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Draft Notes: Saric, Napier, Harrison Twins

April 8th, 2014 at 11:47am CST by Chuck Myron

Connecticut finished off a surprise run to the NCAA title on Monday, and with the college basketball season in the books, the focus on the June 26th draft sharpens. Underclassmen who’ve declared for the draft have just one more week to withdraw without losing their NCAA eligibility, so decision time is drawing near for many. Here’s the latest:

  • Agent Misko Raznatovic of BeoBasket says he’s become the new representative for lottery prospect Dario Saric, adding that he expects to make an announcement about Saric’s future in the next couple of days (Twitter links; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). He’ll partner with Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. A report last month indicating that Saric had agreed to a deal that would keep him in Europe prompted Carchia to tweet shortly thereafter that he expected Saric to sign with Raznatovic, but the European deal never came to fruition, and Saric said a few days ago that he’s leaning toward entering the draft.
  • Shabazz Napier won the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award, but several NBA executives tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they still see the point guard as a second-round pick (Sulia link).
  • NBA types also continue to downplay the prospects of Kentucky freshman twins Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv details.
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Draft Notes: Dekker, Daniels, Kaminsky

April 6th, 2014 at 8:39am CST by Eddie Scarito

Wisconsin lost a nail-biter to Kentucky last night. After the game, both Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky stated they would be returning to the Badgers next season, writes Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Dekker, who averaged 12.4 PPG and 6.1 RPG was rated a potential first round selection. The 7-foot Kaminsky averaged a team-high 14.1 PPG and 6.4 RPG. He is viewed as a second rounder by scouts.

More from the college ranks:

  • DeAndre Daniels‘ play in the NCAA Tournament has raised his draft stock, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. The UConn forward has taken himself from a possible 2015 second round pick to a potential first round selection this year, opines Zagoria.
  • UConn’s Shabazz Napier has had his draft stock enhanced by playing for Kevin Ollie, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. According to the article, one NBA GM said, “Ollie runs all NBA plays for him and that’s going to help Napier when he comes into the league.” Napier is seen as a late first-round pick, but his lack of size has some scouts worried about his ability to defend in the NBA.
  • This year’s draft class is receiving all the hype because of its strength in comparison to recent drafts, not because there are multiple franchise saviors amongst the possible selections, writes Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer.
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Draft Rumors: Payton, Baker, Walker

April 5th, 2014 at 12:04pm CST by Cray Allred

Oscar Robertson doesn’t agree with the league’s desire to increase the age limit for draft entry, telling Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press that “one-and-done” players aren’t hurting the college game. “These colleges are greedy, man. They want to keep a kid … in school if they start to win,” Robertson said. “They want to keep them in school because it helps them — it helps the coach, it helps the winning percentage.” Here’s a roundup of more draft rumors:

  • Wichita State’s Ron Baker will return to school for his junior year, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Baker explored his draft potential before making the decision, and multiple NBA executives tell Goodman he would have been a second round pick had he chosen to declare for this year’s draft.
  • An NBA executive told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Louisiana-Lafayette’s Elfrid Payton could go as high as the late teens in the draft should he declare. The junior hasn’t yet decided whether to forgo his last year of college to enter the draft.
  • Florida freshman Chris Walker says he will make a decision regarding this year’s draft after the Final Four, telling reporters including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv he’s focused on the tournament for now. “I haven’t really been thinking about it,” Walker said. “I’m just thinking about winning this UConn game and staying in the moment and hopefully winning that and advance to the championship game. And then after the season, me and coach [Billy Donovan] will sit down and talk about everything and all the options.” Walker has been considered by many to be a premier 2015 draft prospect, so it would be interesting to see where he would stack up if he declared for this summer’s draft.
  • In a subscription-only piece, ESPN Insiders Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton look at the draft stocks for Shabazz Napier, Frank Kaminsky, and Patric Young, who are all playing for Final Four teams this weekend.
  • Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports discussed the draft prospects of Kentucky’s freshmen in a video from yesterday.
  • We profiled Doug McDermott earlier today.
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Draft Rumors: Napier, Age Limit, Stauskas

March 30th, 2014 at 7:02pm CST by Cray Allred

Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group disagrees with the notion that a player like Aaron Gordon of Arizona should stay longer in college to develop his game. Kawakami argues that a player can develop their skill just as well or better in the NBA, but does think that personal maturation can be a benefit of staying in school longer. Here’s more on the draft:

  • Kawakami also clarifies that the league’s proposal to raise the age limit to 20 years old would also restrict players less than two years removed from high school from entering the draft. This would truly end the one-and-done process bemoaned by many.
  • Kawakami doesn’t see the value in such a proposal, writing that depriving the NBA from an extra year of transcendent talents like Anthony Davis is too high a price to pay to get an extra year of evaluation on potential draft busts.
  • Scouts tell Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News that Michigan’s Nik Stauskas is comparable to a taller, more athletic J.J. Redick (Twitter link).
  • A panel of Basketball Insiders writers all believe tanking in the NBA is an issue.
  • A veteran NBA scout tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that UConn’s Shabazz Napier is a first round talent. Napier is currently projected by both DraftExpress’s Jonathan Givony and ESPN Insider Chad Ford to go in the second round.
  • In the same article, former and current UConn coaches tell Zagoria that it isn’t fair to compare Napier to Kemba Walker, who won a championship with UConn while Napier was a freshman. 
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Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Robinson, Harrison

March 29th, 2014 at 8:50am CST by Cray Allred

Chris Mannix of SI.com released a new mock draft, with Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Jabari Parker in the top three spots. Here are more rumors surrounding the draft:

  • Several executives tell Mannix that the poor tournament performances of Wiggins and Parker won’t impact their draft stock, but that concerns over Embiid’s back injury could significantly affect his value.
  • Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times discusses how Wiggins would fit with the Bucks in a video interview.
  • Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com thinks Zach LaVine is over-hyped as a prospect, saying that the guard out of UCLA looks like a D-League player despite his first-round projections (Twitter link).
  • Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com thinks that Michigan’s Glenn Robinson III needs to finish the tournament with a big performance, because his lack of assertiveness and spotty play has caused him to slip down draft boards from a potential lottery pick to a late first-rounder.
  • Scouts tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison would go in the 25-30 range in the draft, and that he needs to stay for another year and improve his stock (Twitter link).
  • Chris Mannix agrees with that take, tweeting that Harrison has the tools to become a lottery pick in the 2015 draft.
  • An NBA scout tells Mannix that UConn’s Shabazz Napier already has better ball handling ability than a lot of NBA backup point guards (Twitter link).
  • An NBA executive tells Mannix that Baylor’s Isaiah Austin is another player who should stay in school for another year, pegging the center as a late first rounder at best in the 2014 draft class (Twitter link).
  • Louisville’s Russ Smith made the right choice to stay in college after last year’s national championship, writes Adi Joseph of USA Today. Smith will likely be selected in the second round of the draft, and Joseph envisions him as a bench player who could eventually earn a starting job in the NBA.
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Draft Notes: Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, UCLA

March 19th, 2014 at 5:56pm CST by Alex Lee

In his latest chat with readers, Chad Ford of ESPN.com insists that Andrew Wiggins has solidified his position as the No. 1 draft prospect. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com disagrees, debuting his own Top 30 list based off discussions he’s had with league executives. It has Jabari Parker at the top. Howard-Cooper also touched on a multitude of other draft topics in another post. Let’s sort through his latest and more draft-related stuff here:

  • Front offices are wavering between Parker and Kansas’ Joel Embiid for the top spot, according to Howard-Cooper. He adds that no one has more at stake in the NCAA Tournament than Embiid, who only has a shot to return from back issues if the Jayhawks advance without him.
  • Austalian guard Dante Exum is right behind the troika of Parker-Embiid-Wiggins. That foursome is followed by Julius Randle and Marcus Smart, before a big drop off at No. 7.
  • Jusuf Nurkic is flying up draft boards, according to Howard-Cooper. The 19-year-old Bosnian center, currently playing in Croatia, is in one team’s top ten and may ultimately challenge Dario Saric as the first European off the board.
  • UCLA’s Zach LaVine has yet to convince scouts that he projects as a point guard in the NBA, Howard-Cooper writes. It doesn’t help than teammate Kyle Anderson has been handling the ball more as point forward lately, presumably boosting his draft stock. LaVine is still an attractive prospect, but his value will take a hit if his future looks to be on the wing. Both Bruins project as mid first rounders should they choose to come out.
  • USA Today’s Adi Joseph includes Embiid and Anderson on his list of eight NBA hopefuls with the most to gain in the NCAA Tournament, along with Keith Appling, Jahii Carson, Cleanthony Early, Tyler Ennis, Montrezl Harrell and Shabazz Napier.
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Draft Updates: Theis, Gobert, Napier, Jefferson

April 26th, 2013 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

We heard earlier today that Miami's Shane Larkin will enter this year's draft, but he's not the only prospect making a decision on whether or not to go pro. Here are a few more Friday updates on potential early entrants:

  • German big man Daniel Theis has elected to enter the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link), who has Theis ranked eighth among 1992-born international prospects.
  • Rudy Gobert, who may be this year's top international prospect, has officially entered his name in the draft, agent Bouna Ndiaye tells DraftExpress (Twitter link). We had previously heard that the French big man, who Givony projects as a potential lottery pick, would likely declare his intent.
  • Ndiaye also confirms that two of his other clients, Louis Labeyrie and Axel Toupane, have officially entered the draft, tweets Givony.
  • Junior guard Shabazz Napier has decided to return to UConn for his senior season, the school announced today (Twitter link).
  • Baylor's Cory Jefferson has also decided to return to school rather than go pro, as Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com details.
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