Gary Parrish

Had D.J. Augustin returned to Texas the Longhorns would've been a serious candidate for preseason No. 1.

Without him, they are much less serious.

Which is why Wednesday's announcement that Augustin will forgo his final two years of college is crushing news to Rick Barnes, because no other program should take this big of a hit from a single perceived on-the-fence prospect this offseason. If North Carolina just loses one underclassman, it'll still be great. Same would've gone for Memphis or Kansas or UCLA. But Texas is the one program that couldn't afford to lose one specific guy because though Connor Atchley Damion James, Justin Mason, Gary Johnson and A.J. Abrams (yes, I believe he'll be back in school regardless of him 'declaring' for the NBA Draft) provide a nice nucleus, Texas will now be forced to play without its All-America point guard despite having no experienced (or attractive) alternative.

So yeah, this one hurt.

But it's difficult to blame Augustin for making the jump now.

He's been a fabulous two-year player, and as long as he's selected in the first round he'll be guaranteed to earn no less than $1.65 million over the next two years. In real-world terms, it'll take somebody who makes $50,000 per year 33 years to secure that same amount of money. So in that respect, Augustin's decision is a logical one, and now Texas is left to figure out how to get the ball up the court without him.

I've been operating under the assumption everybody understands the process.

But it appears I might've been wrong.

So let me take this moment to address any readers who think the slew of juniors making themselves available for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent is proof that these wacky kids are acting stupid. Actually, there's nothing stupid about it. In fact, it's incredibly smart to the point where any junior with any sort of reasonable pro aspirations would probably be wise to declare and go through the process because of a rule change that allows NBA teams to cover all expenses of private workouts.

In other words, if an NBA team asks a prospect to workout said NBA team will pay for the flight, hotel, meals and any other expense a prospect might incur, meaning there is no obvious downside to juniors declaring for the draft as long as they do not compromise their amateur status. The worst-case scenario will have somebody like West Virginia's Joe Alexander bouncing around the country, staying in nice hotels and getting professional feedback on his game, professional feedback about what scouts like and dislike. If the feedback is positive, Alexander can then sign with an agent and remain the draft. If the feedback is negative, he can return to school with a solid understanding of where he stands in regards to his NBA dreams.

Either way, it's all good.

So don't be surprised when you see guys like Jeremy Pargo or Antonio Anderson or Luc Richard Mbah Moute make themselves available for the draft without hiring an agent. In the end, there's a good chance it won't mean a thing, and they'll likely be back playing at a college near you in less than seven months.