Jaden Jones

Draft Notes: Jones, Welch, George

Rutgers guard Jaden Jones will remain in the 2022 NBA draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Jones’ college numbers have been fairly modest. The 6’8″ Dallas native averaged 3.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 17 contests for Rutgers during the 2021/22 college season.

Take a look at our full list of early draft entrants here.

Other early entrants have made decisions on their draft status prior to the NCAA’s June 1 withdrawal deadline:

  • Former St. Bonaventure guard Dominick Welch has decided to withdraw from NBA draft consideration this year and will transfer to Alabama in the fall, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). During the 2021/22 season, the 6’5″ fourth-year wing averaged 12.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 APG and 1.3 SPG across 33 games for St. Bonaventure, all starts.
  • BYU forward Gideon George plans to withdraw from the 2022 draft pool and will return to college for the 2022/23 NCAA season, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium. After two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, the 6’6″ guard transferred to BYU ahead of the 2020/21 season. Last year, he averaged 8.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 33 games, starting in 18.
  • In case you missed it, Arkansas sophomore big man Jaylin Williams, a 2022 All-SEC honoree, will remain in the 2022 draft pool. Williams is ranked as the No. 42 pick on ESPN’s big board.

Bryce McGowens, Others Declare For 2022 NBA Draft

Nebraska freshman shooting guard Bryce McGowens has opted to declare for the 2022 NBA draft and will go pro, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

“I am planning on forgoing my college eligibility and hiring agent Drew Gross of Roc Nation Sports,” McGowens told ESPN.

In his first and only college season, McGowens averaged 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in 31 appearances (33.3 MPG) for the Cornhuskers. He got the opportunity to play with his brother, junior guard Trey McGowens, en route to earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Rookie team.

Bryce McGowens is the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s big board for 2022, with Givony writing in his scouting report that the 6’7″ wing looked like a potential lottery pick on some nights and a second-rounder on others. McGowens told ESPN that he hopes to “squeeze into the lottery.”

Givony praised McGowens as a “fluid, versatile scoring threat” who can finish with either hand around the basket and has deep range on his pull-up jumper. However, he had some trouble scoring efficiently as a freshman, making just 40.2% of his field goal attempts, including 27.2% of his three-pointers.

Saint Joseph’s sophomore forward Jordan Hall (Instagram link) and Rutgers freshman guard Jaden Jones (press release) have also declared for the 2022 draft in recent days. The wording of their statements suggest they both plan to forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility rather than simply testing the draft waters. Hall tested the waters in 2021 before returning to school.