Jose Alvarado Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Juzang, Abmas, Last-Minute Decisions

July 7th, 2021 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

After leading UCLA to the Final Four, Johnny Juzang will withdraw from the NBA draft and return for his junior season. Juzang announced his decision on Twitter about an hour before the NCAA’s Wednesday deadline of midnight Eastern Time for early entrants to pull out of the draft and retain their eligibility.

“Going through the draft process has been an amazing experience,” he wrote. “I was blessed to connect with great people, learn and grow, and get a feel for life at the next level. I want to thank everyone who has helped me in this process including my family, trainers, school and especially my dad who helped me for countless hours!”

There was talk that Juzang might be a first-round pick after an outstanding performance in the NCAA tournament, but a disappointing showing at the combine hurt his status, according to Chad Ford (Twitter link), who speculates that he could be back in first-round consideration next year.

There’s more on last-minute draft decisions:

Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas is also returning to school, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Abmas posted a statement on Instagram calling the draft process “a great learning experience,” but he thinks he would benefit from another year of college. Abmas, ranked 48th on ESPN’s big board, led the nation in scoring at 24.5 PPG and was named Summit League Player of the Year. Givony notes that he had a poor showing at the combine, shooting 3 of 18 from the field in scrimmages, which may have influenced his choice.
Most of the players who announced their decisions Wednesday opted to withdraw from the draft. Some exceptions are Georgia Tech’s Jose Alvarado (Twitter link from Jeff Goodman of Stadium), Howard’s Makur Maker (Twitter link from Jon Rothstein of CBS) and Saint Louis’ Jordan Goodwin (Twitter link).
Among those returning to school for another season will be Central Florida’s C.J. Walker (Twitter link), Texas Tech’s Terrence Shannon Jr. (Twitter link), Wichita State’s Tyson Etienne (Twitter link), SMU’s Kendric Davis (Twitter link), Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. (Twitter link), UCLA’s Cody Riley (Twitter link), USC’s Isaiah Mobley (Twitter link), Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. (Twitter link) and Kevin Obanor, who will transfer from Oral Roberts (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Mamukelashvili, Carr, Champagnie, Figueroa, Cockburn, Sims

June 16th, 2021 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili is scheduled to work out for the Pistons on Thursday, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. The 6’11” Mamukelashvili already worked out for the Jazz, Thunder and Hornets. He’s currently listed as the No. 56 overall prospect on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more news and insights on this year’s draft:

Minnesota guard Marcus Carr has worked out for the Hornets and Timberwolves, Zagoria reports in a separate tweet. Carr averaged 19.4 PPG and 4.9 APG for the Golden Gophers last season.
St. John’s Julian Champagnie (ranked No. 92 by ESPN) and Oregon’s LJ Figueroa worked out for the Celtics on Wednesday, according to Zagoria (Twitter links). Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn (ranked No. 91) will work out for Boston on Thursday, Zagoria adds in another tweet.
Ohio guard Jason Preston and Georgia Tech guard Jose Alvarado are among the underrated prospects in this year’s draft, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated opines. Preston averaged 15.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 7.3 APG last season, while Alvarado averaged 15.2 PPG and 4.1 APG.
Texas forward Jericho Sims has worked out for the Grizzlies and will work out for the Kings, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets.
What’s the biggest need for each of the lottery teams? Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman takes a closer look at that subject.

NBA G League Announces 40 Draft-Eligible Participants For Elite Camp

June 14th, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has announced in a press release that 40 draft-eligible prospects are set to participate in the NBAGL Elite Camp next week in Chicago from June 19-21.

The G League Elite Camp is back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place right before the draft combine, will give a few dozen draft-eligible players an opportunity to impress scouts, coaches, and executives through strength and agility drills and 5-on-5 games.

As today’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which is scheduled for June 21-27 in Chicago.

The list of draft-eligible players who took part in the most recent G League Elite Camp in 2019 included a handful of prospects who were eventually drafted, such as Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Justin Wright-Foreman, Reggie Perry, and Dewan Hernandez.

Many of the draft-eligible participants in the 2019 Elite Camp also made it to the NBA after going undrafted, including Oshae Brissett, Chris Clemons, Tyler Cook, Tacko Fall, DaQuan Jeffries, Caleb Martin, Justin Robinson, and Max Strus.

Two years ago, this event also featured 40 G League veterans, for a total of 80 players. Based on today’s press release, it sounds like this year’s Elite Camp may be pared down to only include draft-eligible prospects, though it’s possible the NBAGL will announce more names within the next few days.

Here are the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the 2021 G League Elite Camp:

Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech)
Juhann Begarin (France)
Chaundee Brown (Michigan)
Jordan Burns (Colgate)
Marcus Carr (Minnesota)
D.J. Carton (Marquette)
Moussa Cisse (Memphis)
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
Oscar Da Silva (Stanford)
Darius Days (LSU)
Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
Dawson Garcia (Marquette)
Marcus Garrett (Kansas)
Haowen Guo (China)
Jay Huff (Virginia)
DeJon Jarreau (Houston)
Carlik Jones (Louisville)
DeVante’ Jones (Coastal Carolina)
Balsa Koprivica (Florida State)
A.J. Lawson (South Carolina)
E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
Mac McClung (Texas Tech)
JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB)
Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
RJ Nembhard (TCU)
Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon)
EJ Onu (Shawnee State)
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
Aamir Simms (Clemson)
Javonte Smart (LSU)
Mike Smith (Michigan)
D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State)
MaCio Teague (Baylor)
M.J. Walker (Florida State)
Duane Washington (Ohio State)
Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)