Dominic Cheek

Draft Updates: Dominic Cheek, Jonathon Simmons

Earlier today, we heard that UConn freshman Andre Drummond would leave school early and declare for the NBA draft. While Drummond projects as a potential top-five pick, many of the underclassmen entering the draft early figure to be picked later, if they're drafted at all. We'll keep track of today's early entry decisions for those players here:

  • Junior guard Dominic Cheek will declare for the draft, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter), who notes that the Villanova product may end up overseas. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com adds (via Twitter) that Cheek wasn't enjoying his college experience and would also be willing to play in the D-League. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks Cheek 118th on his prospect board.
  • University of Houston guard Jonathon Simmons will forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the draft, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. The junior doesn't show up anywhere on Chad Ford's or DraftExpress.com's top prospect lists, so it'd be a surprise if he's drafted. "I know right now that I'm kind of at the bottom of the list, but I've always been the underdog all my life," Simmons said. "So it's nothing I can't overcome."

Draft Update: Mitchell, Jenkins, Cheek, Plumlee

In what's somewhat of a surprising decision being that he was projected to be a first round pick, North Texas freshman Tony Mitchell will return to school, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle's Brett Vito. Mitchell averaged 14.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG and was named the Sun Belt Conference's Freshman of the Year. 

According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, sources say Vanderbilt junior John Jenkins and Villanova junior Dominic Cheek will soon declare for the draft, but Duke junior Mason Plumlee will go back to school. 

Jenkins averaged 19.9 PPG on 43.9% shooting from beyond the arc last season and is projected to be an early second round pick. Cheek put up averages of 12.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG. In a separate report, Steve Wiseman of The Herald Sun writes that Plumlee still has not decided whether or not he'll enter the draft. Plumlee has until April 29th to make a decision. 

Draft Updates: Cheek, Burke, Sullinger

We've already heard today that Jared Sullinger has decided to leave Ohio State early and officially enter this year's NBA draft. We'll track the rest of today's draft-related updates here:

  • Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com hears that Villanova junior Dominic Cheek will likely declare for the draft (Twitter link). Cheek's draft prospects don't seem great — he comes in at 208th among ESPN.com's prospect rankings.
  • Freshman point guard Trey Burke is expected to leave Michigan and declare for the draft, reports Goodman. Burke ranks just 70th on Chad Ford's top 100 prospects and doesn't show up on DraftExpress.com's list. However, according to Goodman, some NBA execs believe the Michigan freshman has a chance to be taken in the first round due to a weak class of point guards.
  • Scouts are divided on Sullinger's pro potential, says Ford in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com. Some scouts compare the Ohio State big man to Kevin Love, Zach Randolph, or Paul Millsap, but the worry is that he'll end up being more of a Glen Davis type.
  • Ford also fielded a number of draft-related questions in an ESPN.com chat this afternoon. Sam Amico did the same for FOX Sports Ohio.