Gonzaga F/C Domantas Sabonis To Enter Draft
Gonzaga sophomore forward/center Domantas Sabonis will enter this year’s draft, sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The son of Hall-of-Famer Arvydas Sabonis is likely to sign with an agent, Goodman adds. If he does so, he’ll be unable to withdraw from the draft and retain his college eligibility. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the 15th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings and No. 19 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list.
This was a breakout season for Sabonis, who averaged 17.6 points on 61.1% shooting. His 11.8 rebounds per contest were the sixth-most in NCAA Division I. He raised his game even further in the NCAA Tournament last month, averaging 19.7 points and 14.3 boards in three outings. Ford compliments his passing, a trait passed down from his father, though his 1.8 assists per game for the Bulldogs this season weren’t eye-popping. He lacks an outside game, attempting only 14 3-pointers all season, though he made five of them.
The Portland, Oregon, native was 26th in the 247Sports recruiting rankings in 2014, one of the ratings used in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, but he went to high school in Spain instead of the United States, keeping him out of the other ratings. In any case, he spent his freshman year at Gonzaga as a bench player, but his career took off following his insertion into the starting lineup in an early December game against Washington State this season. He scored a career-high 36 points against Tennessee a few weeks later.
Oakland PG Kay Felder To Enter Draft
WEDNESDAY, 7:46am: Felder is actively seeking an agent and doesn’t plan to return to school, as he tells Tony Paul of The Detroit News, adding that the only way he would go back to Oakland is if he can’t find an agent he’s comfortable with.
TUESDAY, 10:26am: Oakland University point guard Kay Felder will enter this year’s draft without an agent, sources told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The 21-year-old junior can return to school for another year if he withdraws by May 25th and doesn’t sign with an agent. Felder has a legitimate chance to be drafted in spite of his diminutive 5’9″ height, as he ranks 69th in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegs him 72nd.
That’s in part because of his impressive numbers. He led NCAA Division I with 9.3 assists per game and was third in scoring average at 24.4, though he did so against mediocre competition. Oakland, part of the Horizon League, played only the 182nd-strongest schedule among Division I teams, according to Sports Reference. Still, Felder delivered against top competition when he had the chance, scoring 37, one off his season-high, against Michigan State, which earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and 30 points against eventual NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Virginia.
He’s also a strong rebounder for his height, having grabbed 4.3 per game this season, and he kept his turnovers relatively low at 3.4 per contest. The most significant questions surrounding Felder involve his defense, though his sometimes listless performance on that end of the floor is in part because of the energy he had to expend on offense for Oakland, Givony writes. The Golden Grizzlies needed all they could get from Felder, as they finished second in the Horizon during the regular season but lost their first conference tournament game and were relegated to the Las Vegas 16, a first-year postseason tournament.
Felder entered college outside the top 100 in the 2013 Recruiting Services Consensus Index, and while he won Horizon Freshman of the Year honors, he didn’t become a scoring force until he was a sophomore, lifting his points per game from 9.5 to 18.1.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 4/5/16
Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield‘s draft stock has risen markedly over the course of the 2015/16 campaign. The 22-year-old began the season as a projected second-round pick, but his stellar play now has Hield in line to be an early lottery pick this June. NBA scouts and front office personnel will have to make the call as to whether Hield’s senior season breakout was a fluke or if the scorer has the potential to be the next Stephen Curry, who is arguably the best player in the NBA right now. Curry was severely underestimated coming out of college and lasted until the No. 7 overall pick in 2009. He was selected after Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans and Jonny Flynn, which certainly proves that the scouts don’t always get it right when evaluating and projecting how well players will transition into professional ball.
Hield appeared in 33 games for the Sooners this season and notched career-best numbers in virtually every statistical category. The shooting guard averaged 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists to accompany a shooting line of .498/.462/.890 for the 2015/16 campaign. While Hield certainly has scouts buzzing about his potential, it remains to be seen if he was a one-year wonder or if he’s set to become the next big thing in the NBA.
That brings me to the topic for today: How successful will Buddy Hield be in the NBA?
There have been numerous players throughout the years who filled up stat sheets and lit up scoreboards in college but were unable to succeed in the NBA. Will Hield be the next Jimmer Fredette, or is he in line to follow in Curry’s footsteps and prove all of his doubters wrong once he hits the NBA hardwood? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and predictions for Hield’s professional career. We look forward to what you have to say.
And-Ones: Jersey Ads, Ellenson, Valentine
The NBA is giving serious consideration to allowing advertising on the jerseys of teams beginning in 2017/18 and the Raptors have suggested to potential advertisers that the on-jersey ads will cost between $4MM and $5MM per season, Rick Westhead of TSN.ca relays. During their sales pitches, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment executives have discussed the prospect of ads of about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, which would be the same size as the Kia Motors Corp. ad that appeared on the NBA All-Star Game jerseys this year in Toronto, Westhead notes. MLSE is looking to set the precedent that advertisements are worth as much as $5MM per season because officials are concerned that marketers might try to use contract values secured by smaller-market teams as a bargaining chip, the TSN scribe adds.
It remains unclear how on-jersey ads would affect the revenue sharing around the league. One possible scenario drawing mention would see teams keep 50% of the revenue they generate from such ads and put the other half into a league-wide fund that is split equally between franchises, Westhead writes.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Marquette power forward Henry Ellenson has not officially chosen an agent yet, but the freshman is likely to sign with Roc Nation, relays Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times (Twitter links). The 6’10” Ellenson is initially expected to play the four in the NBA, but a number of scouts project that his best position will eventually be center, Woelfel adds. Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects ranks Ellenson ninth overall, while Chad Ford has him sixth in his latest ESPN Insider rankings.
- Michigan State senior shooting guard Denzel Valentine has signed with the Wasserman Media Group and agent B.J. Armstrong, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled Valentine last month.
- UConn small forward Daniel Hamilton, who’s planning to enter this year’s draft, intends to hire an agent, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter link). If the sophomore does secure representation, it would prevent him from withdrawing from the draft and returning to school for his junior campaign.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Randle, Varejao
Kings coach George Karl acknowledges that his team fell short of expectations but still sees quite a few positives about the 2015/16 campaign for the franchise, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays. “I am seeing this team in a positive light much more than anybody in the world,” Karl said. “I think I understand the bad times better than over-reaction, expectation, doom that we seem to live in. I don’t think there have been stretches this season where we’ve played bad basketball; I think we haven’t played winning basketball. And I’m not the one that sets expectations. I’m not a predictor. I laugh all the time in the summertime.”
“I was very positive we were going to be a better basketball team,” Karl continued. “I think we are a better basketball team. Now if you think we’re going to be a 45-win team, that’s not on me. That’s on you. I thought if everything fell into a good place, we could get to .500, but everything [didn’t] fall into a good place.” With a record of 31-46 entering play this evening, Sacramento is assured of its 10th consecutive losing season.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers power forward Julius Randle is optimistic that he and young teammates Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell can help turn around the franchise’s fortunes next season, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com relays. “I definitely learned a lot, but there’s no greater teacher than experience,” Randle said. “We know there are steps we have to take to get better individually and collectively. I think we’re doing the necessary things to get there. From the beginning of the season to now, I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress.“
- Despite not seeing much action for the Warriors since being signed in February, Anderson Varejao provides the team with a much-needed veteran presence off the bench as the playoffs near, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. When asked how Varejao was adapting to being in Golden State, coach Steve Kerr told reporters, “He’s a great insurance policy for us. It’s been good to get him minutes and get him some rhythm. He’s exactly who we were hoping for — a big who is smart, knows how to play and can fill in if we need him. We’ll see what happens in the playoffs with the rotation. But he’s got a lot of experience; we know he can play.”
Atlantic Notes: Grant, Sixers, Mickey
The Knicks are encouraged by the recent play of Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway, who are being paired together in the backcourt more frequently as the season winds down, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. While the duo has been far from perfect, the signs of progress have given the coaching staff hope for next season, Kerber adds. “They do some good things, and they do some not-so-good things,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said. “A lot of it is when you’re in that guard position, you’ve got to be able to … assess situations. In terms of their defense, their mobility, we like their size, we like their length, so it can be a problem for other teams when we have that sort of length in the backcourt.”
Small forward Carmelo Anthony speaks highly of Grant, whose rights were acquired from the Hawks in exchange for Tim Hardaway Jr. last June, Kerber relays. “We see that in practice every day. We see the work that he puts in behind the scenes that nobody else sees. What he’s doing out there is something we expected from him. I’m just happy he’s going out there and letting everybody else see,” Anthony said of Grant. “It’s in his hands. If he continues to get better the way I believe he will, he’ll be in this league a long time. His speed, the way that he can control the game when he’s in there, his change of pace throughout the course of the game, he could be here for a long time.” Grant has appeared in 72 games this season and is averaging 5.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 15.8 minutes per outing.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- In addition to owning the worst record in the NBA, the Sixers have also failed to properly develop their younger players this season, making it a lost campaign all around for the franchise, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The scribe points to the team’s poor point guard play, lackluster outside shooting and weak passing as reasons why big men Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor failed to make significant strides this season.
- The Celtics have assigned power forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Mickey’s 13th trip to Maine on the campaign, and he is averaging 17.4 points and 10.3 rebounds in 23 games for the Red Claws.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes To Test Draft Waters
Florida State combo guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes intends to test the waters and enter the 2016 NBA draft, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The sophomore intends to hold off on hiring an agent, which would allow him to return to school provided he withdraws before the May 25th deadline.
It’s likely a wise move for the 6’4″ combo guard to hold off on securing representation, as he is currently ranked No. 27 among sophomores by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com places him at No. 148 overall. Rathan-Mayes entered school as the No. 40 ranked recruit according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.
Rathan-Mayes appeared in 33 games for the Seminoles this season and averaged 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists to accompany a slash line of .408/.285/.774. He is older than the average sophomore at 21 years of age, which could hurt his draft stock overall as scouts generally prefer the promise of youth to the experience of older players.
Lack of NBA Draft Prospects Sets ‘Nova Apart
Villanova’s buzzer-beating victory in Monday’s NCAA championship game was remarkable by itself, but perhaps most amazing is that the team accomplished what it did with so little in the way of NBA-level talent. That’s not to say that some of this year’s Wildcats won’t play in the NBA, as it seems likely that at least one or two of them will find their way into the league at some point. Still, it’s no safe bet that any of them will be drafted into the NBA, which is highly unusual.
Every NCAA champ since 1950 has had a player drafted in at least the top 40 picks, as SB Nation’s Kevin Trahan points out. The last NCAA champion without an eventual first-round pick on its roster was the 1986/87 Indiana team, which also won in dramatic fashion on a shot by Keith Smart, who became a second-round pick the next year.
Junior shooting guard Josh Hart appears to be the Villanova player with the best chance of getting drafted, ranking 69th in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect listings for this year. Senior center Daniel Ochefu isn’t far behind at No. 76. Still, neither is in the top 60, and there are only 60 NBA draft picks each year. Hart could return to school and improve his stock, as could a few others on the Wildcats who are at least on NBA radars.
So, it’ll be a while before we know whether Villanova won a title without an NBA draftee, though we’ll know in June if they’re the first team to win the NCAA championship without a player who would be drafted that same year since Duke in 2010. Those Blue Devils weren’t exactly devoid of talent, however. They had five eventual draftees, and Lance Thomas has carved out a steady NBA career as an undrafted player.
Here’s a look at the draftees from NCAA champions this decade. Each player was drafted the year his school won the championship unless otherwise noted:
Duke, 2015
- Jahlil Okafor, 3rd
- Justise Winslow, 10th
- Tyus Jones, 24th
UConn, 2014
- Shabazz Napier, 24th
- DeAndre Daniels, 37th
Louisville, 2013
- Gorgui Dieng, 21st
- Montrezl Harrell, 32nd (2015)
- Russ Smith, 47th (2014)
- Peyton Siva, 56th
Kentucky, 2012
- Anthony Davis, 1st
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 2nd
- Terrence Jones, 18th
- Marquis Teague, 29th
- Doron Lamb, 42nd
- Darius Miller, 46th
Connecticut, 2011
- Shabazz Napier, 24th (2014)
- Kemba Walker, 9th
- Jeremy Lamb, 12th (2012)
- Alex Oriakhi, 57th (2013)
Duke, 2010
- Nolan Smith, 21st (2011)
- Mason Plumlee, 22nd (2013)
- Miles Plumlee, 26th (2012)
- Kyle Singler, 33rd (2011)
- Ryan Kelly, 48th (2013)
And-Ones: Hawks, Labissiere, Bender, Beasley
The Hawks hope they’ve scored some brownie points with free agents through today’s announcement that P3 Sports Science, a California training facility that counts many NBA players among its clients, will open a location within the new practice facility that the team revealed plans for today, tweets Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the Hawks would announce today that they’re building the $50MM practice facility, to be paid for through private funding (Twitter links), and Hawks owner Tony Ressler was adamant that building the new facility is his top priority for the team, Vivlamore notes (Twitter link). Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford is among the dozens of NBA players that P3 lists as clients. The facility is scheduled to open in time for the 2017/18 season, Vivlamore writes.
While we wait to see if today’s news has a tangible effect on Horford or anyone else Atlanta targets, see more from around the NBA:
- Kentucky freshman center/forward Skal Labissiere plans to hire an agent as he heads into the NBA draft, the school announced, so he’ll be ineligible to withdraw and return to college ball. The 7’0″ 20-year-old is one of 14 Kentucky underclassmen who are entering the draft, as coach John Calipari said last month, though whether any of the others intend to hire agents remains unclear. Labissiere, who once sat atop Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect rankings, is now No. 10 on that list, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him 16th.
- Officials from one NBA team told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders they believe the buyout clause in elite draft prospect Dragan Bender‘s contract with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv is $650K, precisely the amount NBA teams will be able to pay without it affecting his rookie scale contract (Twitter link). Bender, an 18-year-old power forward, is No. 3 in both Ford’s and Givony’s rankings.
- Michael Beasley has left agent Jared Karnes of the Allegiant Athletic Agency, as the SportsBusiness Journal reports. The former No. 2 overall pick has averaged 14.1 points in 19.8 minutes per game since signing with the Rockets last month. The minimum-salary deal includes a non-guaranteed salary for next season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Florida SF Devin Robinson To Test Draft Waters
Florida sophomore small forward Devin Robinson will enter this year’s draft without an agent, sources told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). He can withdraw and retain his college eligibility before the May 25th deadline as long as he doesn’t hire an agent. The 6’8″ 21-year-old is 71st in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and 97th on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider list, so strong performances in team workouts and the combine are liable to lift him into second-round territory.
Robinson was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school, coming in 20th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, three spots ahead of Devin Booker, the 13th pick in last year’s draft. Two underwhelming seasons at Florida appear to have hurt Robinson’s stock. He averaged 9.0 points per game this season after notching just 6.4 a year ago in a particularly disappointing freshman season. Robinson lifted his 3-point percentage to a respectable 34% this year after last season’s 25.6%, and he grabbed more than twice as many rebounds in relatively similar minutes.
His final game this season left a poor impression, as he fouled out against George Washington in the NIT with just two points and three rebounds in 18 minutes. Still, he had his moments, including his 17-point, eight-rebound, three-block outing in an overtime game against NCAA Tournament bubble team South Carolina.