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Draft Notes: PIT Standouts, Dates, Ajinca, Diarra, Watkins

April 25th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament wrapped up last week. The event, which showcases college seniors trying to boost their stock in front of NBA teams, saw two participants — Hunter Tyson and Toumani Camara — get drafted last year, notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link).

Washington State forward/center Isaac Jones was “the most productive player” at the 2024 PIT, Givony writes, and he’ll likely be invited to next month’s draft combine in Chicago as a result. The 23-year-old big man was a first-team All-Pac-12 member for the Cougars in 2023/24 and could be a second-round pick, Givony adds.

Morehead State forward Riley Minix and Illiniois guard Marcus Domask were among the other standouts from the tournament, according to Givony.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • In the same story, Givony highlights several upcoming draft-related dates and deadlines to monitor, including Saturday’s early-entrant deadline.
  • French wing Melvin Ajinca, who is ranked No. 42 on ESPN’s big board, is entering the 2024 NBA Draft, agent Bouna Ndiaye told Givony (Twitter link). The 19-year-old has been playing professionally for Saint-Quentin in France’s top basketball league, LNB Pro A. Givony refers to Ajinca as a possible first-rounder.
  • North Carolina State senior forward Mohamed Diarra, who averaged 6.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 1.0 BPG in 40 games this past season for the Wolfpack (22.1 MPG), announced on Twitter that he’s entering the draft. Another French player, Diarra didn’t say anything about maintaining his college eligibility, so we’re assuming he’s going pro.
  • Wing Jamir Watkins, who is ranked No. 81 on ESPN’s board, is also entering the draft (Instagram link). After spending his first two college seasons at VCU, Watkins transferred to Florida State for his junior campaign and averaged 15.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.9 SPG on .457/.344/.795 shooting in 33 games for the Seminoles (28.1 MPG). As with Diarra, Watkins didn’t say anything about maintaining his remaining eligibility.
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Draft Notes: Tshiebwe, Kings, Powell, Domask, Kaluma

May 10th, 2023 at 11:11pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings hosted a pre-draft workout on Wednesday featuring six prospects, including Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe, a league source tells James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter link). The other five players aren’t yet known.

Tshiebwe was named AP Player of the Year in 2021/22 for the Wildcats and followed that up with a spot on the All-America Second Team in ’22/23 after averaging 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block in 32 games (33.6 minutes). He is expected to attend the draft combine next week.

Sacramento controls the 24th, 38th (or 37th, if Washington picks ahead of Indiana in the lottery) and 54th picks in the 2023 NBA draft. Tshiebwe is currently ranked No. 66 on ESPN’s big board as he tests the draft waters while maintaining his final year of college eligibility.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Junior guard Justin Powell, who has played for three college teams – most recently Washington State this past season – has worked out for the Warriors, Celtics, Jazz and Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter). Powell has converted an impressive 41.9% of his three-point looks during his college career. Like Tshiebwe, he’s testing the draft waters.
  • Forward Marcus Domask has withdrawn from the draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). After a standout four-year career at Southern Illinois, Domask will be transferring to Illinois for his fifth and final season, per Rothstein.
  • Creighton sophomore Arthur Kaluma, another combine invitee, is focused on staying in the draft, but he plans to transfer if he returns to college for his junior year, a source tells John Fanta of Fox Sports (Twitter links). Kaluma confirmed the news. “I am thankful for the chance to participate in the draft process and showcase my skills in front of various NBA teams,” Kaluma said, per Fanta. “After taking part in the NBA Combine and my agency’s Pro Day, I will discuss the feedback I’ve received with my family and advisors. Ultimately, I will decide whether to remain in the Draft or return to college based on what’s best for my career long-term. I want to express my gratitude to Coach McDermott and the entire Creighton community for two amazing years in Omaha.” The forward is currently No. 90 on ESPN’s board.
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Arkansas’ Nick Smith Among Draft’s Latest Early Entrants

March 30th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., a potential lottery pick this June, has announced (via Twitter) that he’s declaring for the 2023 NBA draft.

It sounds like Smith is committing to going pro, since his statement doesn’t include any mention of maintaining his college eligibility and he projects to be selected in the first half of the first round. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him ranked at this year’s No. 14 prospect.

Smith had an up-and-down freshman season that was marred by a knee injury which limited him to 17 games. In those 17 appearances, he averaged 12.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, and 1.6 RPG on .376/.338/.740 shooting in 25.8 minutes per contest.

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) doesn’t expect NBA teams to be too put off by those modest shooting numbers, observing that Smith has shown shooting versatility and the potential to continue improving his jumper, as well as the ability to create his own shot.

Within the last 24 hours, the following college players have also declared for the draft or announced plans to do so:

Expected to remain in draft:

Testing the draft waters while maintaining NCAA eligibility:

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