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Draft Updates: Shannon, Smart, Watford, More

April 8th, 2021 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Texas Tech sophomore wing Terrence Shannon Jr. will test the draft waters, declaring for the 2021 NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility, he announced today (via Twitter).

Shannon, who started 13 of his 28 games for the Red Raiders in 2020/21, averaged 12.9 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .448/.357/.756 shooting in 26.7 minutes per contest.

While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Shannon is a highly-regarded prospect who is a strong candidate to be drafted. He ranks 33rd overall on ESPN’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects and comes in at No. 37 on Jonathan Wasserman’s big board at Bleacher Report.

Here are a few more updates on the 2021 draft:

After testing the draft waters in both 2019 and 2020, LSU guard Javonte Smart will once again declare in 2021 and will go pro this time, he announced on Instagram. As a junior this season, Smart averaged 16.0 PPG and 4.0 APG on .460/.402/.857 shooting in 28 games (35.6 MPG).
Smart’s LSU teammate, sophomore forward Trendon Watford, is also entering the draft and intends to hire an agent, he announced on Twitter. Watford, who averaged 16.3 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 28 games (34.6 MPG) for the Tigers, is the No. 55 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Florida State junior guard Sardaar Calhoun is testing the draft waters, he announced on Twitter. He saw limited action in 2020/21, averaging 5.3 PPG in 14.2 minutes per game (25 games), though he did hit 39.7% of his three-point attempts.
Keve Aluma, a redshirt junior forward at Virginia Tech, will enter the draft while retaining his college eligibility, he stated on Twitter. Aluma put up 15.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.3 BPG in 22 games (30.6 MPG) in ’20/21.
Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) share their latest 2021 mock draft, which features Baylor’s Davion Mitchell moving all the way up to No. 7. Mitchell and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs were among the players whose stocks increased the most as a result of the NCAA tournament.

Draft Updates: Mitchell, Jones, Cisse, Bacot, Minaya

April 7th, 2021 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of winning a national championship, Baylor guard Davion Mitchell has decided to hire an agent and declare for the 2021 NBA draft, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year this season, Mitchell enjoyed a career year as a junior, boosting his averages to 14.1 PPG and 5.5 APG in 30 games (33.0 MPG), while shooting an impressive 51.1% from the floor, including 44.7% on three-pointers. He played a team-high 36 minutes in Baylor’s championship win over Gonzaga.

Mitchell’s strong showing in the NCAA tournament bumped him up several spots on ESPN’s big board — he now projects to be a potential lottery pick, coming in as this year’s No. 12 prospect.

Here are a few more draft updates from around college basketball:

Sun Belt Player of the Year DeVante’ Jones has declared for the 2021 NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility, he announced on Twitter. As a junior at Coastal Carolina this season, the 6’1″ guard averaged 19.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 2.8 SPG on .487/.368/.862 shooting line in 26 games (32.8 MPG).
Memphis freshman center Moussa Cisse is testing the draft waters, he announced Tuesday on Twitter. Cisse was the AAC Rookie of the Year in 2020/21, averaging 6.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 28 games (18.6 MPG).
North Carolina sophomore forward Armando Bacot will go through the draft process while retaining his NCAA eligibility, he said in a Tuesday announcement (Twitter link). Bacot was UNC’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, with 12.3 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 29 games (22.7 MPG)
South Carolina redshirt junior forward Justin Minaya has decided to test the draft waters while entering the transfer portal, he announced on Instagram. Minaya averaged just 7.0 PPG on 38.4% shooting in 20 games (30.2 MPG) in 2020/21, though he did chip in 6.3 RPG.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updated his board of this year’s top 50 prospects following the NCAA tournament.