Marcus Lee Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Telfair, Lee, Robinson

April 20th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Idaho State junior point guard Ethan Telfair intends to test the waters and declare for the 2016 NBA Draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Ethan, who is the younger brother of former NBA player Sebastian Telfair, doesn’t intend to hire an agent, which would allow him to withdraw and return to school prior to the May 25th cutoff date, Goodman adds. The junior is a long shot to be selected this June, not appearing among the top 100 prospects according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress or Chad Ford of ESPN.com. In 29 games for Idaho State this season, Telfair averaged 20.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists to accompany a slash line of .397/.375/.864.

Here’s more from around the league:

Kentucky junior power forward Marcus Lee fully intends to make the jump to the NBA next season, but he’ll hold off on hiring an agent to keep his options open, Goodman relays in a separate piece. “I haven’t hired an agent,” Lee told Goodman. “Because I want to keep my eligibility just in case I decide to come back, but my plan is to go to the NBA. That’s the only goal. I want people to know I am serious about this. I’ve talked to Coach Cal [John Calipari] about this, and he definitely understands that I’m going to the NBA this year.”
Former NBA combo guard Nate Robinson hasn’t begun training for it, but he still fully intends to pursue his dream of making it into the NFL, as he told ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. When asked if he was still serious about making an NFL bid, Robinson responded, “Serious as a heart attack. Totally serious. As soon as I get the opportunity, if it comes my way, I’ll take full advantage of it.” The veteran currently plays for Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, the club he signed with in March.
Turkish point guard Berk Ugurlu intends to enter this year’s draft, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). The 19-year-old isn’t among Givony‘s top 100 players. Givony instead ranks Ugurlu as the No. 12 international player in his class.

And-Ones: Gasol, Kentucky, Johnson, D-League

March 19th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls‘ Pau Gasol, who has said that he will likely opt out of his contract this summer, admits he probably won’t be fully healthy for the rest of the season, relays K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Gasol missed his fourth straight game tonight with a swollen right knee, but he’s not giving any thought to ending the season early. He believes he can return to the court this week, possibly by Monday. “I was trying to play through it, trying to manage it for a while actually,” he said. “But after that Miami game, the knee just gave out. I had that swelling and reaction and obviously the alarms went off. Hopefully, it’s not going to get worse.”

There’s more tonight from around the world of basketball:

As many as six Kentucky players could be headed to the NBA draft after the Wildcats were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament today, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Combo guard Jamal Murray and big man Skal Labissiere, both freshmen, are projected to be lottery picks in the latest mock draft compiled by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. He ranks Murray as the seventh pick and Labissiere as No. 10. Sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis projects at No. 26 and freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe is No. 39. Junior Marcus Lee and senior Alex Poythress aren’t in Givony’s mock but could become draft-eligible if they choose.
The Pelicans won’t sign Orlando Johnson to another 10-day contract, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. New Orleans signed Johnson on March 9th using a hardship exception.
The Kings have assigned power forward Eric Moreland to their D-League affiliate in Reno, the team announced today. A fractured metatarsal in his left foot has forced Moreland to miss 41 games this season. He has appeared in five games for the Kings, scoring four points in 24 minutes.
The Spurs have recalled shooting guard Jonathon Simmons from their D-League team in Austin. The rookie is averaging 5.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 48 games with San Antonio.

Towns Headlines 7 Kentucky Players Off To Draft

April 9th, 2015 at 1:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns and six other Kentucky underclassmen are entering this year’s draft, as they formally announced today in a joint press conference. Towns, whom both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress project as the No. 1 pick, joins center Willie Cauley-Stein, power forward Trey Lyles, shooting guard Devin Booker, center Dakari Johnson, combo guard Andrew Harrison and shooting guard Aaron Harrison in declaring for the draft. Point guard Tyler Ulis, Ford‘s 47th-ranked prospect and Givony‘s No. 88, is staying in school, as are power forward Marcus Lee and injured combo forward Alex Poythress, neither of whom was a top-60 prospect for this year’s draft.

Towns, a freshman, passed Duke center Jahlil Okafor in Ford and Givony’s rankings during the NCAA Tournament, though it still appears it’ll be a close call among the two for whichever NBA team wins the draft lottery. The 7-foot Towns averaged only 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game, but it was chiefly the profoundly deep Wildcats roster that kept his numbers down.

Cauley-Stein could easily have been a second-year NBA player by now had he come out as a freshman instead of as a junior as he’s doing now. Givony has him sixth and Ford seventh in their respective rankings after he put up 8.9 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 25.9 MPG, another example of a Wildcat’s stats as a poor reflection of his talent.

Lyles is No. 18 with Ford and No. 19 with Givony after a freshman season spent in and out of the starting lineup. He put up 8.7 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 23.0 MPG. For more on Booker, Johnson, and the Harrison twins, click on their names in this sentence to see earlier reports indicating that they would declare for the draft.

The seven will collectively attempt to set a record for the most players drafted from one school in a single year. The current mark is six, shared by Kentucky in 2012 and UNLV in 1977, though the draft was an eight-round affair when UNLV pulled off its feat. The swing player would appear to be Aaron Harrison, who isn’t within the top 60 prospects in Ford’s and Givony’s rankings. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com nonetheless hears from many around the league who believe he’ll be drafted in the second round.

Draft Notes: Kentucky, Johnson, Jones

April 7th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kentucky coach John Calipari acknowledged Monday that Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison are all likely to declare for the draft, as Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal relays. Devin Booker and Dakari Johnson are still weighing their options, according to Calipari, Tucker notes, adding that the coach expects that Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee will decide to stay. Calipari later addressed the idea of his own departure for the NBA, downplaying the idea in a piece on his own website, wherein he said he doesn’t have a desire to prove himself in the NBA. A recent report indicated that Calipari “desperately” wants an NBA job, and he apparently still has supporters within the Nets organization. Here’s more on those potentially making the college-to-NBA leap:

Projected lottery pick Stanley Johnson is on the fence as he decides whether to enter the draft this year or return to Arizona for a sophomore year, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, with one source describing him as “really torn.” The small forward is the No. 9 prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 11 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
NBA personnel who spoke with Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com are in wide agreement that Final Four Most Outstanding Player Tyus Jones would go in the final third of the first round this year if he entered the draft, as Goodman writes in an Insider-only piece. Those sources also tell Goodman that the freshman point guard’s stock is peaking and that he wouldn’t benefit from staying at Duke another year, and even Jones’ father is encouraging him to declare. The Pistons, Pelicans, Sixers and Magic are among the NBA teams focusing on the Minnesota native, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Brice Johnson is returning to North Carolina, multiple sources tell Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The junior power forward was No. 50 in Givony‘s rankings, while Ford had the power forward 82nd.

Marcus Lee To Return To Kentucky

April 18th, 2014 at 6:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Another member of Kentucky’s Final Four team will be returning to school next year. Marcus Lee has announced he will return for his sophomore season. Lee said, “I’ve really enjoyed my college experience and I’m looking forward to continuing to develop as an all-around player. Playing in the Final Four was such an amazing feeling, but I want to come back and help win that final game this year.”

In 24 appearances for the Wildcats, Lee averaged 2.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 0.6 BPG in 6.5 minutes per contest. His slash line was .619/.000/.438. He had a much better NCAA tournament and even made the Midwest Regional All-Tournament team. His best tournament performance came against Michigan where he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

According to draft experts, Lee would have likely been a second round pick in this year’s NBA draft.

Marcus Lee

Draft Notes: Dinwiddie, Smart, Kentucky

April 1st, 2014 at 7:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Colorado junior Spencer Dinwiddie is leaning heavily toward leaving for the NBA, writes Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The 6’6″ guard, who tore the ACL in his left knee on January 12th, will likely will forgo his final college season, unless the NBA evaluation he receives back says he does not have a chance to go in the first round of the draft, reports Goodman. Dinwiddie was averaging 14.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 3.8 APG at the time of his injury. He is currently ranked as the 46th best prospect by Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

More news related to draft matters:

Marcus Smart is close to signing with Wasserman Media Group, notes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Zwerling also notes that Jay-Z and Bill Duffy are candidates to sign Andrew Wiggins.
As many as eight Kentucky players might declare for this year’s NBA Draft. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders breaks down each candidate and what their draft prospects are. Koutroupis has also released his latest mock draft.
Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) breaks down which players have moved up and which have moved down his draft rankings based on their NCAA Tournament performances.