Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Brice Sensabaugh

Northwest Notes: Reid, Timberwolves, Johnson, Jazz Rookies

June 25th, 2023 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Naz Reid will have a player option in the final year of the three-year extension he agreed to sign with the Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The cap hits on his new deal will be $12.95MM next season, $13.98MM for the 2024/25 season and $15.02MM in 2025/26, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • While many Timberwolves fans may be frustrated by the way this past season unfolded and some of the moves the team made, Joe Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune lists 10 reasons why the franchise is better off than it was a year ago. The addition of Mike Conley and subtraction of D’Angelo Russell are two of the positive developments that made Souhan’s list.
  • The Thunder were comfortable drafting Keyontae Johnson with the No. 50 pick in the second round on Thursday despite a prior sexual assault allegation, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman reports. A woman accused Johnson of sexual assault at an off-campus party in 2022 when he played for Florida. Four months later, charges against Johnson were dismissed. “We reviewed the dismissal of the charges from 2022 as part of our normal due diligence process applied to all prospects,” a Thunder spokesperson said.
  • The Jazz’s first-round selections — Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh — were also connected in some way prior to the draft, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News notes. Florida natives Hendricks and Sensabaugh played AAU ball together. As seniors in high school, they faced each other in the state semifinals with Hendricks’ school winning by two points. Sensabaugh and George have been working out together for the past month and chose to be represented by the same agency, Wasserman.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Northwest Notes: Wolves, McDaniels, Jazz, K. Johnson

June 24th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Having traded away so many first-round picks a year ago to acquire Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves know they have to get “creative” if they hope to add young talent to their roster, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told reporters during his post-draft press conference, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Minnesota entered Thursday night with a single second-round pick and acquired a second one that was used to draft Leonard Miller.

“We’re out a bunch of first-round picks, so we’re probably a bit more aggressive trying to find guys that are maybe a year early, or guys that have slipped for an injury, for example, like (No. 53 pick) Jaylen (Clark),” Connelly said. “I don’t think we can just follow too many trends. We’ve got to be creative and kind of cross our fingers.”

Clark, who injured his Achilles earlier this year and underwent surgery after the season, isn’t expected to be ready for the start of his rookie year. However, the Wolves are optimistic about what he’ll be able to bring to the team once he’s healthy, with Connelly referring to him as “the best perimeter defender in the draft,” according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“We’re going to be very patient with him,” Connelly said. “Prior to the injury we thought the guy was an easy first-round pick.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • The Timberwolves received “a ton” of trade interest in forward Jaden McDaniels this week, league sources tell Krawczynski. Minnesota rebuffed inquiries from teams “all over the draft board,” Krawczynski adds.
  • Armed with first-round picks at No. 9, No. 16, and No. 28, the Jazz were a candidate to make a consolidation trade on Thursday. Instead, they hung onto all three picks and were thrilled to land Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “The way the draft board fell took a really fortunate turn for us,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “We got two of the guys that we had in our top 10 — players that we were, frankly, debating out which one to take at 9, and we ended up getting both of them. And at 28, getting a player that we had in our top 18.”
  • Hendricks, George, and Sensabaugh are all 19 years old, so the fact that the Jazz were willing to add all three to their 2023/24 roster is a reflection that they’re not in any hurry to accelerate their timeline for contention. Still, Tony Jones of The Athletic believes all three first-rounders are capable of playing rotation roles as rookies, noting that none of them are projects. “It’s not like we’re leaning into youth, we’re leaning into talent,” Zanik said, per Walden.
  • The Thunder‘s plan is for former Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson, the 50th pick in Thursday’s draft, to sign a two-way contract, head of basketball operations Sam Presti said on Saturday (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman).
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Draft Notes: Bufkin, Wizards, Nets, Jazz, Hornets, Hawks, More

June 22nd, 2023 at 4:15pm CST by Rory Maher

The Wizards recently hosted Michigan guard Kobe Bufkin for a private workout, Michael Scotto reports in his latest aggregate mock draft for HoopsHype.

Bufkin hasn’t worked out for many teams, and his draft status has been somewhat mysterious because of that, though many seem to believe his stock is on the rise. He’s currently ranked No. 18 on ESPN’s best available list, while the Wizards control the No. 8 pick.

Here are a few more notes ahead of the 2023 NBA draft, which kicks off in less than three hours:

  • The Nets recently hosted several potential first-round picks for workouts, including Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, South Carolina’s G.G. Jackson, France’s Sidy Cissoko, and Marquette’s Olivier-Maxence Prosper, league sources tell Scotto. Brooklyn currently controls the 21st and 22nd picks in the first round, but the team has reportedly discussed moving up as well.
  • The Jazz have had trade discussions involving packaging two of their three first-rounders (Nos. 9 and 16), according to Scotto, but they’ve also discussed the latter pick on its own in separate deals.
  • Scotto hears from sources who say the Hornets plan to prioritize retaining restricted free agents Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington as well as unrestricted free agent Dennis Smith Jr. Bridges missed all of last season after pleading no contest to felony domestic violence charges.
  • The Hawks have been active in trade discussions, but they’ve also been busy working out prospects. On Tuesday, Atlanta hosted Cason Wallace (Kentucky), Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers), Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara), Mojave King (G League Ignite), Seth Lundy (Penn State) and Miles Norris (UC Santa Barbara), tweets Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. The Hawks control the Nos. 15 and 46 picks. Incidentally, Wallace is the top-ranked prospect of the group according to ESPN, currently ranked No. 15 on their board.
  • Wichita State guard Craig Porter Jr. recently spoke to Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com about a number of topics ahead of the draft.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

NCAA’s Draft Withdrawal Deadline For Early Entrants Has Passed

June 1st, 2023 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

Now that we’ve flipped the calendar from May to June, the deadline for early entrants to withdraw their names from the 2023 NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility has passed. Prospects had until 11:59 pm Eastern time on May 31 to make their decisions and meet the NCAA’s deadline.

The NBA’s own draft withdrawal deadline isn’t until June 12, but college players typically make their decisions in advance of the NCAA’s deadline so that they’re able to return to school.

[RELATED: 2023 NBA Draft Dates, Deadlines To Watch]

We passed along many last-minute draft decisions on Wednesday, but a few slipped through the cracks or weren’t reported until this morning. Most notably, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, a projected first-round pick, opted to keep his name in the draft as expected, per Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch.

Washington State’s Justin Powell, TCU’s Damion Baugh, and Demetrius Mims of Gannon University will also remain in the 2023 draft, according to reports from Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, and Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (all Twitter links).

Here are some of the players who decided to opt out of the draft:

Our early entrant tracker has been updated to reflect the latest reports and announcements. However, we’re still awaiting clarity on a number of players, and it’s worth stressing that our list is very unofficial.

The NBA won’t issue a full, final list of early entrants in the 2023 draft until after the June 12 withdrawal deadline. But last year the league provided an update following the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline, so we could get a similar announcement on Thursday or Friday.

By our count, at least 100 of the 242 players who initially declared for the draft as early entrants have pulled out.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Draft Notes: Sanogo, Withdrawals, Hornets, Magic, Thunder, Sensabaugh

May 31st, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

UConn big man Adama Sanogo will be keeping his name in the draft and leaving the Huskies following a wildly successful junior year, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Sanogo averaged 17.2 PPG and 7.7 RPG for UConn in 2022/23 and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament, which culminated with a Huskies championship.

Sanogo isn’t necessarily viewed as a top prospect, but he has improved his stock so far during the pre-draft process and currently comes in as the No. 70 player on ESPN’s big board, making him a legitimate candidate to hear his name called on June 22.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • While Sanogo won’t return to UConn, the defending champions will get one more year from guard Tristen Newton, who will run it back for the 2023/24 season, according to an announcement from the school (Twitter link). Newton averaged 10.1 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 4.5 RPG in 39 games (28.8 MPG) for UConn in 2022/23.
  • St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle, Hampton wing Jordan Nesbitt, and UC-Davis guard Elijah Pepper are withdrawing from the draft, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (all Twitter links). Pepper is taking advantage of his extra year of NCAA eligibility due to the COVID-19 season, while Dingle and Nesbitt are underclassmen with multiple years remaining. Dingle is transferring from Penn to St. John’s.
  • Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin is also pulling his name out of the draft and will return to school for one more year, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
  • The latest ESPN mock draft from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) includes several interesting tidbits. Among them: Alabama’s Brandon Miller will visit the Hornets on June 10; Scoot Henderson views both the Hornets and Trail Blazers situations as appealing; there’s speculation after Houston’s Jarace Walker called off his pro day appearance that a team opted to “shut him down”; there’s some chatter that the Magic may not hang onto both of their lottery picks (Nos. 6 and 11); and a number of rival executives believe the Thunder could dangle future draft assets in an effort to move up from No. 12.
  • Givony also reports within ESPN’s newest mock draft that Ohio State forward Brice Sensabaugh underwent surgery after the college season to address a knee issue and hasn’t been able to take part in competitive team workouts.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine

May 9th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.

Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.

Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.

The list of invitees is as follows:

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh Testing Draft Waters

March 25th, 2023 at 3:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Ohio State forward Brice Sensabaugh has decided to declare for the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Twitter.

As a freshman for the Buckeyes in 2022/23, Sensabaugh averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds on .480/.405/.830 shooting in 33 games (21 starts, 24.5 minutes per contest). He is a projected first-round pick and could even be drafted in the lottery, as he is currently ranked No. 18 on ESPN’s top-100 list.

As Jonathan Givony writes for ESPN, Sensabaugh was a prolific college scorer and posted strong efficiency numbers, but Ohio State had a disappointing 16-19 season.

There are question marks about Sensabaugh’s defense, frame (he’s listed at 6’6″ and 235 pounds), and what position he’ll play at the NBA level, as he was an undersized power forward in college, according to Givony.

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

And-Ones: G League Ignite, Henderson, Wembanyama, Thornwell

December 27th, 2022 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

After attending the G League’s Winter Showcase in Las Vegas last week, John Hollinger of The Athletic came away curious about the long-term future of the G League Ignite.

A handful of top prospects – like Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Dyson Daniels – have played for the Ignite before entering the NBA draft in recent years, and current Ignite guard Scoot Henderson may end up being the best of the bunch. But many of the prospects on the Ignite’s roster only project to be borderline NBA players, as Hollinger observes.

“Why are we paying almost half a million (dollars) for a two-way guy?” one league source said to Hollinger.

Even if the Ignite were attracting only elite prospects, people around the NBA have questioned why the league is paying significant salaries to develop prospects who would simply develop elsewhere if the Ignite didn’t exist, Hollinger writes. The Ignite aren’t playing in front of packed houses and haven’t become must-see television relative to college basketball, where NIL money has helped the NCAA maintain a recruiting edge.

Hollinger adds that most people he has spoken to don’t believe the Ignite are particularly well coached or well run, with prospects like Jaden Hardy looking much better once he left the program.

For what it’s worth, Henderson told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he thinks his year with the Ignite has been good for him and that it has helped him develop “as a person” in addition to helping him develop as a player.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) has updated his 2023 mock draft and provided fresh scouting reports for a handful of his non-lottery prospects, including UCF’s Taylor Hendricks, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, and Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis.
  • According to Givony, a number of NBA executives who attended last week’s G League Winter Showcase said they wouldn’t be surprised if Scoot Henderson, who is out with a nasal fracture, doesn’t play another game this season, since his spot near the top of the 2023 draft is already assured. However, Givony says G League Ignite officials “emphatically” shot down that line of thinking and said Henderson should be back on the court relatively soon.
  • Henderson is the consensus No. 2 prospect in the 2023 class behind Victor Wembanyama, who continues to impress fans and evaluators with his two-way talent. The young French star racked up 26 points and 18 rebounds for Metropolitans 92 in his last game of the calendar year on Monday (link via ESPN).
  • After signing in October with Frutti Extra Bursaspor, veteran guard Sindarius Thornwell has mutually parted ways with the Turkish team two months later, the club announced (via Twitter). Thornwell has appeared in 160 total NBA games, but hasn’t been in the league since 2020/21, when he played for New Orleans and Atlanta.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0