Jonathan Kuminga

Jonathan Kuminga Going G League Route?

The top-rated prospect in the Class of 2020, Jalen Green, passed on college opportunities to join the G League. Two other highly-regarded prospects made the same commitment, as did one from overseas.

Now, Jonathan Kuminga — ranked No. 4 in his class by ESPN — may join them, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. All signs point to Kuminga joining the G League’s new Select Team and receiving as much as $500K, according to Zagoria.

The 6’8” Kuminga announced on social media he would reveal his decision on Thursday. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuminga attended The Patrick School in Elizabeth, N.J. He narrowed his college options to Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech.

Kuminga is currently training in Miami, Zagoria continues, and was recently seen playing pickup ball with Michael Beasley, who just signed with the Nets as a substitute player, as well as another of the prospects headed to the G League, Isaiah Todd.

Todd is ranked No. 15 by ESPN while the other prep player who went the G League route, guard Daishen Nix, is rated No. 21. Kai Sotto, a 7’2″ center from the Philippines, is also committed to the Select Team.

Draft Notes: Cisse, Kuminga, West, International

Forward Moussa Cisse, a top-10 prospect for the class of 2021, will graduate high school a year early and reclassify to this year with an eye toward the 2021 draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports. Cisse was ranked No. 8 among prospects for the 2021 class. The 6’11” Cisse intends to commit to a top college program next week and has narrowed his choices to Kentucky, LSU, Florida State, Georgia, Memphis or Georgetown. “I am trying to find the best way to the NBA,” Cisse said.

We have more draft-related news:

  • Small forward Jonathan Kuminga, the top-ranked player on ESPN’s 2021 prospects list, has the option of reclassifying to this year and is considering the G League, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com. Kuminga is “50-50” on reclassifying, but has already narrowed his college choices to Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech, along with the possibility of joining the G League development program. Kuminga has been doing online schoolwork in order to graduate early, Zagoria adds.
  • Marshall guard Jarrod West has elected to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior season, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. A three-year starter with the Thundering Herd, West averaged 14.2 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 4.0 RPG last season.
  • Killian Hayes, Deni Avdija and Abdoulaye N’Doye rank as the top international prospects in this year’s draft, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype. Players who participated in the Australian NBL’s Next Stars program this past season were not included in the rankings. According to ESPN’s latest rankings, Avdija is the top overseas prospect at No. 5 overall with Hayes ranked at No. 9.