Gus Okafor

Draft Decisions: Flagler, Murphy, Muszynski, Aimaq, More

Baylor junior guard Adam Flagler is withdrawing from the 2022 NBA draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Flagler tested the waters and received feedback on his draft stock before deciding to return to school.

“I heard exactly what I needed to be able to show more of what the NBA is looking for, so that this time next year, I will be preparing to get drafted,” Flagler said, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link).

Flagler technically has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining, but it sounds like he’s planning to rejoin the Bears for just one more season.

Here are several more updates on early entrants‘ draft decisions ahead of the NCAA’s June 1 withdrawal deadline:

  • A pair of Belmont seniors, Grayson Murphy and Nick Muszynski, intend to pursue professional careers and won’t be returning to school to use their last year of college eligibility next season, tweets Rothstein.
  • Big man Fardaws Aimaq, who is coming off his junior year at Utah Valley, is withdrawing from the draft and transferring to Texas Tech, tweets Jeremy Woo of SI.com. Aimaq ranked third in the country with 27 double-doubles in 2021/22, Woo notes.
  • The following players are also withdrawing from the draft, according to various reports:

MSU’s Gabe Brown Among Early Entrants For 2022 Draft

Michigan State senior wing Gabe Brown will forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and enter the 2022 NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who tweets that Brown is signing with Parlay Sports for representation.

The No. 94 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Brown was a full-time starter for the Spartans in 2021/22, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 36 games (28.9 MPG). His calling card is his three-point shooting — he knocked down 39.3% of his attempts from beyond the arc over the last two seasons.

Brown’s MSU teammate Marcus Bingham also won’t be back with the Spartans next season, telling Mike Lacett of 13 On Your Side (video link) that he’s going through the NBA draft process. The senior center averaged 9.3 PPG and 6.3 RPG on .534/.415/.747 shooting in 35 games (18.7 MPG) for Michigan State in 2021/22.

Here are a few more players who are entering the 2022 NBA draft:

Expected to forgo remaining NCAA eligibility:

Testing the draft waters:

Our full list of early entrants for the 2022 NBA draft, which will be constantly updated in the next several weeks, can be found right here.