How Smoking Weed Made a College Basketball Star Go Pro

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Michigan forward Mitch McGary, center, hugs and reacts with teammates Glenn Robinson III, left, and Jordan Morgan, right, from the bench in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014

Image: Tony Ding/Associated Press

By Sam Laird2014-04-26 01:00:12 UTC

Mitch McGary tried to do the right thing during March Madness. Instead, he saw his college basketball career go up in smoke.

McGary announced on Friday that he will turn pro and enter this year's NBA Draft — but it's not just because he's really good at basketball. He also tested positive for marijuana during the NCAA Tournament — which he sat out with an injury — and earned himself a one-year suspension from the oft-criticized governing body of college sports.

See also: NCAA Quits Selling Jerseys Online After Explosive Twitter Rant

McGary, who played for two years at the University of Michigan, has been an NBA prospect since he was in high school. But a nagging back injury this past season increased the chances he would return and play a third year with the Wolverines.

McGary missed all but eight games this season, spending most of that time watching his teammates from the bench in street clothes. But when the Wolverines made the Sweet 16, McGary decided he'd wear his game-uniform and warmups on the bench to further support his 'mates.

What a blunder.

The NCAA randomly selects a player from each team for a drug test after each March Madness game. McGary, technically in uniform for the Sweet 16 game against Tennessee, was eligible to be tested after the win. Turns out, McGary — who says he normally steers clear of marijuana — had smoked some at a social gathering not long before, according to an interview with Yahoo Sports .

He was selected for testing. He tested positive for pot. He was, by NCAA rules, suspended from playing for an entire year.

If McGary had failed a drug test by Michigan, he says, he would have only been suspended for three games.

Michigan coach John Beilein endorsed McGary as a player and person after Friday's news, and McGary accepted the blame in his interview with Yahoo. But he also added that he felt forced into a decision he might not have made without the positive test.

"I feel I'm ready, but this pushed it overboard," McGary said. "I don't think the penalty fits the crime. I think one year is overdoing it a little bit."

McGary technically made a decision to leave school now, but he didn't have much of a choice. A one-year suspension would have made it pointless for him to stay and enter next year's draft. Sitting out next year then coming back to play the following season and entering the draft after a subsequent season — in June 2016, some 26 months from now — would shave another year off his finite earning potential as a pro basketball player. While just a one-year suspension from playing for Michigan, in effect we're talking about a two-year suspension from entering the NBA Draft.

To make matters worse, had McGary entered last year's draft after a strong freshman season, most analysts agreed he would have been a high pick currently enjoying a lucrative contract.

Can we please get a standing ovation for the NCAA here, folks?

This is an organization that once banned Instagram for coaches, only stopped selling its unpaid players' jerseys online after being publicly shamed and was referred to a "cartel" in this memorable e-book.

But they may have outdone themselves this time.

Topics: Entertainment, NBA, Sports