When I asked via Twitter earlier today for one word to describe Romeo Langford's lone season in Bloomington, IU fans weren't too kind. Most of the answers fell into the "meh" or "underwhelming" while others were far more harsh ("garbage", "waste", etc.).
However, did a solid but unspectacular year with the Hoosiers negatively impact Langford's draft stock? It sure doesn't seem so. The former New Albany star is still widely projected to be a Lottery pick:
So, to add it up, here are Langford's current projections:
- Jonathan Givony (ESPN): 11th on the ESPN 100
- Sam Vecenie (The Athletic): 10th on the Big Board
- NBADraft.net: 16th pick
- Gary Parris (CBS Sports): 9th pick
- Basketball Insiders: 12th pick
I saw one Mock that had him as high as sixth and another that had him as low as seventeenth, but most of the opinions seem to be around the late Lottery. Regardless, Romeo Langford will absolutely be a first round pick, which comes with guaranteed money, so you can't fault him for his decision.
The Romeo Langford year will likely be thrown away in the bin of forgettable Indiana seasons, along with Eric Gordon's (2007-08) and Noah Vonleh's (2013-14) one-and-done years, but I'm genuinely interested to see how he does as a pro.