BILL VOTH: The Decision Was Easy For Luck

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Less than two years ago, Stephen Curry had a choice. Stay another year at idyllic Davidson, or leave early for the NBA. For many, the choice was obvious: take the money. But Curry 's different. Considering his family's background, he didn't need the money. And to his mother, Sonya, a degree was much more valuable than stacks of green bills.

Ultimately, Curry decided his opportunity was too great to pass up. The risks of playing another year in college, were too great. So with a heavy heart, Curry left Davidson, while promising his mom he would still work on his degree.

I bring Curry up because he's the best example I can give to Panthers fans trying to make sense of Andrew Luck's decision today. Just like Curry, Luck had a father that played professional sports. Just like Curry, Luck grew up in a cosmopolitan family. Just like Curry, Luck was raised by parents who stressed academics over athletics.

So why, unlike Curry, is Luck staying in school? I can't claim to know why exactly, but I don't think the decision was ultimately that difficult for him.

I held a Twitter chat for about 45 minutes earlier and many Panthers fans think Luck just doesn't want to play here. Many also fear Jerry Richardson's strange press conference the other day may have dissuaded him. I don't think either of those theories were a factor.

First and foremost, Luck carries a 3.5 GPA at one of America's best colleges. While just a sophomore this past year on the field, he's a junior off of it. One more year, gets him that Stanford degree. Could he have gotten the degree even if he would have left school early? Of course. But what about the college experience?

I've said many times that the worst day of my life was graduating from Syracuse. I realize that could sound awful to some, but trust me, I understand how fortunate I was to go college and earn a degree. It's obviously an exaggeration. My point: those were the greatest four years of my life, and I would do anything just to get one of those days back.

Luck is living an ideal life. He's working toward a degree, at one of America's finest institutions, and he gets to be a college kid. If he can do that one more year, he must figure, that's a pretty good deal.

Many think Luck's decision to not take the NFL's money is dumb. But in some ways, the smart decision is to avoid the NFL right now. We don't know if there will be a season in the fall. Odds are, there's no way the owners and players are foolish enough for that to actually happen, but the labor situation is not good.

If Luck joined the NFL, there was a good chance he would not have even be around his new coaches until late this summer. Unless a new labor agreement is reached, there will be no mini-camps, OTAs or even training camp.

But back to the money. It's easy to look at the $78 million contract of last year's top pick Sam Bradford and think that's what Luck just turned down. But that's not accurate. One big thing the owners will try to implement in a new labor deal is bringing down rookie contracts. So by the time Luck would have actually signed with the Panthers, it would not have been anything close to Bradford's deal.

So considering his ideal college life, a background where he doesn't need money (his dad Oliver makes a base salary of $390,000 as AD at West Virginia) and a payday that will still be there in 2012, the decision may have been easy for Luck. He had until January 15, but it took him only three days after Stanford's final game this year.

Without Luck available, what's Plan B for the Panthers? They don't know yet. They very much wanted Luck, and that's why they leaked their intentions to take him a couple days ago.

Even though Jimmy Clausen had many faulty parts around him this past season, I'm not sure he has the "it" factor that you need in an NFL QB. The Panthers will certainly go out and get him some competition at the QB spot, but will they do it with their top pick? There could be some temptation to take Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton or Arkansas's Ryan Mallett. But those guys could be a reach at No. 1.

Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers announced yesterday that he's leaving after his junior season. The Panthers could certainly take a look at him, but is DE their most pressing need?

The Panthers have four months to figure out what to do with their pick, but without a sure-fire difference maker in this draft, that pick may not have a whole lot of trade value. The Panthers knew what they were going to do until Luck's decision. Now the only thing they're sure about is they're unsure.

Unsure may be a nice way of describing how many Panthers fans feel about the future of this franchise right now. And while losing the possibility of Luck starts 2011 off at 0-1, just think of it this way: if things are as bad as you think they are -- you just have to wait one more year to get Luck in the 2012 draft.

TWITTER: Follow Bill on Twitter for more on Charlotte sports -- @billvoth.

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