Willy Hernangomez

Draft Notes: Hernangomez, Cauley-Stein, Holmes

Today’s the big day for teams in the lottery, as the drawing takes place tonight. Check out the odds that each team ends up in each position, and read our Hoops Rumors Glossary item on the lottery for a glimpse at how it works. As we wait to find out who wins, here’s the latest on the draft:

  • Overseas draft entrant Guillermo Hernangomez, also known as Willy Hernangomez, is likely to play for Real Madrid in his native Spain next season, according to the Spanish outlet Marca (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 6’11” center is the No. 45 prospect in this year’s draft as Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks them, and he’s No. 49 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. He can withdraw from the draft by June 15th or stay in and either become a draft-and-stash selection or go undrafted.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein took an unusual path, staying at Kentucky for three years. A lottery prospect this year, he feels the extra college experience gave him a leg up, as he tells Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders“[Playing more than one year there] helped me a lot mentally,” Cauley-Stein said. “I’m now one of the older dudes in this draft, which is cool. I went through a lot at Kentucky, so staying there another year didn’t do anything but make it better for me to enter the draft now.” Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled the center on Monday.
  • Richaun Holmes wasn’t on the NBA radar as recently as six weeks weeks ago, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, but his stock has risen fast, and Ford believes he did enough at the combine last week to get drafted. The power forward from Bowling Green spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors a few weeks ago.
  • Ford, in the same piece, lists former Kentucky combo guard Andrew Harrison as a prospect who helped his cause at the combine and twin Aaron Harrison, a shooting guard, as one whose stock fell. John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com seconds the notion that Andrew Harrison impressed at the combine amid his insights from the event.

Guillermo Hernangomez To Declare For Draft

Spanish center Guillermo Hernangomez will enter this year’s draft, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The 6’11” client of agent Guillermo Bermejo has first-round potential, as Givony says in his tweet, though Hernangomez is No. 42 in Givony‘s prospect rankings. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him 40th.

The 20-year-old Hernangomez averaged 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game this season for Sevilla in his native Spain. He put up similar numbers in the Adidas Eurocamp two years ago. His athleticism isn’t ideal, but his size helps, as Ford writes in his scouting report.

Early-entry candidates must formally declare for the draft by 10:59pm Central time on Sunday to be eligible for the draft this year, so that helps explain the flurry of declarations of late. Hernangomez won’t be automatically eligible until next year, and he may withdraw from this year’s draft at any point until the NBA’s June 15th deadline.