Bennedict Mathurin Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Walker, Abmas, Hall, Travers, Freeman-Liberty, Kiss, Big Board

May 2nd, 2022 at 10:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Colorado’s Jabari Walker, a First-Team All Pac-12 selection, intends to stay in the draft, his father and former NBA player Samaki Walker told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

“Jabari is fully committed to becoming a professional basketball player and has no intentions on returning to school. He wants to sign with an agent and go all in,” Samaki Walker said.

Jabari Walker averaged 14.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG as a sophomore for the Buffaloes. A power forward, Walker is rated No. 61 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related news:

Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas, Saint Joseph’s Jordan Hall, Australian forward Luke Travers and DePaul guard Javon Freeman-Liberty have been invited to the NBA G League Elite Camp, Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw reports (Twitter links found here). Among that group, Hall (No. 76) and Travers (No. 87) are on ESPN’s Best Available list.
Guard Peter Kiss will work out for the Celtics on Tuesday, Adam Zagoria tweets. Kiss averaged a Division I-best 25.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG for Bryant this past season.
Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren remain the top two players on Sam Vecenie’s latest big board, which includes his top 100 prospects. The Athletic’s draft expert considers Smith a somewhat safer pick because his shooting and defense translates well to the NBA game. Separating players into tiers, Vecenie ranks Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin and Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe just outside the top five.

Bennedict Mathurin Enters NBA Draft

April 13th, 2022 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Projected lottery pick Bennedict Mathurin has announced on Twitter that he will leave Arizona and declare for the NBA draft.

The 19-year-old sophomore earned Pac 12 Player of the Year honors and was a second team all-American selection this season. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 37 games and helped lead the Wildcats to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Mathurin is ranked 11th overall and is the second-best small forward on ESPN’s big board. He developed into an explosive scorer and a floor spacer during his second collegiate season, shooting 47.1% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range.

“I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me through my career at Arizona,” Mathurin wrote in his announcement. “The city of Tucson has been great to me and the best fan base in the world has welcomed me with open arms. … It has always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and I am ready to take that step forward.”

Draft Notes: Sherman, Pecarski, Gauzin, More

June 1st, 2021 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

West Virginia guard Taz Sherman has decided not to keep his name in the 2021 NBA draft and will instead return to the Mountaineers, the school announced today in a press release.

Sherman was one of the names on the list of 130+ seniors sent to NBA teams last week. However, rather than go through the full draft process, he has made an early decision to pull out and take advantage of his extra year of NCAA eligibility.

In 28 games (24.3 MPG) in 2020/21, Sherman averaged 13.4 PPG on .413/.359/.873 shooting.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

Serbian forward/center Marko Pecarski and French point guard Matthieu Gauzin have declared for the 2021 draft, agent Daniel Moldovan tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Pecarski spent the ’20/21 season with KK FMP in Serbia, while Gauzin played for Champagne Chalons-Reims in France.
With the early entry deadline for draft prospects having passed, Jeremy Woo of SI.com takes a look at some of the notable college players who opted to return to school rather than entering the draft pool. Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, and Colorado’s Jabari Walker are among the players Woo suggests keeping an eye on next season.
Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) considers how certain recent NBA trends, including the success of a smaller guard like Trae Young and the bigger lineups that some contenders have used, could impact prospects in this year’s draft class. Schmitz also explores which non-lottery picks in 2021 could contribute in the postseason a year from now.

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.