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UConn’s Karaban Among Prospects Withdrawing From NBA Draft

May 29th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After winning a pair of national championships as a starting forward at UConn, Alex Karaban will return to the Huskies for his junior year in search of a third consecutive title, he announced today (via Twitter).

The No. 36 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Karaban had been testing the NBA draft waters but will withdraw his name from the 2024 pool in order to retain his college eligibility. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per game as a redshirt sophomore and has made 38.9% of his three-point attempts across his two college seasons.

Big man Ugonna Onyenso, who spent his first two college seasons at Kentucky, has also opted to withdraw from the NBA draft, agent Daniel Hazan tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Onyenso told Givony last month when he initially declared for the draft that he was “100% focused on the NBA” and wasn’t thinking about “coming back to play college basketball.” However, it appears he changed his mind after getting some feedback from teams during the pre-draft process. The No. 68 player on ESPN’s big board is in the transfer portal and still has to determine where to spend his junior season, Givony notes.

Meanwhile, another player on ESPN’s board (at No. 52), Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II has decided to keep his name in the draft and forgo his final year of college eligibility, as he announced on Instagram.

The Atlantic 10’s Defensive Player of the Year and co-Player of the Year in 2023/24, Holmes averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game for the Flyers, posting an impressive shooting line of .544/.386/.713 in 33 games (all starts).

Here are more of today’s draft decisions from early entrants ahead of the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline:

Withdrawing from the draft:

Swingman Chibuzo Agbo will transfer from Boise State to USC for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
Northwestern swingman Brooks Barnhizer will return to school for his senior season (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68).
Guard Johnell Davis will transfer from Florida Atlantic to Kansas for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN).
Guard Garwey Dual will return to school for his sophomore season. He played at Providence last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Givony).
St. Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
Clemson guard Chase Hunter will return to school for his super-senior season (Instagram link).
Forward Arthur Kaluma will return to school for his senior season. He played at Kansas State last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN).
Forward Baba Miller will transfer from Florida State to Florida Atlantic for his junior season (Twitter link via Givony).
Southern Idaho center Shahid Muhammad will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
UIC swingman Toby Okani will return to school for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Goodman).

Remaining in the draft:

Memphis senior forward David Jones will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Givony).
Bowling Green State sophomore guard JZ Zaher will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Rothstein).

Draft Notes: Furphy, Beekman, More Early Entrants, NTX Combine

April 17th, 2024 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Following a promising freshman season at Kansas, Jayhawks wing Johnny Furphy has announced that he’ll enter the 2024 NBA draft while retaining his NCAA eligibility (Twitter link).

Starting 19 of the 33 games he played in his first college season, Furphy averaged 9.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 24.1 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .466/.352/.765. He’s viewed as a potential first-round pick if he keeps his name in this year’s draft, coming in at No. 28 on ESPN’s big board.

Whether or not he decides to go pro, it figures to be an eventful summer for Furphy, who was included on Australia’s 22-man preliminary roster for the 2024 Olympics. While he may not make the 12-man roster for Paris, Furphy’s inclusion signals that the Boomers view him as a key part of the national team going forward.

Here are several more draft-related updates:

Virginia guard Reece Beekman will forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter this year’s draft, he announced on Instagram. A two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Beekman averaged 14.3 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game in 2023/24. He’s the No. 69 prospect on ESPN’s board.
Two more players in ESPN’s top 100 have declared for the draft: Croatian power forward Andrija Jelavic (Twitter link via agent Misko Raznatovic) and Colorado State senior guard Nique Clifford (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jonathan Givony). Jelavic, who played for KK Mega Basket in Serbia this season, is No. 88 on ESPN’s list, while Clifford comes in at No. 95.
The following seniors are also testing the NBA draft waters as early entrants this spring while maintaining their final year of NCAA eligibility: Duke guard Jeremy Roach (Instagram link), Clemson guard Chase Hunter (Twitter link), and St. John’s wing Chris Ledlum (Twitter link).
Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have updated their mock draft at ESPN (Insider link). There are no surprises at the top, with Zaccharie Risacher, Alexandre Sarr, and Donovan Clingan still comprising the top three, in that order.
This year’s NTX Combine, which will feature 32 senior prospects and will be broadcast on Bally Sports, will take place from May 8-10, per an announcement (Twitter link). Cavaliers guard Craig Porter and Mavericks two-way player Dexter Dennis were among last year’s participants.