UNLV guard Bryce Hamilton and Wake Forest forward Isaiah Mucius have both declared for the 2022 NBA draft, reports Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter links). Hamilton will forgo his final year of college eligibility, but Mucius will maintain his for next year.
UConn guard R.J. Cole (via Twitter) and Rutgers guard Caleb McConnell (via Instagram) have also declared for the draft, the two players announced. McConnell plans to maintain his eligibility for next season, but Cole’s intentions are unclear, based on the wording of his statement.
All four players are seniors, but in 2021 players were granted an extra year of NCAA eligibility due to the pandemic, so four-year players have the option of staying for what essentially amounts to a second senior season.
Hamilton is a three-time All-Mountain West Conference member who averaged 21.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.2 APG this season. Mucius was mostly used as a spot-up shooter, averaging 36% on 5.8 attempts per game from deep in ’21/22.
Cole was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year in 2018/19 with Howard prior to transferring to UConn. He was an All-Big East member this season with the Huskies. McConnell was the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year in ’21/22 for the Scarlet Knights while averaging 2.2 SPG.
In other draft-related news, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) explore how the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of the NCAA tournament have impacted their latest mock draft and prospect evaluations.
The first-round of the mock draft is quite similar to the one Givony released last week, but a couple of Duke players have risen: forward Paolo Banchero has jumped up to No. 2 from No. 3, swapping places with Auburn’s Jabari Smith, while center Mark Williams has gone up four spots to No. 17. Duke faces their long-time rival North Carolina in the Final Four.
Banchero, Ivey , Parker all could go #1. Depends more on team.
Mathurin is a guy who is moving up. And still might some more. Best 3 in draft. Plays both ways. Good size.
Oops…. of course I meant Jabari. Considering Rockets, Orlando, Pistons get top picks. I’d say Jabari Smith goes #1. It will be interesting to see who goes for Holmgren. Definitely has potential as a unique Center. But it’s going to take time and weight.
Pistons, Rockets, Thunder, Kings all could use a Center.
Been watching Ohio St Branham. He’s long and strong for a 2. I see alot of upside. He’s got some gm. Agbaji is a 2 I really like too. I see alot of talent in top 10. And solid bigs in 1st rd. All lottery teams can help themselves this yr. If the do their scouting work.
Knicks at 10 …. ????
I like Agbaji and Duren. I rather see us trade up. It’s why I’d rather land at 8. Be easier to move up a few. For Mathurin or even Griffin.
Holmgren is certainly a unique prospect, from what I’ve read typically either scouts love him or they think he’s completely overrated.
I think strength is completely overrated in today’s NBA game, other than finishing through contact, and marginally helping with rebounding, there isn’t alot that being muscular gets you in today’s NBA.
I’m not saying it doesn’t help, and Holmgren clearly needs to add some weight and muscle but his frame I think is way overblown. Besides, it is the bigs that have to carry alot of that extra weight that typically ends up staying injured or having fert/knee problems…
I think he’s going to he a very solid NBA player with a long career ahead of him. How good he will be will depend on where he’s drafted, and whether or not he can maintain a consistent offensive game. He will be solid defensively, thays almost a given; however, it will probably take him a year or two to truly become a defensive force due to his thinner frame..
Seems like Knicks should be targeting the pg position. Other than adding key vets Kidd & Rose at the end of their careers NYK has had major issues at pg ever since they traded Felton. Solidifying the most important position in the team would go a long way to helping them finally return to contender status. Jokubaitis & Deuce are nice prospects but they’re not the answer as far as future starting pg for a title contender. They should be in position to get either TyTy or Hardy even if they land around 10 in the draft. Either guy would be a really nice addition to the Knicks young core
There is no PG in this draft that can help next yr. Personally I’m not big on any, really. I agree PG they will have to address. I doubt Knicks will pay for Brunson. Could make him an offer. I’d rather see a trade for one. I’d take Dinwiddie right now.
Quickley has shown flashes of playing it right this yr. Rose is coming back. Personally I like McBride, he deserves a shot. We could do it by committee till TD. Or one becomes available.
Our biggest issue is Randle now. His iso nonsense won’t let a PG play. Knicks with a top 10 pick will get value. We’ll see what they do with Randle and PG.
When you’re drafting 19,20yo guys it’s not jus about next yr, especially when you’re talking about the pg position. TyTy & Hardy both definitely have the potential to be great NBA pgs & that’s something the Knicks haven’t had since the last time they won the title dam near 50yrs ago. Knicks aren’t gonna be a contender next yr either way. What they should be doing is building for the future with their young guys. Brunson is a really good pg. Washington & Hardy both have a good chance to be considerably better than Brunson. IQ is best suited to be a 3rd guard & should be a very good 3rd guard & possibly a future 6MOY candidate for yrs to come. Rose should be coming back in a different team next season. Knicks should be looking to the future. As far as Deuce, I like him a lot too. He was 1 of my fav players in the Big12 the past few yrs & he sorta seemed like a composite of a bunch of other Bob Huggins pgs from past yrs (Steve Logan & Jevon Carter especially). But Deuce’s ceiling is below average starting pg (think Charlie Ward). I think he can be a good backup pg in the league for a long time but obv what the Knicks are missing is a dynamic, starter level pg that can make his teammates better. TyTy Washington isn’t the only reason for UK’s turnaround this season but along with big Oscar he was the biggest reason. He’s the type of kid that’s gonna pop way more in the league bc he’ll have more space/opportunity. Jaden Hardy has potential to be the best player from this class. It probably isn’t popular to compare guys to Russ Westbrook rn but Hardy is a lil bit like a milder version of Russ w/ a better shot. Starting at pg at age 19 vs grown men in the 2nd best league in the world would be too much for the vast majority of even the top 19-20yos but Hardy did better this season than LaMelo did in Australia a few yrs ago. It seems obv to me that NYK should have a new young pg of the future in a couple months.
Keegan Murray = midwestern Mikal Bridges
Bennedict Mathurin = more athletic Jimmy Butler
Walker Kessler = (Joel Pryzbilla + Cole Aldrich)/2
Jamaree Bouyea = Reggie Jackson – SoCal + Bay Area
Jabari Smith Jr = Jamal Mashburn + former NBA dad
Mark Williams = (Keon Clark + Sam Dalembert)/2
Wendell Moore = Aaron McKie – Chaney + Coach K
MarJon Beauchamp = more athletic James Posey
Adrian Griffin Jr = if Jrue Holiday was a forward
Tari Eason = (Devean George + Travis Outlaw)/2
What would you rate this draft class deep/ moderate/ weak. And who are the franchise changing players in the draft if any.
Chet Holmgren & Paolo Banchero are franchise changing players for sure!
I really think Nikola Jovic can very well be one as well, very underrated & under the radar just now… Jabari Smith can be very good as well… after that not much else, really.
In between moderate & deep. Maybe slightly less depth than last yr but still A LOT of talent in this class. Mike DeVoe would’ve been a 1st rd pick 20yrs ago. He may not get drafted this yr.. Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin, Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey, Jabari Smith Jr, Orlando Robinson & Jaden Hardy all got serious potential to be franchise type players
Holmgren has shown me he is a talent for NBA. And is definitely a center. But at 190 LBs. He will not last a yr.
KP is 7’ 3” and 240 LBs and can’t handle the contact. Holmgren is not athletic enough to play out side. He has to get up to 260 LBs at least. He can do a lot of things. And is a smart player. His dad was a center and taught him well. I like his gm but he won’t last without the weight and muscle.