Villanova’s Cam Whitmore Enters 2023 NBA Draft
Villanova freshman forward Cam Whitmore is entering the 2023 NBA draft, he said in an interview with Shams Charania of Stadium (Twitter video link).
Whitmore projects as a top-10 pick in this year’s draft, currently coming in at No. 7 on ESPN’s big board.
As Jonathan Givony of ESPN notes in his scouting report of Whitmore, the 6’7″ forward had an up-and-down freshman year, finishing the season with averages of 12.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.4 SPG on .478/.343/.703 shooting in 26 games (27.3 MPG). However, he doesn’t turn 19 until July and is viewed as one of the higher-upside players in the 2023 draft class.
There’s no indication, based on Whitmore’s conversation with Charania, that he’s leaving the door open for a return to Villanova, so it appears he intends to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility and go pro.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- After averaging 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a freshman, Duke center Kyle Filipowski announced on Tuesday that he’ll return to the Blue Devils for at least one more season (Twitter video link). Filipowski ranked at No. 16 on ESPN’s top-100 list, but wasn’t ready to leave college yet and is dealing with an injury, according to Givony (Twitter link), who believes that Filipowski could be a top-five pick in 2024 with a strong sophomore showing.
- Texas Tech senior guard De’Vion Harmon (Twitter link), Florida Atlantic junior guard Johnell Davis (Instagram link), and San Diego State junior guard Lamont Butler (Twitter link) announced that they’re entering the 2023 draft. Davis and Butler are maintaining their NCAA eligibility, but Harmon said he’s “immersing myself in the pursuit of a pro basketball career.”
- We’ve added a few more seniors to our early entrant list: Oral Roberts center Connor Vanover, TCU guard Damion Baugh, Dayto forward Toumani Camara, and UCLA guard Tyger Campbell all have a year of college eligibility left, but are on the list of participants for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, signaling that they’re at least testing the draft waters (hat tip to Jon Chepkevich of Rookie Scale).
Draft Notes: Early Entrant Decisions, Grimes, Henry, Pacers, More
Justin Bean (Utah State), Eric Ayala (Maryland), Jeenathan Williams (Buffalo), Latrell Jones (Portland), Quentin Scott (Texas State), and De’Vion Harmon (Oklahoma) are all withdrawing from the 2021 NBA draft after testing the waters as early entrants, according to a series of reports from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and Jeff Goodman of Stadium (all six links go to Twitter).
Of those six players, three will transfer, with Jones heading to Nicholls State, Scott making the move to Tulane, and Harmon going to Oregon.
Meanwhile, Texas big man Jericho Sims, who boosted his stock with a strong showing at last week’s combine, will remain in the draft. Klutch Sports published a tweet today welcoming Sims to the agency. UCLA’s Chris Smith is also expected to go pro, per Goodman (Twitter link).
Here’s more on the draft:
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report passes along several of the latest draft-related tidbits he has heard, including mixed opinions from scouts on Jalen Johnson and Davion Mitchell. Wasserman says Houston’s Quentin Grimes has improved his stock drastically as of late and is being talked about as a possible first-round pick.
- Michigan State wing Aaron Henry suffered a quad strain during last week’s combine and is day-to-day, agent Dan Frank tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). The plan is for Henry to resume workouts within a week, per Givony, who says the former Spartan may attend the Minnesota group workout next week if he’s healthy enough.
- In addition to JT Thor, whose workout was previously reported, Tre Mann, Eugene Omoruyi, Joshua Primo, DJ Steward, and Marcus Zegarowski are auditioning today for the Pacers, per a press release from the team.
- Besides Indiana, Primo is scheduled for workouts with the Pelicans, Hornets, Spurs, and Thunder, a source tells Wasserman (Twitter link). The draft’s youngest prospect, Primo is “firmly” in the first-round picture, Wasserman adds.
- Howard center Makur Maker is working out today for the Bulls, according to Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Queta, Davis, Hunt, Harmon, Devoe
Utah State center Neemias Queta will enter the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The seven-foot Queta averaged 14.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, and 3.3 BPG as a junior this season. The Mountain West Player of the Year is ranked No. 75 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list and 10th among center prospects.
We have more draft decisions:
- SMU’s duo of Kendric Davis and Feron Hunt are declaring for the draft, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein (Twitter links). Hunt is also signing with an agent, while Davis will maintain his eligibility. Davis, a junior guard, averaging 19.0 PPG and 7.6 APG this season. Hunt, a junior forward, averaging 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG.
- Oklahoma sophomore guard De’Vion Harmon plans on entering the draft, he declared on his Instagram page. He averaged 12.9 PPG, 2.1 APG and 1.1 SPG this season.
- Georgia Tech 6”5” junior Michael Devoe will also test the draft waters, according to Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He averaged 15.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 3.3 APG and made 40% of his 3-pointers this season.
- Florida big man Colin Castleton is testing the draft waters, he announced on Twitter. As a junior for the Gators, Castleton averaged 12.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 24 games (25.7 MPG).