big East First Team for the second straight season and is virtually guaranteed to be one of the top 13 or “lottery” choices in the June draft. Being drafted in the lottery means he will make at least $1 million in his first year of professional basketball. Additionally, although Sweetney has never been seriously injured, playing next season and facing waves of double- and triple-teams for 30-plus games creates a significant risk, especially for someone who has already honed his skills to the point that he cannot improve greatly at this level. Finally, by finishing three years at Georgetown, Sweetney can easily make up the two semesters he would need to graduate over the next few summers. Simply put, in this case there is little difference between the opportunity to earn $1 million a year by playing in the NBA or bond trading for Goldman Sachs, an opportunity that many of us would grab without thinking.
Still, until Sweetney decides, many students and alumni will continue to try to show how much Georgetown loves him and why he shouldn’t abandon the “Georgetown family.” Such ridiculous arguments feebly mask the motives of their pleas. While undoubtedly Sweetney’s skills, presence and demeanor on the basketball court make him a pleasure to watch, for 95 percent of fans, their relationship with Sweetney ends at the limits of the remote control or at the paint on the MCI Center’s floor. The only way most of us could love Mike is through his play. There’s nothing wrong with these feelings, but no one should pretend that they run any deeper.
So, unless you know Mike personally or he taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, SFS ‘05, do you think I should declare for the draft?” the best way to help Sweetney make up his mind is to drop the chicanery. The rumor is that Sweetney is seriously considering staying for his senior season. If people actually want him on-campus next year, then instead of insulting him with absurd reasons why he should stay, leave him alone. Sweetney may find that he is enjoying his college experience too much to go away.
