Ivan Rabb Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Updates: Rabb, Boatwright, Ball, Diallo

April 28th, 2017 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

While our friends at Pro Football Rumors cover this week’s NFL draft, we’ve still got nearly two months until NBA draft day. However, that doesn’t mean there are no draft-related stories worth following in the NBA at the moment.

For instance, as Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets, each NBA team has now voted for its top 70 candidates for 2017’s draft combine, and the league figures to announce this year’s invitees next week. That list will be crucial for many prospects, especially for early entrants who are testing the draft waters — they don’t have to decide whether or not to withdraw until 10 days after the combine, so getting a chance to talk to and work out for NBA teams in Chicago could significantly impact those decisions.

Here are a few more 2017 NBA draft notes:

As expected, former Cal forward Ivan Rabb is staying in the draft. Rabb, who is viewed as a possible lottery pick, has agreed to hire Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management for representation, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
USC’s Bennie Boatwright, who had been testing the draft waters, announced (via a Twitter video) that he’ll head back to school for his junior year, removing his name from the draft pool.
Speaking to Shams Charania of The Vertical, top prospect Lonzo Ball said that – while he’d love to be drafted by the Lakers – he’s ready to play for any NBA club and is prepared for “the challenge of helping turn around any team in the league.”
A handful of NBA teams are doing their homework on Kentucky prospect Hamidou Diallo, who is testing the draft waters without an agent. As Adam Zagoria details at FanRagSports.com, Diallo’s former coach Andy Borman has fielded calls from the Spurs, Hawks, and Thunder, among other teams.
Sam Vecenie of Vice.com decries the practice of “concern trolling” when it comes to the high number of early entrants declaring for the draft. According to Vecenie, those early entrants are well aware that only 60 players are drafted each year, but many of them have their own personal reasons for exploring the possibility of going pro.

Ivan Rabb To Enter 2017 NBA Draft

March 22nd, 2017 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Cal sophomore Ivan Rabb has decided to enter the 2017 NBA draft, and doesn’t expect to withdraw his name later in the spring, he tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports confirms (via Twitter) that Rabb plans to sign with an agent, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility.

“Cal meant a lot to me,” Rabb told Spears. “My two years at Cal was a huge learning experience both on and off of the court.”

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]

Many draft experts and NBA observers expected Rabb to declare for the draft a year ago, but he made the surprise decision to stay in school for his sophomore season. In his second year with the Golden Bears, Rabb averaged a double-double with 14.0 PPG and 10.5 RPG, though his FG% dipped from .615 in his freshman year to .484 in 2016/17.

According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, NBA scouts viewed Rabb’s sophomore year as a “mild disappointment” — although he improved as a scorer and rebounder, Rabb didn’t take the major steps forward that those scouts had been hoping for. Still, Ford views the 20-year-old power forward as a probable first-round pick, ranking him 23rd overall on his big board. DraftExpress also places Rabb 23rd among this year’s draft prospects.

And-Ones: Rabb, Meeks, Griffin, Appling

May 4th, 2016 at 1:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

A desire to enter the NBA as a more polished prospect drove Ivan Rabb to decide against entering this year’s draft in spite of his strong chances of becoming a lottery pick, as he told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Rabb was widely considered the No. 1 player in this year’s class before suffering an injury in high school, Goodman writes, and the 6’10” power forward has heard the talk about the lack of stellar prospects in the draft, but in recent weeks he grew more attracted to the idea of returning for California for his sophomore year, as Goodman details.

“I know I need to get stronger,” Rabb said. “I want to come back better defensively, a better shooter, a better rebounder, more comfortable on the floor. I want to be the leader. I wanted to have a bigger role.”

Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him No. 11 among this year’s draft prospects and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him at No. 14 just before he announced he would stay in school. Multiple NBA executives told Goodman he was unlikely to fall out of the top 10 picks, and Cal coach Cuonzo Martin told Rabb that NBA personnel had said his draft range extended as high as No. 6. See more on the draft amid a look at news around the league:

Center Kennedy Meeks will withdraw from this year’s draft and return to North Carolina for his senior season, the school announced. The 6’9″ 21-year-old entered the draft without an agent last month, thus preserving his college eligibility. He was outside the top 100 in both Ford’s and Givony’s rankings.
Ex-Iona combo guard A.J. English will have predraft workouts with the Bucks, Cavaliers and Wizards, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Xavier small forward Trevon Bluiett will work out for the Timberwolves on Saturday and the Celtics on May 14th, Goodman tweets.
Valparaiso power forward Alec Peters is working out with the Rockets today and the Celtics on Friday, according to Goodman (Twitter link).
Former Heat, Mavericks and Pistons preseason signee Eric Griffin pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted murder charges stemming from a Friday arrest, reports Sam Gardner of Fox Sports. Griffin allegedly fired gunshots at an Orlando man in the early morning hours of April 27th. The 25-year-old swingman has been in NBA training camps the past three seasons but has yet to make a regular season roster.
Keith Appling, who spent time with the Magic this season, faces a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and misdemeanor charges of possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle and possession of marijuana, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. An arraignment is set for today in Dearborn, Michigan, where police arrested Appling outside a strip club on Sunday night, MLive’s Kyle Austin notes.

Ivan Rabb Declines To Enter 2016 NBA Draft

April 25th, 2016 at 8:52am CST by Eddie Scarito

Potential 2016 lottery pick Ivan Rabb has decided to return to the University of California for his sophomore season and he will not be among the players available on draft night this June, the university announced via press release (h/t to ESPN.com). “Ivan is a tremendous person and student-athlete to have on our team. He and his family have put a lot of thought into making a decision that was right for him,” coach Cuonzo Martin said in the school’s official release. “He is a talented basketball player with a very bright future, and we are excited to have Ivan continue as a member of our Cal basketball program.”

Rabb is currently ranked as the No. 11 overall player according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots him at No. 14 overall. The power forward had a solid freshman season at Cal, averaging 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 61.5% shooting in 34 appearances. He arrived at California as the eighth-best player in his class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.

The 19-year-old is an intriguing physical prospect, but he should benefit from returning to school for another season. According to Givony, the 6’10” forward needs to add strength and bulk to his slender 215-pound frame, as well as improve his overall offense in the post if he hopes to make the successful jump to the NBA. Rabb could have declared his intent to enter the draft in order to go through the predraft evaluation process, and provided he didn’t hire an agent, he could have withdrawn prior to the May 25th deadline and still returned to school for the 2016/17 campaign.

And-Ones: D-League, Clippers, Beal, Draft

January 18th, 2016 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The recent call-ups of J.J. O’Brien by the Jazz and Keith Appling by the Magic could represent a new trend in how NBA teams use the D-League, according to D-League Digest. They are the first call-ups of the season directly from a franchise’s minor league affiliate, and their familiarity with the parent teams’ systems made them an easy fit. With 10-day contracts limiting the amount of instruction time for new players, it helps to have someone who already understands how a team approaches the game.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

NBA veteran Henry Sims is one of three D-League centers identified as top prospects by Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Undrafted out of Georgetown in 2012, Sims played 121 games with New Orleans, Cleveland and Philadelphia. He is currently averaging 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Grand Rapids Drive. Also on Reichert’s list are 28-year-old Alex Stepheson of the Iowa Energy and 26-year-old Jordan Bachynski of the Westchester Knicks.
Dennis Wong, a former college roommate of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, has bought a small percentage of the team, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. The sale amounts to less than 4% of the franchise.
Bradley Beal is slowly easing back into the Wizards‘ rotation and hopes to have his minutes restriction raised soon, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Beal, who is headed toward free agency, recently admitted that he may have to deal with restricted playing time for the rest of his career.
California’s Ivan Rabb, Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield were the biggest risers in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv details. His top five remains the same with Ben Simmons of LSU, Brandon Ingram of Duke, Dragan Bender of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Kris Dunn of Providence and Skal Labissiere of Kentucky.