APRIL 8TH: Vaughn announced today that he is entering the draft with a video message on his YouTube account (hat tip to Zagoria).
MARCH 27TH: 2:29pm: Vaughn took to Twitter to deny that he’s decided to turn pro (hat tip to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). Still, it’s common for underclassmen to issue such denials after they’ve made up their minds but before they’ve made a formal announcement, so we’ll wait to see what path Vaughn takes.
1:59pm: UNLV freshman shooting guard Rashad Vaughn is planning to declare for entry into this year’s draft, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Teammate Christian Wood, a sophomore power forward, is seriously considering early entry, too, Wojnarowski also hears. Vaughn is the 56th-ranked prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and 48th in Givony’s mock draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him 63rd, though Wojnarowski writes that Vaughn has a chance to become a first-round pick if he performs well in workouts leading up to the draft. Wood is more well-regarded, checking in at No. 23 on Givony’s board and 33rd with Ford.
The 6’5″ Vaughn averaged 17.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game for the Runnin’ Rebels this season, with 38.3% three-point shooting. The 18-year-old, who turns 19 in August, saw action in 23 games despite missing 10 because of a knee injury, as Wojnarowski notes. Vaughn was a sought-after recruit coming out of high school last year, when he was the 10th-ranked player in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, a few spots ahead of lottery prospect Justise Winslow, among others.
UNLV finished only 18-15 in spite of the presence of Vaughn and Wood, with the team’s season ending in its conference tournament. Anthony Bennett was the most notable name to come from the school in recent years, and he’s struggled to live up to having been the surprise No. 1 overall draft pick of the Cavaliers in 2013.