Zeke Nnaji Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Early Entrants, Golden, West, Nnaji

May 20th, 2020 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

MaCio Teague (Baylor), Keith Williams (Cincinnati), Denzel Mahoney (Creighton), and Zach Cooks (NJIT) are among the early entrants who have signed with Trinity Best for representation as they navigate the pre-draft process, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

However, signing with an agent doesn’t mean those players are going pro — because Best is an NCAA-certified rep, Teague, Williams, Mahoney, and Cooks can continue to test the draft waters without forgoing their remaining college eligibility. Because the NCAA has indefinitely postponed its June 3 withdrawal date, those players won’t necessarily have to finalize decisions anytime soon either.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

Richmond forward Grant Golden has decided to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior year, he tells Rothstein (Twitter link). Golden has averaged 15.5 PPG and 6.9 RPG for Richmond in 94 games over his last three seasons.
Marshall guard Jarrod West, who elected to test the draft waters this spring, is expected to return to school for his senior season, according to head coach Dan D’Antoni (Twitter link via Rothstein). West, who has been a starter for the Thundering Herd since his freshman year, had a breakout season in 2019/20, averaging 14.2 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 4.0 RPG.
Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji, who previously met with New Orleans, Washington, Charlotte, and Utah, has virtual interviews this week with the Knicks, Bucks, and Pistons, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.

Draft Notes: Jones, Stanley, Oturu, Reed, Nnaji, Combine

May 12th, 2020 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of early entrants out of Duke have signed with agents who aren’t NCAA-certified, officially signaling that they’ll go pro and remain in the 2020 NBA draft. Tre Jones has signed with BDA Sports, according to the agency’s Instagram account, while Cassius Stanley has joined ISE Basketball (Twitter link).

Both Blue Devils prospects had been expected to keep their names in the draft, so their moves to secure representation don’t come as a surprise. Both players are ranked in the top 50 on ESPN’s big board for 2020, with Jones coming in at No. 33 and Stanley at No. 50.

Here’s more on the 2020 draft:

A couple more players on this year’s early entrants list have signed with agents and will remain in the draft. Minnesota big man Daniel Oturu has joined BDA Sports, per the agency (Instagram link). Meanwhile, DePaul’s Paul Reed has opted for Ron Shade of Octagon, tweets Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com. Oturu and Reed place 36th and 51st respectively on ESPN’s list of 2020’s top prospects.
Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji has had virtual meetings with the Pelicans, Wizards, and Hornets so far, and has one lined up with the Jazz later this week, says Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). A possible first-round pick, Nnaji is ranked 34th overall on ESPN’s big board.
The NBA has sent teams ballots to vote on prospects they’d like to see participate in the 2020 draft combine, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The combine, originally scheduled to take place next week, has been postponed indefinitely, but the league still hopes to hold it in some revamped form, either in-person or virtually.

Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji Declares For 2020 Draft

March 31st, 2020 at 12:40pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

MARCH 31: Nnaji has confirmed to Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he’s entering the 2020 draft pool. Accoridng to Evan Daniels of 247Sports (Twitter link), the freshman is signing with agent Adam Pensack and intends to forgo his remaining college eligibility.

MARCH 28: Freshman Arizona power forward Zeke Nnaji will declare for the 2020 NBA draft, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Nicola Lupo of Sportando notes that Nnaji is currently slotted as the No. 34 prospect in ESPN’s top-100 list of available college basketball players.

The 6’11”, 240-pound Nnaji was named to the 2019/20 All-Pac-12 Team, as well as the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. The 19-year-old was also honored as the 2019/20 Pac-12 Rooke Of The Year.

Nnaji has averaged 16.1 PPG and 8.6 RPG across 32 games in his lone season for the Wildcats, while shooting 76% from the free throw line and 57% from the field.