Coleman Hawkins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Sanogo, Jackson, Tshiebwe, Bates, Droppers

April 30th, 2023 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson Jr. were two key contributors to UConn’s national championship season. Both players have been invited to the NBA Combine in Chicago in May. Adam Zagoria tweets.

Jackson, a combo guard, is a potential first-rounder. He’s currently ranked No. 30 on ESPN’s Best Available list. Despite a stellar college career, Sanogo may have to open some eyes during the pre-draft process in order to get drafted. He’s currently ranked No. 87.

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Kentucky’s star big man Oscar Tshiebwe hasn’t ruled out returning to college but he’s got a number of workouts lined up, Zagoria adds in another tweet. Tshiebwe has already scheduled workouts with the Celtics, Bucks, Rockets and Kings. He averaged 16.5 PPG and 13.7 RPG this past season and is currently ranked No. 66 on ESPN’s list.
Will guard Emoni Bates get drafted? The Athletic’s Shams Charania, John Hollinger and Brendan Quinn explore that question. Bates averaged 19.2 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 30 games with Eastern Michigan after a tumultuous freshman campaign with Memphis. Bates catches scouts’ attention with his high-level shot-making but doesn’t offer much else, according to The Athletic trio. He’s ranked No. 56 by ESPN and No. 78 by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie.
What do Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins, Houston’s Marcus Sasser and Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis have in common? They are some of the players who have seen their draft stock decline heading into the combine, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

Draft Notes: Hawkins, Shead, Lawrence, Sharavjamts, Powell, Mitchell

March 28th, 2023 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Illinois power forward Coleman Hawkins will enter the 2023 NBA draft while maintaining his remaining NCAA eligibility, he tells Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today.

Hawkins is currently the No. 49 prospect on ESPN’s big board, so he’s a good candidate to be drafted if he doesn’t return to school. However, he’s undecided about going pro, telling Rothstein that he likes the idea of contending for an NCAA championship.

“I want to be on a roster that has a chance to do something big — win a national title,” Hawkins said. “I hope if I do come back that we will have a more veteran team and a chance of being a really great team.”

Hawkins became a full-time starter in his junior season, averaging 9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 32.5 minutes per contest (33 games).

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

Houston guard Jamal Shead will test the NBA draft waters, he tells Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale (Twitter link). Shead averaged 10.5 PPG, 5.4 APG, and 3.0 RPG in 37 games (32.6 MPG) as the Cougars’ starting point guard in his junior year. His shooting percentages (.415 FG%, .310 3PT%) weren’t strong, but they did represent an improvement on his numbers as a sophomore. He was also the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, as Chepkevich notes.
Vanderbilt junior guard Tyrin Lawrence announced (via Twitter) that he’ll enter the draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Lawrence was Vanderbilt’s second-leading scorer in 2022/23, averaging 13.1 PPG on .502/.360/.743 shooting.
Freshman forward Mike Sharavjamts won’t return to Dayton, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Sharavjamts could change schools via the NCAA’s transfer portal, but for now he’s focusing on professional opportunities and has signed with NCAA-certified agent Scott Nichols, according to Givony.
Givony also reports (via Twitter) that Washington State junior guard Justin Powell will enter the draft while maintaining his NCAA eligibility. Powell has already played for three college programs, having been with Auburn as a freshman and Tennessee as a sophomore. He knocked down an impressive 42.6% of his three-pointers in 2022/23.
Kansas City senior guard Rayquawndis Mitchell will test the draft waters, he announced on Twitter. Mitchell made the All-Summit team this spring by averaging 17.3 PPG in 32 games (35.5 MPG), though he shot just 34.5% from the floor.
In the introduction of his latest mock draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic writes that NBA teams are “all over the map” on many of the players in this year’s class, making the draft difficult to forecast, especially beyond the top 11 or so players. NBA teams are eager to see many top NCAA prospects in workouts and interviews to better assess them, Vecenie adds.