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NCAA Tournament Filled With Draft Prospects

March 11th, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NCAA tournament bracket was unveiled on Sunday and NBA draft prospects can enhance their resumes by leading their teams on a deep run. A majority of the projected first-rounders in Jonathan Givony’s current rankings on ESPN.com will be in action during March Madness.

Here’s a look of some of those storylines:

No player will be more closely watched than the projected top pick, Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton. He has remained eligible despite an FBI probe into his recruitment. The Wildcats, who won the PAC 12 tournament, were seeded No. 4 in the South region and will play Buffalo in the first round. A potential second-round matchup against Kentucky looms. The Wildcats have two players slotted as mid-first-rounders — swingman Kevin Knox (No. 12 overall) and combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15).
Duke and Michigan State were ranked 1-2 at the start of the season and faced each other in November, with the Blue Devils prevailing. They could see each again in the Sweet Sixteen, a Midwest showdown that would feature a handful of first-round prospects, Duke’s frontcourt duo of Marvin Bagley III (4) and Wendell Carter Jr. (6) and shooting guard Grayson Allen (30), and Michigan State forwards Jaren Jackson Jr. (3) and Miles Bridges (11).
How good is Texas center Mohamed Bamba (5)? We could get a better idea if the Longhorns get past Nevada and face rugged Cincinnati, the South’s No. 2 seed which also features small forward Jacob Evans (24).
Alabama’s Collin Sexton, currently the top-rated college point guard at No. 8, will try to build off his big SEC tournament performance in the East Region. If the Tide gets past their opener, they’ll likely face top seed Villanova and its No. 10 prospect, small forward Mikal Bridges.
Oklahoma point guard Trae Young (9) and his team faltered down the stretch but still got in as the Midwest’s No. 10 seed. If they upset Rhode Island, the Sooners would likely face the Blue Devils in the next round.
Texas A&M big man Robert Williams (15) could improve his stock if his team, slotted No. 7 in the West, can get by Big East tournament runner-up Providence and then upset No. 2 seed North Carolina in the next round.
Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV (13) might move into the Top 10 if he carries his team, seeded sixth in the South, into the Sweet Sixteen and beyond.

And-Ones: NCAA Investigation, Max FAs, Playoffs

February 23rd, 2018 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The FBI’s investigation into college basketball recruiting has resulted in the discovery of documents and bank records that meticulously detail apparent loans and payments issued from agency ASM Sports to current and former college players, Pat Forde and Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports report. As the Yahoo duo writes, the documents show an “underground recruiting operation” that appears to violate NCAA amateurism rules and could impact many of the top college basketball programs in the country.

While the FBI’s probe is more likely to shake up those NCAA programs, there could be a domino effect on the NBA. According to Forde and Thamel, current college players like Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Duke’s Wendell Carter Jr., all of whom could be lottery picks this June, are among those linked by the documents to benefits for either the athletes or their family members. We’ll be following the investigation to see whether it impacts eligibility for those top prospects, as it did for USC’s De’Anthony Melton.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In the wake of Sports Illustrated’s report that described the Mavericks‘ business offices as a hostile environment for women, the NBA is establishing a confidential hotline for league and team employees to report concerns about workplace misconduct. Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press has the details.
Tom Ziller of SBNation identifies nine 2018 free agents who should be candidates for maximum-salary contracts, including a pair of restricted free agents.
Count LeBron James among those who isn’t fully on board with the idea of reseeding playoff teams one through 16 and removing conferences from the equation. Pointing out that the Western and Eastern Conference have both enjoyed successful runs at various times over the last few decades, LeBron suggests that making such a change would change “the landscape of the history of the game,” per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
While James is opposed to significant changes to the playoff format, he was on board with the All-Star changes, as was his good friend Chris Paul. The Rockets guard didn’t play in Sunday’s event but said “from my seat it looked good.” As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Paul was happy to spread around the credit for the format changes.

Knicks Notes: Mudiay, Ntilikina, Williams, Draft

February 21st, 2018 at 5:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

It looks like the Knicks will have a new starting point guard when the season resumes Thursday, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Emmanuel Mudiay, acquired from the Nuggets in a three-team deal at the deadline, appears ready to take the place of veteran Jarrett Jack, who has started 56 games this season.

“Definitely means something to me. I’m not going to take it for granted,” said Mudiay, who has been practicing with the Knicks’ starters. “I came in as a lottery pick so I was kind of handed the spot and stuff like that. So the fact that I’m in that position again, it’s a blessing. Thank God for it. I just have to take full advantage.”

New York’s front office has ordered coach Jeff Hornacek to give more minutes to young players for the rest of the season, Bondy adds. The coach has already made the decision to remove Jack from the starting lineup and has talked to the 34-year-old about cutting his playing time. Jack will be a free agent this summer.

There’s more news out of New York:

The Knicks were grooming rookie Frank Ntilikina to be the starting point guard going into January, but a decline in his performance and the acquisitions of Mudiay and Trey Burke changed those plans, Bondy adds in the same story. Ntilikina will still see increased playing time, but it may come at the two-guard spot. “I think he hit a little bit of a wall. The energy, and his knee [was hurting],” Hornacek said. “Hey, these kids come from another country. Now, all of a sudden, they’re having to travel every other day, play in games, and do all this stuff and he just looked exhausted at some times.”
Troy Williams, who signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks this morning, is looking forward to the opportunity, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN. “Great opportunity, great fit,” Williams said. “Their interest level here was a little bit higher than everybody else’s.” Williams, who was waived by the Rockets last week, will concentrate on what he needs to do to extend his stay in New York beyond 10 days, adding, “Right now my main role is just being an extra athletic guy, run the court and defend.”
Begley examines the most important questions surrounding the Knicks for the rest of this season and beyond in an ESPN story. Topics include the future of Hornacek, who has one year left on his contract, how Kristaps Porzingis‘ injury will affect the team in free agency and the Knicks’ plans for the draft, where they reportedly like Michigan State’s Miles Bridges and Villanova’s Mikal Bridges if they stay in the middle part of the lottery.

And-Ones: World Cup, Kuzminskas, Trade Deadline

November 23rd, 2017 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

FIBA’s new process for qualifying for the Basketball World Cup may look familiar to fans who follow soccer’s World Cup qualifying process, but it has left many professional players confused and disappointed, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times. As Stein details, the timing of the qualifiers will prevent the top players from participating.

Unlike top soccer leagues, which take breaks during their respective seasons to allow the best international players to represent their countries in qualifiers, there are no such windows for NBA and Euroleague players. As such, Team USA is attempting to qualify for the 2019 World Cup with a squad made up of little-known G League players.

“They will qualify, because they will be very well prepared and play hard,” Spurs assistant Ettore Messina said of Team USA. “But then you have to tell them: ‘Thank you. Now the real players are coming in to go to China.’ How unfair is that?”

For his part, Messina had to give up his role as head coach of the Italian national team because of the new qualifying format — he has been one of the loudest critics of the changes, Stein writes. “Stupid,” Messina said. “That’s the most common word I hear when I talk with people about this — stupid.”

As Team USA prepares for its first qualifying game against Puerto Rico, scheduled for tonight, here’s more from around the basketball world:

Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press relays a few more perspectives on the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, speaking to several internationally-born NBA players who don’t love the changes.
According to Donatas Urbonas (Twitter links), Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas would love to sign free agent Mindaugas Kuzminskas, the Lithuanian forward recently waived by the Knicks. However, while the team says the door is always open for a player like Kuzminskas, it recognizes that its odds of landing him are low.
The NBA moved up the trade deadline for 2018 by two weeks to February 8. Danny Leroux of The Sporting News examines how the earlier deadline might affect teams’ plans this season.
With a number of NBA draft prospects – including Marvin Bagley III and Miles Bridges – set to participate in the PK80 Invitational in Portland this weekend, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) lay out the players and the matchups worth watching.

Mavs Notes: Curry, Noel, Hammons, Harris, Cuban

April 14th, 2017 at 4:36pm CST by Milo Taibi

On the heels of a 33-49 season, the Mavericks will focus on improving their roster via free agency and the draft. Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News suggested two veteran FAs to provide an immediate boost: Serge Ibaka and J.J. Redick. Sefko explains that Ibaka is a “big-time rebounder” who is still relatively young, while Redick would help shore up the team’s mediocre shooting.

Sefko cautions against hoping for a point guard improvement through the draft. Unless the Mavs “get lucky” and secure one of the top two picks, they’re unlikely to obtain a top-shelf guard. In the event Dallas winds up with the 8, 9, or 10 pick, Sefko cites Jonathan Isaac, Miles Bridges, and Lauri Markkanen as potential fits.

Miles Bridges Returning To Michigan State

April 14th, 2017 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 14: Bridges officially announced on Thursday night that he’ll return to Michigan State for at least one more year, as Larry Lage of The Associated Press details. While Bridges’ mother made it clear she’d go pro if she were in his shoes, the young forward said he has some “unfinished business” at MSU.

APRIL 12: Michigan State forward Miles Bridges is leaning strongly toward returning to school for his sophomore year, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links). According to Wojnarowski, Bridges has cancelled meetings with agents, but is expected to meet with MSU head coach Tom Izzo before finalizing his decision.

If Bridges does elect to return to Michigan State for at least one more year, it would shake up the 2017 NBA draft lottery a little. ESPN’s Chad Ford ranks Bridges 10th on his big board, while the 6’6″ forward comes in at No. 11 on the DraftExpress board.

Ford recently wrote that Bridges can “be a bit wild on the court,” but suggested that the 19-year-old might be one of the more underrated prospects near the top of draft boards. As Ford notes, Bridges did a little bit of everything for Michigan State in his freshman season, averaging 16.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.5 BPG, and 2.0 3PT.

If Bridges doesn’t enter this year’s draft, he would likely be penciled in as at least a top-10 prospect on 2018 big boards. Next year’s draft class has some major talent at the very top, but isn’t considered to be as deep as the 2017 class.

Draft Notes: Tatum, Smith, Bridges, Alkins

April 12th, 2017 at 9:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jayson Tatum is rising up draft boards and Chad Ford of ESPN.com believes he could be a dark horse for the No.1 overall pick. Ford notes that Tatum is widely regarded by scouts as being the most NBA-ready right now. The Duke product sits at No. 4 in the scribe’s latest Big Board.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Dennis Smith‘s stock is falling with teams questioning how he handled himself in the midst of disappointing college season, Ford writes in the same piece. The scribe adds that Smith has elite athletism, so his stock could rise after individual workouts take place.
Miles Bridges is undecided on whether or not he’s going to return to MSU, but Ford notes that he appears to be a “lock” for the lottery should he opt to declare for the draft.
Arizona’s Rawle Alkins will test the draft waters, but won’t yet sign with an agent, according to his Twitter feed. The shooting guard is the 79th best prospect in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has declared for the draft, but will also not hire an agent, according to University’s website. The junior is the 68th best prospect in the draft, according to Givony.
PJ Dozier will declare for the draft, but will not hire representation, according to the University of South Carolina’s website. Dozier, who Givony pegs as the 65th best prospect in the draft, helped lead the school to its first-ever Final Four this past season.

Draft Notes: Williams, Kuzma, Wilder, Ball

March 21st, 2017 at 9:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Texas A&M freshman forward Robert Williams decided to remain in college because he wants to be the top pick, a source told Evan Daniels of Fox Sports and Scout.com (Twitter link). Williams also believes he’s not mature enough yet to enter the league, the tweet adds. Williams averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 2.5 BPG during his freshman season for the Aggies. The 6’9” Williams was considered a late lottery pick, ranked as the 10th-best overall prospect by DraftExpress and 13th in Chad Ford’s top 100 at ESPN.com.

In other news involving the draft:

Utah forward Kyle Kuzma will enter the draft but won’t hire an agent, Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Kuzma is ranked No. 73 among the top 100 prospects by DraftExpress and doesn’t make Ford’s top 100 list. The 6’9” Kuzma averaged 16.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG for the Utes in his junior season.
Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder will also test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’3” guard averaged 19.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 3.8 APG in his junior season. He is not rated among the top 100 by either DraftExpress or Ford.
Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington will also enter the draft without hiring agents, Jon Rothstein of FanRagSports.com reports. Delgado, a 6’10” junior forward, averaged 15.2 PPG and 13.1 RPG this past season while Carrington, a 6’4” junior guard, averaged 17.1 PPG. Neither is considered a top 100 prospect.
Former Virginia and Memphis forward Austin Nichols has declared for the draft and hired an agent, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The 6’9” Nichols played two seasons at Memphis, sat out a year, then played one game for the Cavaliers before he was dismissed from the team.
UCLA freshman point guard Lonzo Ball and Kansas freshman small forward Josh Jackson have solidified their status as two of the three top prospects with their performances in the NCAA tournament, Ford writes in a stock watch column. Arizona freshman forward Lauri Markkanen and Michigan State freshman forward Miles Bridges are among the players who have improved their draft stock during the first two rounds of the tournament, according to Ford. Villanova senior guard Josh Hart and Duke sophomore guard Luke Kennard are among the players that Ford believes hurt their draft status with subpar tournament outings.