Justin Wright-Foreman Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: J. Howard, Jazz, Nuggets, Noel

May 30th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he reached a deal to become the new head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Juwan Howard reportedly drew interest from the Timberwolves as they considered whether to retain head coach Ryan Saunders or go in a different direction.

While Minnesota ultimately opted to retain Saunders and Howard left the NBA for a college job, the Wolverines’ new head coach revealed today that the Timberwolves’ interest was real. According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter), Howard said that the Wolves offered him their associate head coach position – presumably under Saunders – but he declined. “My heart is with Michigan,” he said.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the Northwest…

The Jazz worked out 12 draft-eligible prospects on Sunday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Grant Williams (Tennessee), Naz Reid (LSU), KZ Okpala (Stanford), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Dylan Windler (Belmont), Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Jared Harper (Auburn), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Louis King (Oregon), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) all got a look from the club.
Many of those players could be in the mix for the Jazz‘s No. 23 pick in the first round. Tony Jones of The Athletic explores 10 prospects Utah may be eyeing at that spot, naming Reid, Okpala, Edwards, and Windler as potential targets. Jones adds (via Twitter) that Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) is working out with the Jazz this week.
In a mailbag for The Athletic, Nick Kosmider addresses several Nuggets-related topics, identifying veteran forward Trevor Ariza as a possible target for Denver if the team stays over the cap and has the mid-level exception available.
After a solid year as the backup center in Oklahoma City, Nerlens Noel seems unlikely to return to the Thunder unless he’s willing to play for a discount again, writes Brett Dawson of The Athletic.

Draft Notes: Brazdeikis, Pistons, Pacers, Dort, Wooten

May 20th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

University of Michigan freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis is strongly leaning toward staying the draft, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. “Definitely leaning toward staying in,” he said while working out for the Pistons on Monday. Brazdeikis’ representatives have told him he’ll go anywhere from No. 20-40 in the draft, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony currently pegs the power forward at No. 46 overall.

We have more developments regarding draft prospects:

The Pistons brought in two groups of prospects, including Brazdeikis, on Monday, Langlois notes in a separate tweet. The first group included centers Naz Reid (LSU) and Marques Bolden (Duke), point guards Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Nembhard (Florida) and forward Louis King (Oregon) came in during the morning session; Shooting guards Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State) and Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech), forwards Martin Krampelj (Creighton) and Savion Flagg (Texas A&M) and point guard Phil Booth (Villanova) visited during the afternoon session.
The Pacers will conduct a pair of draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced in a press release. The first group includes Brian Bowen II (Australia), Ty Jerome (Virginia), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra). The second group includes Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), CJ Elleby (Washington State), Krampelj, Derrik Smits (Butler), and Lamar Stevens (Penn State). Edwards (No. 25) and Jerome (No. 29) are the highest-rated prospects among those groups, according to Givony.
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort will work out for the Suns, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Jazz next week, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. The 6’5” Dort (Arizona State) is rated No. 27 overall by Givony and No. 7 among shooting guard prospects.
Oregon forward Kenny Wooten wrote on his Instagram account that he will remain in the draft, Steve Mims of DuckSports.com reports. Wooten averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.2 BPG in his sophomore year. He is not listed among Givony’s Top 100 prospects.

NBA Announces 80 Players For G League Elite Camp

May 7th, 2019 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced in a press release that 80 players are set to participate in its G League Elite Camp next week in Chicago from May 12-14. The event will include 40 prospects who are eligible for this year’s draft, as well as 40 standout prospects from the 2018/19 G League season.

Heading into this spring, the NBA revamped its G League Elite Camp, which in past years has simply showcased some of the NBAGL’s top performers. That aspect of the event will still exist, but G League players will only participate in the first two days of the event.

The second half of the event will feature 40 draft-eligible prospects who aren’t among the 60 prospects invited to the actual draft combine. The list of participants was determined by an NBA team vote, and those prospects will work out and scrimmage during the final two days of the event — there will be no overlap with the G League portion of the event.

As this week’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 takes place from May 15-19 in Chicago.

Here are the list of draft-eligible prospects who are expected to participate in the 2019 G League Elite Mini Camp, per the NBA:

Tyus Battle (Syracuse)
Bennie Boatwright (USC)
Phil Booth (Villanova)
Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
Bryce Brown (Auburn)
Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State)
Chris Clemons (Campbell)
Amir Coffey (Minnesota)
Tyler Cook (Iowa)
Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida)
Javin DeLaurier (Duke)
Mamadi Diakite (Virginia)
CJ Elleby (Washington State)
Tacko Fall (UCF)
Robert Franks (Washington State)
Jared Harper (Auburn)
Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)
Dewan Hernandez (Miami)
Amir Hinton (Shaw (NC))
DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa)
Sagaba Konate (West Virginia)
Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep (Canada))
Terance Mann (Florida State)
Caleb Martin (Nevada)
Cody Martin (Nevada)
Luke Maye (North Carolina)
Trey Mourning (Georgetown)
Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska)
Josh Perkins (Gonzaga)
Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
Jalen Pickett (Siena)
Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
Marial Shayok (Iowa State)
Max Strus (DePaul)
Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
Kenny Wooten (Oregon)
Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra)

Here are the 40 G League players set to participate in the G League Elite Camp:

Josh Adams (Raptors 905)
Jaylen Barford (Greensboro Swarm)
Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
Jared Brownridge (Delaware Blue Coats)
Antonius Cleveland (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Charles Cooke (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Cody Demps (Stockton Kings)
Aaron Epps (Northern Arizona Suns)
Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue)
John Gillon (Greensboro Swarm)
Kaiser Gates (Windy City Bulls)
Isaac Haas (Salt Lake City Stars)
Johnny Hamilton (Grand Rapids Drive)
Dusty Hannahs (Memphis Hustle)
Zak Irvin (Westchester Knicks)
Peter Jok (Northern Arizona Suns)
Matt Jones (Stockton Kings)
Marcus Lee (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Zach Lofton (Grand Rapids Drive)
Tahjere McCall (Long Island Nets)
Brandon McCoy (Wisconsin Herd)
MiKyle McIntosh (Raptors 905)
Jordan McLaughlin (Long Island Nets)
Jaylen Morris (Erie BayHawks)
Mychal Mulder (Windy City Bulls)
Malik Newman (Canton Charge)
Retin Obasohan (Northern Arizona Suns)
Chinanu Onuaku (Greensboro Swarm)
Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
Darel Poirier (Capital City Go-Go)
Billy Preston (Texas Legends)
Desi Rodriguez (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario)
Kenneth Smith (Grand Rapids Drive)
Richard Solomon (Oklahoma City Blue)
Emanuel Terry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Juan Toscano-Anderson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Dakarai Tucker (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Andrew White III (Maine Red Claws)
Thomas Wimbush (Long Island Nets)
Todd Withers (Grand Rapids Drive)

Draft Workouts: Raptors, Lamb, Sixers, Hawks

May 6th, 2019 at 10:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors will bring in six players in their first pre-draft workout on Tuesday, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. They’ll take a look at center/power forward Josh Sharma (Stanford) and Tanor Ngom (Ryerson in Canada), forward Tres Tinkle (Oregon State), swingmen Jordan Davis (Northern Colorado) and DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa) and point guard Daishon Smith (Louisiana-Monroe).

We have more draft info:

Vermont junior forward Anthony Lamb (Vermont) will work out for the Cavaliers and Celtics this week, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. Lamb previously worked out for the Hawks. Lamb averaged 21.2 PPG and 7.8 RPG in his junior season.
The Sixers held their first pre-draft workout on Monday, Lauren Rosen of the team’s website reports. Forwards Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), CJ Elleby (Washington State) and Tinkle, and guards Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra), Ronshad Shabazz (Appalachian State) and Andrew Nembhard (Florida) were the participants.
The Hawks will bring in four guards among six players they’ll workout on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. The backcourt group includes Allen-Shabazz, Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida), Marial Shayok (Iowa State) and Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State). Forward Mamadi Diakite (Virginia) and center Trey Porter (Nevada) will also pay the Hawks a visit.

Draft Notes: Hampton, Elite Camp, Celtics, Simonds, Hawks

May 5th, 2019 at 9:56pm CST by JD Shaw

RJ Hampton has decided to graduate high school early and reclassify to the Class of 2019, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Hampton is the No. 4 player in ESPN’s top-100 class of early 2020 rankings, explaining his major decision to reclassify to Givony.

“I’ve decided to reclassify to the 2019 class,” Hampton told ESPN. “I am doing this because I feel that from a development standpoint, this is the right move for me at this time in order to play against the highest level of competition possible. I am eager to test myself against older and more physically developed players in order to help improve my weaknesses and prepare me for reaching the ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.”

With his decision, Hampton will enroll for college this summer and be eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. A 6-foot-5 versatile player at 188 pounds, Hampton is one of the most promising young point guards in high school, now shifting his focus to interested schools such as Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis and Texas Tech, according to ESPN.

“This is a move we’ve been contemplating for some time and we don’t take lightly,” Hampton’s father, Rod, told ESPN. “As someone that played in college as well as professionally in Europe, I know that you can’t skip steps in a player’s development. Thankfully, because of the hard work that RJ has put in in the classroom — achieving a 3.75 GPA and a 1280 SAT — he was able to have this option. This weekend playing against the top players in high school basketball at the Nike EYBL, as well as earlier this month at USA Basketball, my wife, Markita, and I realized that RJ is ready to take the next step and challenge himself by taking the next step in level of competition.”

Here are some other draft-related notes today:

In speaking with some agents and executives around the NBA, there appears to be some confusion over whether prospects attending the NBA G League Combine are only working out for teams in the G League, according to Givony (Twitter link). The combine is set to include officials from all 30 NBA teams.
The Celtics brought in several players for a workout last week in preparation for the NBA Draft, as relayed by Sportando. Among the players who attended the workout were Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman, Ole Miss’ Terence Davis , Auburn’s Bryce Brown, St. Bonaventure’s Courtney Stockard and Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp.
Georgia State’s D’Marcus Simonds sprained his ankle while working out for the Hawks, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Simonds said he should be fine, according to Vivlamore, and future workouts have already been scheduled with the Cavaliers and Spurs.
The Hawks will hold a pre-draft workout on Monday, the team announced today. Tennessee center Kyle Alexander, St. Louis forward Javon Bess, Terence Davis, Shaw guard Amir Hinton, Xavier guard Paul Scruggs and Stanford center Josh Sharma are all set to be in attendance.

Draft Notes: Wright-Foreman, Davis, Clippers, Kings

May 24th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman is returning to school for his senior year, he announced on Twitter. The 6’1” point guard averaged 24.4 PPG and 3.2 APG in his junior season. Ole Miss guard Terence Davis is also going back to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’4” Davis averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in his junior year.

In other draft-related news:

The Clippers and Lakers worked out forwards Omari Spellman (Villanova) and Terry Larrier (UConn) on Thursday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Larrier also has workouts lined up with the Nets (June 5), Knicks (June 6) and Mavericks (June 14), Zagoria adds in another tweet. Spellman is ranked No. 49 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his Top 100 prospects list.
Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado will work out for the Jazz in the near future after visiting the Lakers on Thursday, according to Zagoria (Twitter link).
The Kings will bring in centers Jock Landale (St. Mary’s) and Dusan Ristic (Arizona); forwards Todd Withers and Billy Preston; and guards Joel Berry (North Carolina) and Jordan McLaughlin (USC) on Friday, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
Rhode Island guard E.C. Matthews has worked out for the Nets, Knicks and Celtics, Zagoria tweets.

Draft Notes: Antetokounmpo, Adel, Chatman

March 23rd, 2018 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

Dayton redshirt freshman Kostas Antetokounmpo, the brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo,will declare for the 2018 NBA draft, a source tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The younger Antetokounmpo, a 6’10” forward, isn’t necessarily forgoing his remaining NCAA years, as he’ll test the draft waters without hiring an agent.

Antetokounmpo, who is 20 years old, saw inconsistent playing time during his first season with Dayton, but won’t request a transfer if he decides to continue his college career, a source tells Givony. Mike Schmitz of ESPN.com (Insider link) took an in-depth look at Antetokounmpo back in November, suggesting that Giannis’ younger brother “has a long development curve ahead of him, and certainly isn’t ready to jump to the NBA soon” — as such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him withdraw from draft consideration this spring.

Here are more draft-related notes and updates, with a focus on early entrants:

As he did a year ago, Louisville forward Deng Adel will test the 2018 draft waters, he confirmed this week (Twitter link via Jody Demling of CardinalAuthority.com). Adel is a junior, so if he decides to withdraw again, he’d be draft-eligible in 2019.
Detroit junior Kameron Chatman will enter the draft without hiring an agent, a source tells ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). The 6’7″ swingman averaged 17.8 PPG and 8.2 RPG in his first year with Detroit this season.
Hofstra guard Justin Wright-Foreman announced his intent to test the draft waters (via Twitter). Wright-Foreman, a junior, was the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year for 2017/18, averaging 24.4 PPG on .449/.366/.799 shooting.
What exactly does it mean to test the NBA draft waters, and what rules and deadlines must prospects be aware of? Jonathan Givony explores that topic in depth at ESPN.com, outlining one hypothetical scenario in which a player could become an undrafted NBA free agent while retaining his NCAA eligibility.