We are now in the season of those declaring early for the NBA Draft. Going to be interesting to see how it impacts the ACC and other big name programs. Must declare by April 23rd and have until May 24th to remove themselves
So far for the ACC these are the early entry notices I have seen, (Signed) means they have taken an agent (ACC Signed Total so far: 9)
Duke: Luke Kennard (Signed), Harry Giles(Signed), Jayson Tatum(Signed), Frank Jackson(Signed)
NC State: Dennis Smith Jr(Signed), Omer Yurtseven, Maverick Rowan (Signed)
UNC: Tony Bradley, Justin Jackson(Signed), Theo Pinson
Wake Forest: John Collins
FSU: Dwayne Bacon(Signed), Jonathan Isaac(Signed), Xavier Rathan-Mayes(SIgned)
Louisville: Donovan Mitchell(signed), Deng Adel, Jaylen Johnson(Signed)
Syracuse: Tyler Lydon
UVA: Austin Nichols(Suspended)(Signed)
Other big programs:
Kentucky had 7 declare Malik Monk(Signed), De Aaron Fox(Signed), Bam Adebayo, Isaiah Briscoe (Signed), Hamidou Diallo (didnt even play), Isaac Humphries(Signed)
UCLA has had 5 declare: Lonzo Ball(Signed), Ike Anigbogu, TJ Leaf (Signed), Thomas Welsh, Aaron Holiday
Indiana: OG Anunoby(Signed), James Blackmon, Thomas Bryant, Robert Johnson
Washington Markelle Fultz(Signed)
Purdue: Caleb Swanigan, Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas
Creighton: Justin Patton
Arizona: Lauri Markannen(Signed), Kobi Simmons(Signed), Chance Comanche, Rawle Alkins
Maryland: Melo Trimble
Texas: Jarrett Allen, Andrew Jones
South Carolina: PJ Dozier
Georgetown: LJ Peak(Signed)
Oregon: Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey , Jordan Bell(Signed)
Gonzaga: Zach Collins (Signed)
Kansas: Josh Jackson, Sviatoslav Mykhailiu
Baylor: Johnathon Motley(signed), Terry Maston, Jemerrio Jones
Michigan: Moe Wagner, DJ Wilson
Comments
Is Bonzie Colson considering? I know he's a tweener, but he makes a huge difference to that team.
I really wish the NFL/NCAA had the same kind of rule allowing football players who didn't sign an agent to come back.
I think this would be huge. Let them go to the combine, talk to the teams, get a sense of where they fit and then withdraw before pro-days.
The problem is that this makes sense and benefits the players so the NCAA would never consider it.
There's one aspect that makes me think the NCAA WOULD consider it. More talent returning means higher profile players. That's good for business.
My only issue is, a lot of these players take off the spring semester to prepare for the draft. Training for this thing takes a whole mess of time. You'd have players basically withdrawing from school for a semester, training, coming back, doing it all over again in the spring the following year.
I don't know. It's a really good idea and my friends and I have talked about it before, but it seems like it could quickly balloon into a logistical nightmare.
Well, according to LaVar Ball, TJ Leaf is too slow for the NBA. Why would he be so ludicrous to declare for the draft?!?
/s
But seriously, I am beyond tired of hearing about this guy. He talks as if Leaf isn't a likely 1st round pick, Welsh has a chance to be a first rounder next year, and Alford had one heck of career at UCLA. Wonder how Steve feels about ole Lavar calling out his son like that?
I feel bad for Lonzo honestly, if he falls in the draft I think we will all know why...
I had to look that up. Now that I have, I'm not sure you're using it correctly
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lubricious
Haha thanks, once again I am no match for autocorrect.
nice pull
Only one above that I consider a real mistake is Harry Giles. Having missed a majority of the season coming back from injury and then not having made much of an impact when he did play. The other side of the coin of course is that he has already had three knee injuries so getting to the NBA and making some money before the knees potentially end his career might be a deciding factor here. I anticipate he will be late first round possibly slipping to the second round.
I get your point, but I imagine NBA scouts saw enough at Oak Hill. Barring further injury, kid is a straight player.
I think Tony Bradley is a mistake. At least he hasn't signed. He could use another year to bulk up and get his footwork down.
As for who else may come out, in the ACC, I see potentially Colson from Notre Dame, Joel Berry from UNC, Xavier Rathan-Mayes from FSU, Josh Okojie and Ben Lammers from Georgia Tech, Quentin Snider from Louisville, Jaquan Newton from Miami, Cameron Johnson of Pitt, and Tyler Lydon of Syracuse.
Cam Johnson of Pitt actually announced his intentions to transfer last week.
Yep. He'll be one of the elusive grad transfers with TWO years of eligibility remaining.
Speaking of Pitt, their roster has been decimated due to graduations and transfers. Right now, they only have THREE players returning. Crazy.
Last I checked, they had signed 5 high schoolers and 2 JUCOs but I'm not sure if that's still the case. Even still, if the three remaining players stay and they bring in 7 new guys, they still have three more open scholarships.
Pitt is about to go through a prolonged rough stretch at the bottom of the ACC, methinks. And that's after a 4-14 stretch in ACC play last year with decent players (just a poorly constructed team with no PG).
https://accsports.com/acc-analytics/pitt-basketball-roster-turnover/
Pretty good summary of what is going on over there.
GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE.
Are there conference restrictions on grad transfers?
Kevin Stallings is blocking him from any ACC schools.
And I believe XRM has already declared for the draft.
You are correct. Not sure why I missed it in first round of looking at this. Main Topic updated to reflect.
Updated the OP with information on a few ACC guys that decided to sign and added in Justin Jackson from UNC, Tyler Lydon from Syracuse, Omer Yurtseven from NC State, Deng Adel and Jaylen Johnson from Louisville and Austin Nichols from UVA. So far with this update, the ACC now has nine signed to leave early and seven more unsigned. Players have 10 more days to submit themselves for the draft.
Beyond the ACC, Arizona and Oregon each had two more put their names into the draft, along with Zach Collins from Gonzaga
Does it really count if you only played 1 game before getting kicked off the team?
Bonzi Colson has decided to stay at Notre Dame.
Miles Bridges and his 16.9PPG, 8.3RPG, and 2.1APG are staying with Izzo and Sparty for another season. That one surprised me
You can add Mavrick Rowan to the list of ACC guys. Although I don't think he's declaring for the NBA draft, just going pro elsewhere outside of the US
Kind of surprised by this one. I thought that if he returned he was going to be their top guy in almost every category and might have had a shot at getting drafted next year in a weaker class. I dont see him making the NBA right now. OP has been updated. I also think Yurtseven should come back for one more season in terms of overall development and preparation for the NBA.
Added Jaron Blossomgame to the OP. He is unsigned but wants to test where he might fall.
I am glad he is going to be gone.
If he does leave himself in the draft, it could effectively seal Brad Brownell's fate after next season. If it wasnt for Blossomgame, they would have been blown out in the majority of their games and I do not see anyone on the roster that can pick up his slack, not even a group of players. No one in their incoming class really blows me away either.
I'm almost 100% sure Blossomgame was a senior last year and has used all his eligibility
Yep. Fifth year senior.
You are correct. Not sure why he was included in the article I was reading about those that declared early for this season. Brownell is going to have a very rough time next year.
Good, Klempson needs to suck at something. I have too many friends and relatives still basking in the Natty glow, they could have cared less about 2 heartbreaking BB losses to the good guys. They even had the gall to call it "charity" towards the Hokies after winning the ACCCG. And yes, I heard about our baseball team being swept last week. We have got to beat them this fall, they are insufferable.
They should have fired him this season and hired Will Wade. I can't imagine he would have turned down an offer to return to his alma mater.
I can't imagine how any Clemson bball fans can find much excitement in Brad Brownell, he cannot compete in today's ACC.
The Clemson fans I know want Brownell fired.
Supposedly they offered the job to Wade behind the scenes and were prepared to fire Brownell if Wade accepted. Wade accepted the LSU job instead. Makes for an interesting discussion about what makes a job good, commitment to the sport or the conference as a whole. Clemson is without a doubt more committed to being good than LSU but is also what, the 10th-15th best basketball program in the conference?
Grayson Allen returning for senior year Wants one last trip down memory lane.
I think your over/under might be a bit low
UVA has picked up their first Graduate Transfer in former Rutgers starting point guard Nigel Johnson. Last season, Johnson averaged 11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2 APG. This is Johnson's second transfer, having played his first two seasons at Kansas State. Expect to see Johnson in the starting lineup next to Guy ManBun next season. He definitely is not London Perrantes but is a step up from others coming off the bench.
good for them. I hope he shows a lot of promise in the off season and then gets himself kicked off the team two games in sending them into their well-deserved death spiral.
This message brought to you by Ray Finkel's mom:
Watched that guy drop 50+ on my high school back in the day. He's a baller.
Well, UVA hates offense so you won't be seeing anymore of that.
I don't think it's that they hate offense, it's that they don't know how.
Edit: Nvm, forgot which thread I was on
Funny you say that. I know some people who played against him and swear he wasn't an ACC level guy
I didn't play basketball in HS so I can't really comment about his on the court ability from that perspective. I'm speaking solely as an educated fan of the game and spectator. That being said, my high school made it pretty damn far in the state tournament in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 so the fact he balled on us led me to believe he was pretty talented.
Yeah I mean its always possible he just didn't play well the games against my friends. He was Broad Run right? Thats AA right?
He was Broad Run his sophomore and junior year and then ended up at Riverdale Baptist as a senior. Not sure what they were back then but these days Broad Run is 5A.
The declarations for the draft are now closed. In all, there were 112 early declarations, 20 of which came from the ACC.
Kentucky led the list with six, UCLA had five, and a handful of teams had four each including Duke and North Carolina.
Kentucky has the possibility of having the first none and done player, as Hamidou Diallo sat out this season after an early injury but was practicing by mid-season. He was a five star recruit coming into Kentucky and if he goes it will be without ever having played a game in college.
Pretty shocking total, so I will be interested to see how many of them remove themselves before the deadline in May, considering there are only 60 something draft spots and Seniors arent included in the 112 total. Original Post has been updated with those late declarers.
Diallo was actually a Class of 2017 prospect. He enrolled early and was redshirted for the remainder of the season--not sure if he could have played the rest of the season or not. Seems to have had an agreement with Cal to redshirt.
Interested to see if this becomes a trend for the top rated players.
I don't see it in the updated OP so I wanted to make sure you're aware, Jaylen Johnson (Louisville) signed an agent so he's staying in the draft. Thanks for this thread, it's an easy way to keep track of all the players definitely/possibly leaving
Joel Berry has already withdrawn from the draft to return to UNC.
This article covers alot of information regarding improvements to the D-League, Two Way Contracts, and Training Camp Payments that are now making going earlier an even more enticing option for players. I was unaware of some of these changes.
Yahoo Article
Two Way Contracts:
Each NBA team will now have the ability to designate two players with less than three years of professional experience as a two way player. This comes with a $75,000 salary and the ability to make as much as $275K depending on how much time they spend with their NBA team.
Thats 60 jobs of $75K or better here in the US. (All teams can send players to the D-League even if they do not have a designated D-League Affiliate team.)
Training Camp - Teams can designate four players as Training Camp invitees from their D-League Affiliate. This comes with a $50,000 payout, plus they also still make their D-League Salary which is either $26,000 or $20,000.
So thats 100 jobs (Only 25 teams have D-League Affiliate teams right now) that pay at least $70K.
One final piece the article points out is that at the beginning of this season, 135 of 450 players on NBA rosters had spent time in the D-League. About 34% of the NBA has a D-League background now.
Seeing the massive expansion of undergrads declaring this year at 112 (111 now that Berry has withdrawn) makes even more sense when there are an additional 160 ways to make at least $70K a year playing basketball in the US and thats without considering any other overseas options.
Really informative and a good explanation of why the dramatic increase this year. One thing the article doesnt tap into is whether there is any overlap of the Training Camp invitees and the Two Way Contract players. If there is that could hurt the total number of available gigs.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell trying to shore things up through the Graduate transfer pool. Has two transfers coming in. 6'9 Forward Mark Donnal from Michigan and 6'8 Forward David Skara from Valparaiso. Neither are going to come in and be world beaters but they will give Clemson some size inside along with some steady experience on the floor.
Boston College is going to be a little worse with the loss of AJ Turner to Northwestern next season. Tough blow to a struggling program.
Louisville is benefiting from another UConn transfer as the Huskies whole program hemorrhaged after this year. Power Forward Steven Enoch will be joining the Cardinals but will have to sit out next year.
NC State has landed an interesting graduate transfer from Baylor in Al Freeman. He could easily be their go to guy this upcoming season.
Pittsburgh is essentially losing its whole team with five players transferring. Only one incoming so far in Malik Ellison from St Johns but he should have to sit out.
Oh and Old Dominion is benefiting from two transfers from the ACC in the form of Greg Mclinton from Wake Forest and Justice Kithgart from Pitt. McLinton will play this year, Kithgart must sit out.
I really have no pity for the Boston College basketball program. They fired Al Skinner who had the most wins in their basketball program history because his flex offense didn't really seem to get them to the top quarter of the ACC. They pretty much always had a winning record overall and in ACC play.
Agreed, I almost love to watch BC struggle. Their relevancy in New England is most comparable to the local MLS team.
Interesting little tidbit of local history... One of Al Skinner's assistants at BC, was none other than Bonzie Colson Sr. Name look familiar? His son tears us up once a season, and is coming back for next year. Bonzie Colson Jr was basketball in the southcoast of Massachusetts as a teen. He is one of the biggest prospects to emerge from the area. I am sure he relishes the opportunity to play in the ACC and shit on Boston College for running Al and his father out of town. Lanky and undersized, with a hell of a motor, I am a big Bonzie fan. The kid has a lot of grit and a whole lot more humility.
The family is from New Bedford, Mass. Bonzie Sr is the current head coach of the NB High, and the locals are damn proud of it.
Donovan Mitchell signed with an agent as we close in on the NBA combine this week. Next week will be interesting to see who decides to withdraw and who stays after getting the feedback directly from the NBA.
Also just read a pretty decent article where the reporter discussed the borderline first round players on what their course of action should be.
From the ACC, NBA Execs said this:
Stay in School: Tony Bradley, UNC, Frank Jackson, Duke, Omer Yurtseven, NC State
I am sure we will see alot more articles of this nature as the Combine progresses.
Frank Jackson from Duke has signed with an agent so is off to the pros
PAC 12 - Rawle Alkins from Arizona withdrew from the draft, along with teammate Allonzo Trier, while also getting a five star player from the class of 2018 to reclassify to 2017, to go along with the #2 prospect of 2017 Deandre Ayton and three others in the ESPN Top 100. This could be a juggernaut next season.
Oregon is getting Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey back as well after they removed themselves from the draft.
No new news from the ACC but players have until Wed to finalize their decisions so expect to see a flurry of moves over the next two days.
BIG12 - Jevon Carter, leading scorer for the cousins last year also announced he will return to school along with Shaka Smart getting Andrew Jones back at Texas
Where did you see that Brooks and Dorsey are coming back? All I can find is them scheduling workouts with teams.
You are correct. For some reason my search bar threw me a 2016 article near the top of all the other current articles. Appears they are both staying in the draft and have signed with agents. Good catch.
I'm interested to see what happens at Texas next year. That team is going to be really talented, but so was this years. Their fanbase seems not super enamored with Shaka Smart
Deng Adel will return to Louisville for next season.
Looks like Tony Bradley has hired an agent and is staying in the draft.
Thomas Welsh and Aaron Holiday are returning to UCLA for next season.
Omer Yurtseven has decided to return to NC State for next season.
Moe Wagner will return to Michigan for next season, and along with him will be Ohio Point Guard Jaaron Simmons who withdrew from the draft and will be a graduate transfer for the Wolverines next season.
Vincent Edwards will return to Purdue for next season
In a move that directly impacts the Hokies now, Hamidou Diallo will not be a none and done after all as he removed himself from the draft and will return to Kentucky next season. Just one more five star to leave crying on the court when Buzz is done with them
So the rich get richer, with UNC getting the services of grad transfer Cameron Johnson, who is transferring in conference from Pitt with two years of eligibility remaining and will be eligible to play right away.