A pair of college underclassmen who were previously said to be testing the draft waters have decided to forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility by hiring representation, per various reports.
One of those players is Kentucky freshman big man Bam Adebayo, who will sign with an agent and won’t return to the Wildcats, sources tell Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. Adebayo is considered likely to be drafted in the first round, so it makes sense that he’ll keep his name in the draft, joining former UK teammates De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Isaiah Briscoe, and Isaac Humphries among this year’s early entrants going pro.
Also going pro is Louisville junior forward Jaylen Johnson, who announced that he won’t return for his senior season. “I will miss my teammates and coaches, but it is really important that I help out my mom and family,” Johnson said in a statement. “I’m going to work incredibly hard to give it my best shot. I’ll be rooting for the Ville next year.”
Here are several more early entrants who are declaring for the draft in advance of this year’s deadline:
- Jevon Carter, G, West Virginia, junior (announcement via school): Testing waters.
- Matt Morgan, SG, Cornell, sophomore (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com): Testing waters.
- Nik Slavica, SF, Croatia (Twitter link via international reporter David Pick)
- Leo Cizmic, SF, Israel (Twitter link via Eurohopes)
- Ji Wei Zhao, PG, China (Twitter link via Zhang Duo)
- Zou Yuchen, PF/C, China (Twitter link via Zhang Duo)