College Notes: Hoiberg, Russell, Johnson

Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg was the victim of an upset loss in the NCAA tournament, but he’s been a popular head coaching candidate in NBA circles of late, and the sense around the league is that he’ll be selective and won’t take just any NBA job, tweets Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. He was a leading candidate for the Warriors job this past offseason, but once the team’s brass interviewed him, they shifted their focus to Steve Kerr, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the NCAA:

  • D’Angelo Russell has had a monster season, and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders believes the point guard should declare for the draft. The freshman had previously expressed uncertainty about whether or not he would leave Ohio State after this semester. Kennedy compares Russell’s impending decision to the decision that Jabari Parker made last season. Parker ended up being selected by Milwaukee with the No. 2 overall pick. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors has Russell as his second best player in his latest Prospect Power Rankings.
  • Dakari Johnson hasn’t received much attention due to the amount of talent on Kentucky’s roster, but Ryan Wolstat the Toronto Sun believes the center could become a star. Wolstat mentions several prospects, including Johnson and fellow Wildcat Trey Lyles, that may be available late in the first round, where the Raptors‘ pick is projected to land.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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