Isaiah Reese

And-Ones: Nogueira, Draft, Reese, Bosh

Lucas Nogueira, who appeared in 141 games for the Raptors over the course of four NBA seasons from 2014-18, recently spoke to Gustavo Faldon of ESPN Brazil about his battles with depression and alcohol. Nogueira, who returned to Spain – where he began his professional career – last year when his contract with Toronto expired, said he has been sober for three months, but admitted that his drinking habits were a problem earlier in his career.

“I went out a lot,” Nogueira said. “In Spain, we had one game per week. You’re young, you have some money and no limits. You would eventually find the party. It’s Europe. I had no work ethic whatsoever. When I went to the U.S. I saw that a 15-year-old kid had more discipline than I did. It is a cultural thing.”

Having returned to his home country of Brazil, Nogueira is currently training in Sao Paulo in the hopes of staying in shape and eventually earning tryouts with NBA teams.

“If you asked me the same question four months ago, I’d say I didn’t know,” Nogueira said when asked about a potential NBA comeback. “Now I say I will be back. What makes me so confident is my training and my attitude. I’m ready for the challenge like I’ve never been.”

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

  • With all but 16 teams eliminated from 2019’s NCAA tournament, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) took a look at which players’ stocks increased or decreased over the last week. Besides obvious standouts like Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, the ESPN duo highlights impressive performances from Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Nassir Little (UNC), and Mfiondu Kabengele (FSU).
  • Former Canisius guard Isaiah Reese, who was suspended by the program in February for conduct detrimental to the team, informed the school that he’ll withdraw to seek representation and go pro (Twitter link). Reese tested the waters a year ago, but appears set to keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft class.
  • Chris Bosh will have his jersey retired this week with the Heat and is giving up on the idea of returning to the NBA as a player. He also has no plans to transition to a front office role in Miami – or for any other NBA team – anytime soon, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details.
  • USA Basketball issued a press release today announcing the 12-man World Team roster for next month’s Nike Hoop Summit, which pits top high school prospects against one another. Josh Green and Nico Mannion, two of the top eight players on the ESPN100, headline the roster.

Draft Decisions: Crawford, Heron, B. Brown, Reese

Wake Forest guard Bryant Crawford has decided to remain in the 2018 NBA draft and will sign with an agent, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Crawford is coming off a junior year in which he averaged 16.9 PPG and 4.9 APG with a .413/.358/.868 shooting line for the Demon Deacons.

Crawford, who doesn’t show up on Jonathan Givony’s top-100 list at ESPN.com, seems unlikely to be drafted, but would have the opportunity to seek out a training camp invite or a roster spot on an international team if he’s not selected next month.

With Wednesday’s NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline looming, here are more updates on underclassmen making draft decisions:

  • Auburn’s Mustapha Heron has decided to withdraw from the draft, but won’t be returning to the Tigers, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, who writes that Heron will transfer to a school closer to his Connecticut home to be near his ailing mother. The sophomore guard initially indicated he planned to hire an agent, but never did so, preserving his NCAA eligibility.
  • Bryce Brown, Heron’s teammate at Auburn, will return to the Tigers for his senior year, he announced today (via Twitter). Brown is the second Auburn underclassmen to withdraw from the draft today, along with center Austin Wiley.
  • ESPN’s Jeff Goodman passes along updates on two more players who are withdrawing from the draft, reporting (via Twitter) that Canisius guard Isaiah Reese and Northern Colorado guard Jordan Davis are headed back to school for their junior year and senior year, respectively.

Draft Workouts: Lakers, Simons, Wizards, Nuggets

While the Lakers don’t hold their own first-round pick in this year’s draft, the club is currently armed with a pair of selections at 25th and 47th overall, and is doing its due diligence on potential selections. One prospect earning a look from Los Angeles is Duke guard Gary Trent Jr., who will work out for the club on Wednesday, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link).

Before they bring in Trent, the Lakers will work out six prospects on Tuesday, according to a team release. Emmett Naar (St. Mary’s), Barry Brown (Kansas State), Fletcher Magee (Wofford), Gabe DeVoe (Clemson), Duncan Robinson (Michigan), and Obi Enechionyia (Temple) are auditioning for L.A.

Here’s more draft workout news from around the NBA:

Draft Notes: DiVincenzo, Spellman, Walker, Bearden

Coach Jay Wright will recommend to Donte DiVincenzo and Omari Spellman that they return to Villanova if it doesn’t look like they’ll be drafted in the first round, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. DiVincenzo goes to the Mavericks at No. 33 in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Spellman isn’t projected to be taken. Players have until May 30 to make their decisions.

“Omari and Donte are out there to try to prove themselves as first-round picks,” Wright said of his players’ trips to the NBA Draft Combine. “For them, I hope they are. And I think this process has been good for them. I think they will get some good information.”

DiVincenzo met with the LakersMagicTimberwolvesTrail BlazersCavaliersSpursHawks and Grizzlies at the combine and said he received a lot of “positive feedback.” Spellman has upcoming workouts with the Lakers [May 23], Clippers [May 24], Spurs [26] and Jazz [28] that will likely influence his decision, Zagoria adds.

There’s more draft news as the deadline for decisions draws closer:

  • The Sixers may consider Miami guard Lonnie Walker at No. 10, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Walker met with Philadelphia officials Friday and was impressed by the experience. “It went well,” he said. “See a little bit of Elton Brand and all those guys, I felt like a little kid, seeing guys I watched on TV.” Givony has Walker projected at No. 13 to the Clippers.
  • Lamonte Bearden of Western Kentucky will sign with an agent and stay in the draft, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. The guard averaged 11.8 points and 3.4 assists as a redshirt junior.
  • Kent State’s Jaylin Walker tweeted that he will return to school for his senior season. He averaged 16.6 points per game for the Golden Flashes this season.
  • The Nuggets have pre-draft workouts scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, the team announced in an e-mail. Scheduled to appear at Monday’s session are Tyler Davis of Texas A&M, Cody Martin of Nevada, William McDowell-White of Brose Bamberg, Isaiah Reese of Canisius, Admiral Schofield of Tennessee and Reid Travis of Stanford. Tuesday’s schedule features Tyler Cook of Iowa, Jon Elmore of Marshall, Ethan Happ of Wisconsin, Mustapha Heron of Auburn, Charles Matthews of Michigan and Shamorie Ponds of St. John’s.

Draft Updates: Jallow, Holman, Molson, Reese

German prospect Karim Jallow has entered his name in the 2018 NBA draft pool, his agency Lumani10.7 announced today (story in German; English link via Sportando).

A 6’7″ small forward, Jallow has spent the season playing for Bayern Munich’s second team in Germany. He has been the club’s leading scorer in 22 German League games, averaging 18.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 2.1 SPG. Jallow currently ranks 71st on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.

Here are a few more draft-related notes worth passing along:

  • Mississippi State forward Aric Holman, the 84th prospect on Givony’s 2018 big board, is entering the draft without hiring an agent, reports Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com (Twitter link). In his junior year, Holman established new career highs in PPG (10.9), RPG (6.7), FG% (.573), and 3PT% (.440) despite playing slightly less than he did in his sophomore season.
  • A pair of Canisius underclassmen are testing the 2018 draft waters this spring, with the program announcing that freshman guard Takal Molson and sophomore guard Isaiah Reese will both enter the draft without hiring agents. The backcourt mates were Canisius’ second- and third-leading scorers in 2017/18, with Reese posting 16.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 4.7 APG, while Molson averaged 12.6 PPG on .442/.369/.685 shooting.
  • Charleston Southern guard Christian Keeling is testing the NBA draft waters, he announced this week (via Twitter). Keeling is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 17.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG.