Baylor forward Matthew Mayer, who had been set to attend the draft combine in Chicago this week, is withdrawing from both the combine and the draft, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Mayer, ranked as this year’s No. 63 overall prospect by ESPN, was a candidate to be selected in the second round and almost certainly would’ve received a two-way deal or a training camp invite if he went undrafted. However, the 6’9″ junior has decided to return to the national-champion Bears for another year.
Givony expects another college season to boost Mayer’s draft stock, since he should be in line for a larger role at Baylor. The forward could be a Big 12 Player of the Year candidate and a potential 2022 first-round pick, says Givony.
Here’s more on the 2021 NBA draft:
- Potential first-round pick Trey Murphy III has decided to hire an agent, he told Givony. Murphy will remain in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility after averaging 11.3 PPG on .503/.433/.927 shooting in 25 games (29.6 MPG) at Virginia as a junior.
- Oregon’s Chris Duarte and Gonzaga’s Joel Ayayi were among the players who turned down combine invites, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Wasserman hears that Duarte may not have wanted to give up a week of working with his personal trainer, while Ayayi’s camp is confident in his draft outlook without the combine, though there are no indications he has received a promise.
- Cameron Thomas of LSU and Isaiah Jackson of Kentucky are withdrawing from this week’s combine, tweets Jeremy Woo of SI.com. Both players are projected first-round picks.
- In his preview of the draft combine, Givony (Insider link) identifies Alabama guard Josh Primo, Arizona State forward Marcus Bagley, West Virginia guard Miles McBride, and Texas Tech wing Terrence Shannon as some of the players with the most at stake this week. They all rank between Nos. 32 and 41 on ESPN’s big board and will be looking to establish themselves as first-rounders.