Dalibor Ilic

Draft Notes: Champagnie, Early Entrants, Myrtle Beach Combine

Pittsburgh sophomore wing Justin Champagnie, who initially decided to test the 2021 NBA draft waters in March, has decided to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility and go pro, agent Todd Ramasar confirms to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Champagnie enjoyed a breakout year in 2020/21, averaging 18.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in 20 contests (34.4 MPG). He’s not a lock to be drafted, but he’ll certainly receive second-round consideration — ESPN currently lists him as the No. 66 prospect on its 2021 big board.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • Agent Misko Raznatovic has announced that several of his clients are entering the draft, including French shooting guard Malcolm Cazalon, Bosnian big man Karlo Matkovic, Serbian forward Dalibor Ilic, and Bosnian center Kenan Kamenjas (all Twitter links). They’ll all retain the ability to withdraw from this year’s draft pool at a later date.
  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has published an update to his full, 60-pick mock draft. Having used Tankathon‘s tool to simulate the lottery results, Wasserman’s mock has the Raptors moving up to No. 2 and taking Evan Mobley, followed by the Kings nabbing Jalen Green at No. 3.
  • Kelly Iko of The Athletic spoke to former NBA scout Pete Mickeal, the creator of the Myrtle Beach International Combine, about the new pre-draft event, which is intended for prospects who may not be featured at the NBA’s official combine. It will take place from June 13-15 and will feature 40 college seniors, along with 20 international prospects.

Draft Notes: Zoosman, Obiesie, Eboua, Holman, Herro

Israeli Yovel Zoosman, a 6’6” small forward, will keep his name in the draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Zoosman plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, which just advanced to the Israeli league playoff finals. Zoosman is ranked No. 53 on Givony’s Top 100 prospects list.

We have more draft decisions and workouts:

  • German point guard Josh Obiesie will stay in the draft, according to another Givony tweet. Givony has Obiesie ranked No. 64 overall and No. 10 among point guard prospects.
  • Forward Paul Eboua, Cameroon native, has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to Givony (Twitter link). He joins 11 other international players — Gytis Masiulis, Abdoulaye N’Doye, Digue Diawara, Aleksandr Balcerowski, Aleix Font, Zoran Paunovic, Dalibor Ilic, Louis Olinde, Jonas Matisseck, Tadas Sedekerskis and Vrenz Bleijenbergh — who have also decided to pull out of the draft. Matas Jogela, a Lithuanian forward, and William McDowell-White, an Australian guard, will remain in the draft, according to Givony (Twitter links).
  • Mississippi State forward Aric Holman worked out for the Raptors on Monday, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He visited the Knicks last week and will work out for the Kings, Lakers and Cavaliers this week, Begley adds.
  • First round prospect Tyler Herro (Kentucky) has worked out for the Spurs and will also visit the Pacers and Timberwolves, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Herro is ranked No. 18 overall and No. 4 among shooting guards by Givony.

Draft Updates: Drell, Mikhailovskii, Montgomery, More

A pair of international prospects who show up in ESPN.com’s top-100 list for 2019 have declared for the draft, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN details in a pair of stories.

Estonian wing Henri Drell, the No. 55 prospect on ESPN’s big board, is one of those two players, Givony writes. Drell has spent the 2018/19 season in Germany, splitting time between Bamberg and lower-level teams. Despite still being just 18 years old, he joined the Estonian national team earlier this year for FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

If Drell goes through the pre-draft process and isn’t thrilled with the feedback he’s getting from NBA teams, he could withdraw anytime before the June 10 deadline.

The same can be said for 18-year-old Russian wing Nikita Mikhailovskii, who has also submitted paperwork to the league office to make himself eligible for the 2019 draft, agent Arturs Kalnitis tells Givony.

Mikhailovskii, the no. 63 prospect on Givony’s draft board, is the fourth-youngest player in ESPN’s top 100, so if he keeps his name in the draft pool and is selected in June 20, he’d likely end up being a draft-and-stash player. The 6’8″ wing is currently playing for Avtodor Saratov in Russia and has made 44% of his three-point attempts this season, per Givony.

Here are more early entrants who have recently declared for the 2019 draft:

NCAA:

International: