Abdul Ado

Gilyard, Ado, Russell Withdrawing From NBA Draft

Three early entrants have decided to pull their names out of the 2020 NBA draft poll and will return to school for one more year, according to reports from Jeff Goodman of Stadium and Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Richmond guard Jacob Gilyard told Goodman (Twitter link) that he’ll withdraw from the draft, while Rothstein (Twitter links) hears that Mississippi State center Abdul Ado and Rhode Island guard Fatts Russell will do the same. All three players are coming off their junior years, so they’re now on track to become automatically draft-eligible in 2021.

Gilyard averaged 12.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, and an impressive 3.2 SPG for the Spiders in 31 games in 2019/20. Ado, who also appeared in 31 games, had a more modest stat line for the Bulldogs, recording 5.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.9 BPG. Russell, meanwhile, led the Rams with 18.8 PPG while chipping in 4.6 APG, 3.4 RPG, and 2.9 SPG in 30 contests.

None of the three prospects held spots on ESPN’s top-100 list for the 2020 draft, so it doesn’t come as a major surprise that they’re holding off on going pro.

Our complete tracker of this year’s early entrants can be found right here.

Draft Notes: Ado, Hart, Velicka, Mouaha

Following the first round of the NFL’s first ever virtual draft on Thursday, we have a better idea of what that “virtual draft” actually looks like. Which means, as Zach Harper of The Athletic writes, the NBA can evaluate what works and what doesn’t as the league prepares for the possibility that it will have to conduct its 2020 draft in a similar manner.

Harper pointed to Dr. Anthony Fauci’s appearance on the telecast and the presence of prospects’ family members and pets as things that worked, but wasn’t a fan of the national anthem to start the night, commissioner Roger Goodell’s wooden delivery, and the looping videos of fans on a screen behind Goodell.

As we wait to see what exactly the 2020 NBA draft will look like, here are a few updates on players entering the draft pool:

  • Mississippi State center Abdul Ado has entered the 2020 draft, as Joel Coleman of The Starkville Daily News writes. Ado, who averaged 5.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.9 BPG as a junior this past season, will be maintaining his college eligibility during the process and will likely end up returning for his senior year in 2020/21 after getting feedback from NBA evaluators, a source tells Coleman.
  • Fresno State freshman guard Niven Hart has announced (via Twitter) that he’ll be testing the draft waters following a 2019/20 season in which he averaged 8.7 PPG with a .398 3PT% in 26 games off the bench for the Bulldogs.
  • Lithuanian point guard Arnas Velicka, who tested the draft waters a year ago, has entered the 2020 draft, as reported by David Hein and confirmed by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links). Velicka, who spent the 2019/20 season on loan to CBet Prienai from Zalgiris Kaunas, has been a standout for Lithuania’s junior national teams in FIBA competitions, Givony notes.
  • Cameroonian guard Aristide Mouaha has declared for the draft, agent Mario Scotti announced on Twitter (hat tip to Sportando). The 19-year-old played this past season for the Roseto Sharks in Italy’s Serie A2 league.