Jordyn Adams

Draft Notes: Okoro, Hayes, Adams, Hunter

Auburn star Isaac Okoro has confirmed, in an interview with Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated, that he will remain in the NBA draft.

“I’ll be officially in the draft,” Okoro said. “I haven’t posted it on social media, but I feel like it will be the best move for me. It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to have a chance to make it to the NBA. It feels so surreal right now, but I also know once draft day comes, I’m just gonna be ready for the moment.”

Okoro is projected as a high lottery pick after averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Tigers as a freshman. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him rated fourth overall and as the No. 1 small forward on the board in his list of the top 100 prospects. Early entrants have until June 3 to withdraw, but Okoro has already signed with an agency and said his decision is final.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

  • Potential top 10 pick Killian Hayes will skip a three-week tournament that the German league is planning for June, according to Givony. Some teams are permitting players to decide whether they want to participate in the proposed 10-team, 36-game event, which will determine the league champion and an automatic berth in the EuroLeague next season.
  • Jordyn Adams has withdrawn from the draft and will return to Austin Peay, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Adams averaged 17.4 points per game this year as a freshman.
  • Chance Hunter will return to Long Beach State after withdrawing from the draft, Rothstein adds (via Twitter).

Draft Decisions: Richards, Tshiebwe, West, Burk, Adams

After initially tweeting on Monday that Nick Richards would likely be the next Kentucky underclassman to enter the 2020 NBA draft, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com writes that Richards will in fact declare for the draft.

Richards made his decision official this morning, announcing on his Twitter account that he intends to forgo his final year of college eligibility and go pro.

The junior big man looks like a realistic candidate to be drafted, ranking 59th on ESPN’s big board of 2020 prospects. He’s coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 14.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in 31 games (29.6 MPG).

Here are more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2020 draft:

  • West Virginia forward/center Oscar Tshiebwe announced on Twitter that he’ll enter the draft while maintaining his NCAA eligibility. Tshiebwe nearly averaged a double-double (11.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG) in just 23.2 minutes per contest as a freshman and shows up on ESPN’s big board at No. 79. However, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said on Monday that he believes the big man will likely return for his sophomore season, as Alex Hickey of WVMetroNews.com writes.
  • Marshall guard Jarrod West has declared for the draft while maintaining his eligibility, the program announced (via Twitter). West, a strong defender who averaged 14.2 PPG as a junior, sounds like he’s leaning toward returning to school. It’s a chance to get my name out there and possibly get some feedback which could help improve my game, and end up helping our team be even better,” he said of the draft process, per Keith Morehouse of WSAZ-TV (Twitter link).
  • IUPUI junior guard Marcus Burk announced on Twitter that he has decided to test the 2020 draft waters. After transferring from Cambell, he averaged 21.3 PPG on .432/.386/.782 shooting in 2019/20, earning All-Horizon League Second Team honors.
  • Austin Peay freshman guard Jordyn Adams will also test the draft process, as he announced in a tweet. Adams was the Governors’ second-leading scorer in his first college season, with 17.4 PPG in 31 games (33.2 MPG). He was named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.