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Draft Updates: Combine, Thomas, Bacot, Cunningham, More

June 22nd, 2021 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, a number of draft-eligible prospects who stood out at the NBA G League Elite Camp that took place from June 19-21 are now receiving invitations to remain in Chicago for this week’s combine.

Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins and Ohio State’s Duane Washington are among the players who have been invited to the combine, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links). Givony also hears from a source that South Carolina’s A.J. Lawson has received an invite, while Jeremy Woo of SI.com reports that Louisville’s Carlik Jones did too (Twitter links).

While scouts should get an extended look at those prospects in Chicago this week, they won’t see LSU’s Cameron Thomas, who has withdrawn from the combine, as we relayed on Monday. According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link), there’s a belief that Thomas may have gotten a first-round guarantee.

Here’s more on the 2021 NBA draft:

  • North Carolina sophomore forward Armando Bacot has decided to withdraw from the 2021 draft and will return to school for the 2021/22 season, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Bacot had been testing the draft waters after declaring this spring.
  • Several more agency Pro Day workouts have been added to the schedule for this week in Chicago, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Jonathan Kuminga and Sharife Cooper are among the players expected to conduct individual workouts.
  • Prospects who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 may have a harder time lining up pre-draft workouts with NBA teams, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who says agents have been encouraging their clients to get vaccinated and some team personnel have “conveyed an annoyance” at dealing with unvaccinated players. “Life is a lot harder,” one agent said. “Teams definitely want guys who are vaccinated.”
  • Sam Vecenie of The Athletic explores the best possible fits for Cade Cunningham among this year’s lottery teams, making a case for the Raptors, Warriors, and Thunder as the most ideal destinations for the likely No. 1 pick.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic has a much different top-20 list than most draft experts, listing Florida State’s Scottie Barnes at No. 3 and Turkish big man Alperen Sengun at No. 4 on his big board, with Jonathan Kuminga down at No. 8.
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NBA G League Announces 40 Draft-Eligible Participants For Elite Camp

June 14th, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has announced in a press release that 40 draft-eligible prospects are set to participate in the NBAGL Elite Camp next week in Chicago from June 19-21.

The G League Elite Camp is back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place right before the draft combine, will give a few dozen draft-eligible players an opportunity to impress scouts, coaches, and executives through strength and agility drills and 5-on-5 games.

As today’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which is scheduled for June 21-27 in Chicago.

The list of draft-eligible players who took part in the most recent G League Elite Camp in 2019 included a handful of prospects who were eventually drafted, such as Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Justin Wright-Foreman, Reggie Perry, and Dewan Hernandez.

Many of the draft-eligible participants in the 2019 Elite Camp also made it to the NBA after going undrafted, including Oshae Brissett, Chris Clemons, Tyler Cook, Tacko Fall, DaQuan Jeffries, Caleb Martin, Justin Robinson, and Max Strus.

Two years ago, this event also featured 40 G League veterans, for a total of 80 players. Based on today’s press release, it sounds like this year’s Elite Camp may be pared down to only include draft-eligible prospects, though it’s possible the NBAGL will announce more names within the next few days.

Here are the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the 2021 G League Elite Camp:

  1. Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
  2. Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
  3. Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech)
  4. Juhann Begarin (France)
  5. Chaundee Brown (Michigan)
  6. Jordan Burns (Colgate)
  7. Marcus Carr (Minnesota)
  8. D.J. Carton (Marquette)
  9. Moussa Cisse (Memphis)
  10. Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
  11. Oscar Da Silva (Stanford)
  12. Darius Days (LSU)
  13. Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
  14. Dawson Garcia (Marquette)
  15. Marcus Garrett (Kansas)
  16. Haowen Guo (China)
  17. Jay Huff (Virginia)
  18. DeJon Jarreau (Houston)
  19. Carlik Jones (Louisville)
  20. DeVante’ Jones (Coastal Carolina)
  21. Balsa Koprivica (Florida State)
  22. A.J. Lawson (South Carolina)
  23. E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
  24. Mac McClung (Texas Tech)
  25. JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB)
  26. Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
  27. RJ Nembhard (TCU)
  28. Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon)
  29. EJ Onu (Shawnee State)
  30. Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
  31. Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
  32. Aamir Simms (Clemson)
  33. Javonte Smart (LSU)
  34. Mike Smith (Michigan)
  35. D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State)
  36. MaCio Teague (Baylor)
  37. M.J. Walker (Florida State)
  38. Duane Washington (Ohio State)
  39. Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
  40. Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
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Draft Notes: Mathurin, Bagley, Preston, Morales, Lawson

April 26th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bennedict Mathurin has decided to stay with Arizona for another season, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Mathurin, who had been ranked No. 58 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list, is projected as a top-20 pick next year. Mathurin averaged 10.8 PPG in 25.0 MPG for the Wildcats and started 12 of 25 games as a freshman. His perimeter shooting is his strength (41.8% on 3-point attempts).

We have more draft news:

  • Arizona State’s Marcus Bagley will keep his name in the draft for the time being but he’s also entered the transfer portal, according to another Givony tweet. A small forward, Bagley is ranked No. 27 by ESPN. The 6’8” Bagley averaged 10.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in his freshman year, though he only appeared in 12 games due to leg and ankle injuries.
  • Ohio’s Jason Preston will test the draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets. The junior guard averaged 15.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 7.3 APG this past season.
  • Wagner senior guard Alex Morales will also enter his name in the draft while maintaining college eligibility, according to a school press release. The Northeast Conference Player of the Year, Morales averaged 16.8 PPG , 7.2 RPG and 4.3 APG in his second season with the Seahawks.
  • South Carolina swingman A.J. Lawson has chosen to enter his name in the draft, according to his Twitter feed. Lawson averaged 16.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 1.2 APG in his junior year.
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Draft Decisions: K. Williams, Lawson, Burk, Daly, Gach

July 31st, 2020 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

With an August 3 withdrawal deadline looming, the NCAA early entrants in the 2020 NBA draft pool must make decisions soon on whether or not they’ll keep their names in and forgo their remaining college eligibility.

Here are updates on a few of the latest decisions:

  • Cincinnati guard Keith Williams is withdrawing from the draft and returning to school for his senior year, according to agent Trinity Best (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports). Williams declared for the draft this spring after averaging 12.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 30 games (28.8 MPG) for the Bearcats.
  • South Carolina guard A.J. Lawson is headed back to school, the program announced in a press release. “I want to thank all of the teams that gave me the opportunity to speak with them over the last couple of months, and I’m excited to be back in Columbia and ready to get to work for the season ahead,” said Lawson, who averaged 13.4 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 31 games (29.1 MPG) as a sophomore.
  • IUPUI guard Marcus Burk has pulled out of the draft after testing the waters, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium. Burk was the Jaguars’ leading scorer as a junior, with 21.3 PPG on .432/.386/.782 shooting.
  • Saint Joseph’s guard Ryan Daly has withdrawn from the draft and will return to school for his senior season, he tells Goodman (Twitter link). After transferring from Delaware, Daly racked up 20.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 4.3 APG in his first full season with the Hawks in 2019/20.
  • Having previously decided to transfer from Utah to Minnesota for his junior season, swingman Both Gach has now formally removed his name from the 2020 draft pool, writes Marcus Fuller of The Star Tribune. It remains to be seen whether Gach will have to sit for a year before officially playing for his new school.
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Draft Notes: Avdija, Ball, Lawson, Collins

June 19th, 2020 at 11:54am CST by Arthur Hill

Deni Avdija, projected as a high lottery pick in this year’s draft, will rejoin his Maccabi Tel Aviv team when the Israeli basketball league resumes play Sunday, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

“Before I go to the U.S., I have a job to finish here in Israel,” Avdija stated in an email. “As a competitor I am committed to my organization and teammates to help bring a championship to Tel Aviv. We were having such a great season, so winning the title, even with the delay and without live fans, will give me a sense that the hard work paid off.”

The 19-year-old forward was averaging averaging 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists when the league suspended play in March and is rated fifth on Givony’s latest list of the top 100 draft prospects. The Israeli league won’t use a “bubble” concept during the remainder of its season. There will be home and away games without fans, and players have been told to remain at home and self-quarantine when they’re not at practices or games.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

  • LaMelo Ball ranks No. 1 on the new draft board compiled by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Georgia’s Anthony Edwards, Dayton’s Obi Toppin, Memphis’ James Wiseman and Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton round out the top five. Vecenie puts Haliburton on his list of players who have improved their draft stock during the interview process, which is topped by TCU’s Desmond Bane, who may have moved into the late first round.
  • South Carolina coach Frank Martin doesn’t believe guard A.J. Lawson should make an immediate decision about staying in the draft, according to John Whittle of 247 Sports. A report earlier this week indicated Lawson plans to return to school, but his father disputed that. “There’s no need to rush. He’s had probably six or seven interviews with NBA teams, which is what they’re all doing right now,” Martin said. “As long as NBA teams are offering interviews, I don’t see any reason why he should try to make a decision sooner than he has to. If no NBA team was asking to meet with him, I would think he’d make a decision by now.”
  • David Collins will take his name out of the draft and return to South Florida for his senior season, tweets Jeff Goodman of GoodmanHoops.
  • Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report ranks French guard Killian Hayes, Avdija and Haliburton as this year’s top sleeper prospects.
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Draft Notes: Choh, Lawson, Combine, Bolmaro

June 17th, 2020 at 7:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Tamenang Choh, a forward from Brown, is withdrawing from the draft and will head back to school for his senior year, coach Mike Martin tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).

Choh averaged a career-best 13.2 PPG in 27 games last season to go along with 8.1 RPG and 3.3 APG. However, he struggled with his efficiency, making just 39.2% of his shots from the field – including 29.2% from beyond the three-point line – and 65.5% of his free-throw attempts.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

  • Following a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link) suggesting that South Carolina guard A.J. Lawson will pull out of the draft and return to school, his father Anthony told Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com that A.J. “is still in the draft.” For now, we’re leaving him in the “testing the waters” section of our early entrant tracker.
  • If a draft combine exists in any form this year, the primary objective will likely be to get prospects’ measurements and medicals, says Jeremy Woo of SI.com. The on-court aspect, including drills and scrimmages, would likely be significantly limited, if it happens at all, according to Woo.
  • Spain’s basketball league, the ACB, resumed play in Wednesday. Within his Insider-only breakdown on how that return-to-play will work, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com identifies five candidates to be drafted in 2020 and 2021 who are playing in the ACB and are worth keeping an eye on, including potential ’20 first-rounder Leandro Bolmaro.
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Draft Notes: Nembhard, Mann, Lawson, More

April 26th, 2020 at 8:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Sophomore guard Andrew Nembhard will test the draft waters, college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman reports (Twitter link). Nembhard has signed with Jaafar Choufani, who is one of just 23 NCAA-certified agents. The point guard will retain his ability to return to Florida if he decides to go that route.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Florida freshman guard Tre Mann has declared for the draft, Goodman passes along on Twitter. Mann averaged 5.3 points per game this past year.
  • South Carolina sophomore guard A.J. Lawson will test the draft water, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Lawson will have the ability to return to school as he has not hired an agent.
  • Jonathan Givony of Draft Express passes along several international prospects who will declare for the 2020 draft. Miguel Gonzalez (Baskonia), Sander Raieste (BC Kalev), Osas Ehigiator (Fuenlabrada), Njegos Sikiras (Fuenlabrada) have all entered their names.
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More Draft Decisions: Claxton, Bassey, Nowell, More

May 28th, 2019 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Draft decisions by this year’s early entrants continue to flood in as the NCAA’s May 29 withdrawal deadline nears. After relaying those decisions in a pair of posts already today, we’ve got more in the space below:

  • Georgia sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton will keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that Claxton is a potential first-round pick.
  • According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (via Twitter), Western Kentucky freshman center Charles Bassey will stay in the 2019 draft pool, barring a last-second change of heart. Bassey is the No. 80 prospect on Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.
  • Washington sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell is another early entrant who has decided to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility and stay in the draft, Goodman tweets. Nowell comes in at No. 92 on Givony’s big board.
  • Kentucky’s Nick Richards, a sophomore forward, will return to the Wildcats for at least one more season, he announced today in a video on Instagram.
  • South Carolina will get guard A.J. Lawson back for his sophomore year, as he announced today (via Twitter) that he’s withdrawing his name from the draft.
  • Bethune-Cookman head coach Ryan Ridder has informed Goodman (Twitter link) that both of his early entrants, Malik Maitland and Cletrell Pope, are heading back to school for another year.
  • Ohio State forward Kaleb Wesson is pulling out of the draft to return to the Buckeyes for his junior season, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
  • Bowling Green guard Justin Turner is heading back to school for his junior season, per Rothstein (via Twitter).
  • Weber State guard Jerrick Harding will withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior season, he announced today (via Twitter).
  • Hampton junior guard Jermaine Marrow is withdrawing from the draft and retaining his NCAA eligibility, coach Buck Joyner tells Goodman (Twitter link).
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Draft Updates: K. Johnson, Silva, Lawson, Toppin, More

April 17th, 2019 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Like Kentucky teammates PJ Washington and Tyler Herro, freshman guard Keldon Johnson has decided that he’ll keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool rather than leaving the door open to return to the Wildcats, the school announced in a press release.

Johnson’s decision to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility doesn’t come as a real surprise. Like Washington and Herro, Johnson is projected to be a first-round pick, coming in as the No. 20 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.

Speaking of that big board, another prospect in that top 100 has declared for the 2019 NBA draft, according to Givony, who reports that Brazilian wing Marcos Lousada Silva has submitted the necessary paperwork.

Silva, the 61st overall prospect on ESPN’s board, impressed scouts and executives at the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, and has had a productive season in the Brazilian league. NBA scouts have taken notice of the youngster’s high energy level and defensive versatility, Givony adds.

The following prospects are also testing the 2019 NBA draft waters as early entrants, joining the ever-growing list:

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