Texas A&M forward D.J. Hogg will enter the 2018 NBA draft and will sign with an agent, a source tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). The move will see Hogg, who is coming off his junior season, forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility to go pro.
The 66th-ranked prospect on Jonathan Givony’s current big board at ESPN.com, Hogg averaged 11.1 PPG and 5.3 RPG for the Aggies in 2017/18. He also bumped up his shooting percentages a little, knocking down 41.0% of his attempts from the field, including 37.8% of his three-pointers.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- NC State junior guard Torin Dorn has decided to test the draft waters without hiring an agent, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). Dorn is coming off a solid season with the Wolfpack in which he averaged 13.9 PPG and 6.3 RPG with a .531 FG%.
- Auburn center Austin Wiley will become the third Tigers underclassmen to enter his name in the 2018 NBA draft pool, announcing today that he’ll test the waters without an agent (Twitter link). Wiley didn’t play at all during his sophomore season, with Auburn opting to sit him out due to concerns about a link to former associate head coach Chuck Person, who was being investigated by the FBI. Wiley joins Jared Harper as Auburn players testing the waters, while teammate Mustapha Heron is going pro.
- Lithuanian forward Matas Jogela has entered the draft, agent Tadas Bulotas informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Jogela currently ranks eighth on ESPN’s list of 1998-born international prospects. “I have three more years to get a chance in the NBA draft,” Jogela told Givony. “I feel like it is about time to get my name out there. It wasn’t really a hard decision, I have a chance to still take my name out this year and next.”
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders published an updated version of his mock draft today, headed by the usual duo of Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic.
Who is giving advice to the 66th ranked player to come out? There are only 60 picks in the draft. THESE are the guys that need to stay in school and get a degree. Everyone says you can just go later and get the degree, but it won’t be free then. And UDFAs might not make enough in a pro career to afford to pay. Stay an extra year, get a degree, then become a UDFA. At least then you have something to fall back on,
The kid can play. If you haven’t seen him then maybe you should restrain
I have seen him play plenty on the SEC network. I live in SEC country. But even that is irrelevant. Of course he can play, otherwise he would not be ranked the 66th best player in the class. That is not the point. The point is that at best he is a low 2nd round pick at this juncture and he would be better served by staying in school. He is unlikely to get any guaranteed money and his stock could easily improve next season. Betting on yourself is one thing, but being foolish is another.
I never understand why a player who is the 66th ranked prospect or even the 44th ranked prospect hire an agent. That is a bad decision. Don’t hire an agent and go through the draft process. If your stock doesn’t rise, then you can come back. Otherwise, the player better have his passport because he may end up in Europe like Nigel Williams-Goss