Matas Jogela

Draft Notes: Zoosman, Obiesie, Eboua, Holman, Herro

Israeli Yovel Zoosman, a 6’6” small forward, will keep his name in the draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Zoosman plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, which just advanced to the Israeli league playoff finals. Zoosman is ranked No. 53 on Givony’s Top 100 prospects list.

We have more draft decisions and workouts:

  • German point guard Josh Obiesie will stay in the draft, according to another Givony tweet. Givony has Obiesie ranked No. 64 overall and No. 10 among point guard prospects.
  • Forward Paul Eboua, Cameroon native, has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to Givony (Twitter link). He joins 11 other international players — Gytis Masiulis, Abdoulaye N’Doye, Digue Diawara, Aleksandr Balcerowski, Aleix Font, Zoran Paunovic, Dalibor Ilic, Louis Olinde, Jonas Matisseck, Tadas Sedekerskis and Vrenz Bleijenbergh — who have also decided to pull out of the draft. Matas Jogela, a Lithuanian forward, and William McDowell-White, an Australian guard, will remain in the draft, according to Givony (Twitter links).
  • Mississippi State forward Aric Holman worked out for the Raptors on Monday, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV (Twitter link). He visited the Knicks last week and will work out for the Kings, Lakers and Cavaliers this week, Begley adds.
  • First round prospect Tyler Herro (Kentucky) has worked out for the Spurs and will also visit the Pacers and Timberwolves, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Herro is ranked No. 18 overall and No. 4 among shooting guards by Givony.

Draft Updates: Matthews, Bol, Porter, Withdrawals

Former Michigan guard Charles Matthews suffered some bad luck with the 2019 NBA draft right around the corner, as agent Adam Pensack tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com that his client has a torn ACL. The injury occurred during a workout with the Celtics, Givony adds.

Matthews, who had been ranked as the No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s big board and was receiving second-round interest, will head to his hometown of Chicago to undergo surgery to repair the ACL. He hasn’t given up hope of being selected in next week’s draft.

“Injuries are tough, but Charles is an extremely hard worker and will be back stronger than ever,” Pensack told Givony. “He had a series of outstanding workouts lately and has helped himself. Charles will continue that momentum when he returns to action. As of now, we have interest in the second round as Charles is OK signing a two-way contract like Edmond Sumner did with the Indiana Pacers in 2017.”

Let’s round up a few more draft-related items…

  • Bol Bol, who is recovering from a foot fracture, will hold an invite-only workout for select teams on Wednesday, according to Jeremy Woo and Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Bol is one of the biggest wild cards in the draft for health-related reasons, so Wednesday’s session could have a major impact on where he’s selected.
  • Kevin Porter Jr., a probable first-round pick, has worked out for the Nets, Spurs, and Hornets, and has sessions lined up with the Magic and Hawks, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Porter’s previously-reported upcoming workouts with the Heat and Wizards will take place on June 13 and June 17, respectively (Twitter links via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald and Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).
  • With Monday’s withdrawal deadline looming, several international early entrants are pulling their names out of the 2019 draft pool. According to reports from Givony and Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas (all four Twitter links), the following players are withdrawing: Nikita Mikhailovskii (Russia), Arturs Zagars (Latvia), Henri Drell (France), Tadas Sedekerskis (Lithuania), Gytis Masiulis (Lithuania), and Arnas Velicka (Lithuania).
  • Lithuanian early entrants Deividas Sirvydis and Matas Jogela intend to remain in the draft pool, sources tell Urbonas (Twitter link). According to Givony (all Twitter links), Sekou Doumbouya (France), Goga Bitadze (Georgia), Luka Samanic (Croatia), Adam Mokoka (France), and Marcos Louzada Silva (Brazil) will also stay in the draft.

Draft Notes: Guy, Herro, Diallo, Blackshear

Virginia junior guard Kyle Guy has declared for the 2019 NBA draft, as he announced on Twitter. In a message posted on his social media account, Guy explained that coming back to the school remained an option.

Guy isn’t the only prospect who’s attempting to make the jump to the NBA. Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Kentucky guard Tyler Herro, who previously declared for the draft, said he plans to remain in it, as he explains in a video on his Twitter feed. Herro ranks 17th on ESPN’s Top 100.
  • Matas Jogela and Gytis Masiulis have each declared for the draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com tweets. Neither of the Lithuanian natives is within ESPN’s Top 100.
  • Junior guard Alpha Diallo has also declared for the draft, according to Providence’s website. “I am excited to go through the workout process,” Diallo said. “I will be staying in school this spring and finishing my junior year.  I believe this process will help me grow as a player.  I enjoy being at Providence College and playing for the Friars.  The Friars have a strong group of players returning next season and I believe the team could compete for the conference championship.”
  • Virginia Tech junior forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. is testing the draft waters, as David Cunningham of WUTV Sports relays (via Twitter). Blackshear has also placed his name into the transfer portal, so even if he withdraws from the draft, he may not return to the Hokies.

Draft Updates: Hogg, Dorn, Wiley, Jogela

Texas A&M forward D.J. Hogg will enter the 2018 NBA draft and will sign with an agent, a source tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). The move will see Hogg, who is coming off his junior season, forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility to go pro.

The 66th-ranked prospect on Jonathan Givony’s current big board at ESPN.com, Hogg averaged 11.1 PPG and 5.3 RPG for the Aggies in 2017/18. He also bumped up his shooting percentages a little, knocking down 41.0% of his attempts from the field, including 37.8% of his three-pointers.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • NC State junior guard Torin Dorn has decided to test the draft waters without hiring an agent, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). Dorn is coming off a solid season with the Wolfpack in which he averaged 13.9 PPG and 6.3 RPG with a .531 FG%.
  • Auburn center Austin Wiley will become the third Tigers underclassmen to enter his name in the 2018 NBA draft pool, announcing today that he’ll test the waters without an agent (Twitter link). Wiley didn’t play at all during his sophomore season, with Auburn opting to sit him out due to concerns about a link to former associate head coach Chuck Person, who was being investigated by the FBI. Wiley joins Jared Harper as Auburn players testing the waters, while teammate Mustapha Heron is going pro.
  • Lithuanian forward Matas Jogela has entered the draft, agent Tadas Bulotas informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Jogela currently ranks eighth on ESPN’s list of 1998-born international prospects. “I have three more years to get a chance in the NBA draft,” Jogela told Givony. “I feel like it is about time to get my name out there. It wasn’t really a hard decision, I have a chance to still take my name out this year and next.”
  • Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders published an updated version of his mock draft today, headed by the usual duo of Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic.