I wonder why George wouldn't come back for one more year...unless TJ has shut that door for him.
He is Clone to the bone and has been at Iowa State for some high highs and low lows. Poor guy missed out on having a good big man coach in his early years which probably capped his ceiling some. That said, it's not like he was a highly touted guy coming in. I'm not sure he's been quite as good as most had hopes of, but he has been solid for most of the 4 years he's been here.
I guess I would like to see him back, just for big man depth if nothing else. Not sure you're ever going to get more from him than what we've seen this year.
Why would any coach tell a starting player during a current season that they don't want them back next year? Don't start that.
There are tens of thousands of reasons for him to go start playing professionally. Maybe 6 figures after a few years? I'm not too familiar with different foreign leagues and their salary ranges.
Daniel Edozie was playing in England last I saw and having great success there. I think most anyone would agree that when Edozie was at ISU his ability ceiling was not as high as Conditt's.
Also, George had some good experience playing for the Puerto Rico national team last year. That could have started some conversations or opened his eyes to opportunities.
Unless he comes back and does some combination of doubling his rebounding ability, halving his fouls committed, and shooting 35% from 3pt range he's not going to improve his professional prospects.
And if he's got maybe 10 years to cash in on his passion and body he was given why waste 1 more year?