Jahmal McMurray

Draft Decisions: Hayes, Brooks, Newman

The deadline for NCAA underclassmen to withdraw from NBA draft consideration and retain their college eligibility is today at 11:59pm eastern time, and some prospects are taking that decision down to the wire. As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com notes, there are 14 players who have yet to hire agents – signaling they’ll remain in the draft – or announce their intentions to return to their respective college teams. Those decisions will become public over the next 14 hours or so, but in the meantime, we have a few updates on underclassmen to pass along. Let’s dive in…

  • Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes has decided to return to school for his senior season, according to an Associated Press report (link via The Star Tribune). “Getting the opportunity to gather information about the NBA and visit with professionals at that level was a really valuable experience for me,” Hayes said. “Playing in the NBA still remains an important goal for me, but that can wait another year.”
  • Oregon sophomore Dillon Brooks, who worked out for the Nuggets this past weekend, is expected to return to the Ducks for his junior year, sources tell Goodman. Brooks led Oregon in scoring this past season, with 16.7 points per game.
  • Mississippi State guard Malik Newman will withdraw from the draft and retain his college eligibility, his father Horatio Webster tells Goodman. However, Newman may not return to the Bulldogs for the upcoming season — Goodman hears from multiple sources that the sophomore-to-be will “strongly consider” transferring to another D-1 school.
  • Three players from Florida schools have withdrawn from the 2016 draft, according to Goodman, who tweets that Jahmal McMurray (South Florida), Dallas Moore (North Florida), and Marc-Eddy Norelia (Florida Gulf Coast) will return to their respective schools for the 2016/17 season.
  • Be sure to check out our full list of early entrants for the 2016 draft, including those who have withdrawn from consideration.

And-Ones: Hinrich, Rubio, Leuer, Draft

Kirk Hinrich says he’s enjoying his time with the Hawks, but the trade that sent him to Atlanta from the Bulls last month took him from his family, and they’ll be a consideration as the 35-year-old decides whether to retire this summer, observes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Hinrich’s contract expires at season’s end. “I would love to keep playing if the situation was ideal,” Hinrich said. “At this point, I have to think about my family as well.” The 13th-year veteran’s chances of an extended stay in Atlanta don’t appear too strong, as he’s a third-stringer and has appeared in only seven games since the February 18th trade.

See more from around the NBA:

  • Ricky Rubio acknowledged that the Timberwolves had trade talks about him last month, but he’s confident the team isn’t going to ship him out, as he said in an appearance on the “Tot Gira” show on Catalunya Radio in Spain (transcription via Gigantes del Basket; translation via HoopsHype). Rubio, under contract through the 2018/19 season, was linked in trade deadline rumors to the Bucks and, less prominently, the Knicks.
  • Jon Leuer‘s playing time on the Suns this season has been wildly inconsistent, but he’s put up the best numbers of his career, and interim coach Earl Watson is pushing the soon-to-be free agent to fulfill the potential he sees in him, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. “I’m tough on Jon because I think the world of him.” Watson said. “His skill is unique. Our biggest challenge with Jon, and it was direct, was we need to be tougher, more aggressive in the paint, more aggressive rebounding. Go out in the post and just lose yourself to changing the game defensively.
  • South Florida freshman point guard Jahmal McMurray will test the draft waters, the school announced, indicating that he won’t immediately hire an agent. Thus, he’ll retain his college eligibility in case he decides to withdraw before the May 25th deadline to do so. McMurray is a long-shot prospect, falling outside the rankings that both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compile.