The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants who test the draft waters will be July 7, reports Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, citing an NCAA official (Twitter link).
The NBA’s early entry deadline will be on May 30, so that gives college underclassmen who declare for the draft while maintaining their NCAA eligibility over a month to make their final decisions. It will also allow some of them to take part in the draft combine, which is scheduled for June 21-27.
Technically, the NBA’s own early entrant withdrawal deadline falls on July 19, so prospects could take a little extra time to decide whether to remain in the draft or pull out. But if they finalize that decision after the NCAA’s deadline, they’ll lose their remaining college eligibility.
Here’s more on the 2021 NBA draft:
- Although Arizona State’s Marcus Bagley entered the transfer portal, he tells Rothstein (Twitter link) that his focus is on the 2021 draft. Bagley, who ranks 27th on ESPN’s big board, announced a month ago that he was testing the draft waters.
- The Tampa Bay Pro Combine has joined the pre-draft circuit, according to Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com, who shares the details on the scouting event whose prospects will be selected by a committee that includes draft analysts Matt Babcock and Fran Fraschilla. The inaugural TBPC will take place from June 3-5 in Florida.
- Kyree Walker, a former four-star recruit who signed with training program Chameleon BX rather than attending college, has declared for the 2021 NBA draft, he announced on Twitter. Meanwhile, a pair of international prospects, Polish center Aleksander Balcerowski and Croatian big man Danko Brankovic, have also declared for the draft, per agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter links).
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has updated his 2021 mock draft, with Jalen Suggs (No. 2), Scottie Barnes (No. 6), and Davion Mitchell (No. 9) among the more noteworthy lottery picks.
What is the point of a mock draft not only before the lottery is held to determine team draft order, but before the season even ends to determine lottery odds? (It’s rhetorical, I know the point is click bait.) But since we are talking about it, it’s not really a mock draft, it’s a prospect ranking. I know some people think drafting for need is archaic and foolish, but it’s really not. It’s not like Minnesota would select a player with same skill set as Anthony Edwards if they get lucky and get a top 3 pick. Team order will determine selection far more than a simple prospect ranking.