Zach Collins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Blackmon, Ford, Fox, Colette

May 8th, 2017 at 7:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Indiana guard James Blackmon has decided to remain in the draft, Jon Rothstein of FanRagSports.com reports. Blackmon confirmed on his Twitter feed that he will sign with an agent. Blackmon, who averaged 17.3 PPG and shot 42.3% on 3-point attempts, is essentially betting on himself and could wind up overseas if not in the D-League. He is not ranked among the Top 100 by DraftExpress or ESPN Insider Chad Ford. Blackmon joins two other Hoosiers who have declared for the draft — forward OG Anunoby, a potential lottery pick, and center Thomas Bryant. Indiana junior guard Robert Johnson will decide this week whether to remain in the draft, Rothstein adds.

In other draft-related nuggets:

Washington guard Markelle Fultz remains atop Ford’s latest Big Board with UCLA’s Lonzo Ball holding the second spot. Gonzaga center Zach Collins moved from No. 11 to No. 9 and Duke guard Luke Kennard advanced from No. 17 to No. 15. Previously unranked Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell, who recently hired an agent, moved into the first round at No. 22.
Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox believes he’s the top defensive guard in the draft, as he told ESPN’s Chris B. Haynes in a Q&A session. “For me, it’s not about offensive scoring, I want to shut the other guy down,” Fox boasted to Haynes. Fox is considered a sure-fire Top 10 pick, ranked No. 5 by both DraftExpress and Ford.
A handful of NBA scouts and executives polled by Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.com believe there are nine impact players in the draft. That front-office group named 21 potential lottery picks and generally view this draft as much deeper in quality than the 2016 version.
Utah forward David Collette is expected to return to school, Rothstein tweets. The junior forward averaged 13.6 PPG and 5.1 RPG last season. Collette, a Utah State transfer, did not make the Top 100 lists.

Heat Notes: Wade, Bosh, J. Johnson, Draft

May 6th, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

Udonis Haslem and Tyler Johnson made a public appearance today to help Dwyane Wade sell sneakers, but they avoided questions about whether their former teammate might rejoin them with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Wade is considering whether to opt out of his $23.8MM contract with the Bulls for next season. If he does, many believe he will decide to return to Miami, where he spent his first 13 seasons. Haslem and Johnson have both been in touch with Wade since Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs last week. “He’s going to have to make the best decision for him,” Johnson said. “I know he wants to be in a situation where he’s playing for a team that’s kind of established. I don’t think he wants to go through a rebuilding process.”
There’s more news out of Miami:

The Heat are expected to petition the league office soon to have Chris Bosh‘s salary removed from their cap. Bosh was kept on the roster all season after failing a physical in training camp over blood clot problems that have plagued him for the past two seasons. Haslem tells Winderman in the same story that he has contacted Bosh but hasn’t discussed his NBA future. “Chris is one of those guys, when he puts his mind it, he can do anything,” Haslem said. “So he doesn’t lack opportunity. He’s going to have a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things. He’s a very well-rounded guy. And whatever he does, he’s going to be great at it.” If Bosh is able to play enough games for another team, his $52MM salary would be put back onto the Heat’s cap.
Free agent forward James Johnson may not be guaranteed a starting job if he
re-signs with the Heat this summer, Winderman speculates in another piece. With Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic both starting, Johnson may give Miami too many
players on the court at the same time who need to handle the ball. Also, Justise Winslow may claim one of the starting forward slots
when he returns from injury.
Winderman examines who the Heat might take if they keep the No. 14 pick in the May 16th lottery. Players who have been linked to Miami in that spot include Duke’s Harry Giles, UCLA’s T.J.
Leaf, North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, California’s Ivan Rabb, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, Gonzaga’s Zach Collins, Indiana’s OG Anunoby, Duke’s Luke Kennard, Wake Forest’s John Collins and two overseas players, Terrence
Ferguson of Australia and Frank Ntilikina of France.

Draft Notes: Collins, Comanche, Combine, Jazz

May 6th, 2017 at 6:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Gonzaga big man Zach Collins is quickly rising up draft boards, tweets Jon Rothstein of Fanrag Sports. The 7’0″ freshman didn’t play a lot this season, but he has become a favorite of NBA scouts. Collins averaged 10.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in just 17.2 minutes per night for the national runners-up. He is ranked 12th in Jonathan Givony’s latest list of the top 100 prospects at DraftExpress and 11th by ESPN’s Chad Ford. Collins is the top-rated center on Ford’s list, while Givony has him one spot behind Jarrett Allen of Texas.

There’s more draft-related news today:

Sophomore big man Chance Comanche of Arizona has announced via Twitter than he plans to remain in the draft. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds this season and is a long shot to be drafted.
Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders examines players who have gone on to NBA success after not receiving invitations to the draft combine. This year’s edition will be held this week in Chicago.
Kentucky guard Hamidou Diallo may be the best athlete at the combine, an NBA executive tells Rothstein (Twitter link). Diallo is projected to go early in the second round by both Givony and Ford.
Three Michigan players are headed to the combine, writes James Hawkins of The Detroit News. Moritz Wagner and D.J. Wilson, who entered the draft without hiring agents, both received invitations, along with senior Derrick Walton. Another Wolverines senior, Zak Irvin, also has draft aspirations but wasn’t invited to the combine.
Wagner will be among six players working out for the Jazz on Sunday, according to a tweet from the team. Joining him will be LSU’s Antonio Blakeney, UCLA’s Aaron Holiday, Florida State’s Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Georgetown’s L.J. Peak and BYU’s Eric Mika.

Draft Rumors: Collins, Carroll, Brunson, Lessort

April 20th, 2017 at 8:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Gonzaga big man Zach Collins has signed with veteran agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. The 7-footer is ranked No. 12 by both DraftExpress and ESPN Insider Chad Ford. The freshman helped his draft status during the Zags’ run to the national title game. He declared for the draft last week.

In other news regarding the draft:

Euroleague prospect Vasilis Charalampopoulos will not enter the draft, international journalist David Pick tweets, citing a source. He wants more Euroleague exposure, Pick adds. The 20-year-old small forward, who plays for Panathinaikos, is listed at No. 10 in DraftExpress’ International 1997 rankings.
Oklahoma State forward Jeffrey Carroll has opted not to go through the draft process, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Carroll decided to test the waters late last month after a breakout junior season with the Cowboys in which he averaged 17.5 PPG and 6.6 RPG.
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson is headed back to college for his junior season, Adam Zagoria of the 4 Quarters Podcast tweets. He averaged 14.7 PPG and 4.1 APG during his sophomore year. Brunson didn’t crack DraftExpress’ Top 100.
French draft prospect Mathias Lessort has signed with Wasserman and will be represented by Jason Ranne and former Pistons executive George David, HoopsHype tweets. The 6-9 forward is rated No. 34 by DraftExpress and No. 51 by Ford.

Zach Collins Declares For Draft

April 11th, 2017 at 7:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Gonzaga’s Zach Collins has declared for the draft and will hire an agent, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Goodman tweets that numerous NBA executives feel Collins will be selected in the 8-20 range.

The center helped lead the Bulldogs to their first national championship game appearance this past season. He was first on the team in blocks per game, swatting 1.8 per contest, and he pulled down 5.9 rebounds per game, which was good for third on the team.

Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks Collins as the 13th best prospect in the upcoming draft. Givony notes that the freshman had his best game of the season against South Carolina in this year’s Final Four, but cautions that Collins is a prospect that will need some time to develop.