Draft Notes: Banchero, Harper, Withdrawals, Boeheim, Combine, Mock Drafts
Paolo Banchero is expected to be among the first names off the board in next month’s draft, and the Duke star did some campaigning to be the No. 1 overall pick in an interview with ESPN following Tuesday’s lottery (video link).
Banchero earned second-team All-America honors during his freshman season with the Blue Devils, averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 39 games. Possessing exceptional passing skills and offensive versatility for his 6’10” size, Banchero told the ESPN crew he patterns his game after players such as LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Carmelo Anthony and said he’ll be ready to contribute right away to whichever team drafts him.
“From day one, they’ll get versatility for sure,” Banchero said. “There’s not a position on the court where I’m not comfortable, with the ball in my hands or the ball off my hands. I’m going to be all right. I’m going to be an immediate impact because I’m ready physically and I’m ready mentally. I am ready to get to work.”
There’s more on the draft:
- Rutgers forward Ron Harper Jr. has signed with Roc Nation Sports, officially ending his college career, according to Brian Fonseca of NJ.com. The senior earned honorable mention All-America honors, was a two-time all-Big Ten selection and helped the Scarlet Knights reach the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons after a 30-year absence.
- Kyle Lofton, formerly of St. Bonaventure, has decided to withdraw from the draft, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. He will transfer to Florida for next season.
- Andre Kelly, who played the last four years for California, is also taking his name out of the draft, Rothstein adds (Twitter link). He will use his extra year of eligibility to transfer to UC Santa Barbara.
- Hofstra’s Aaron Estrada also plans to exit the draft and return to school, according to Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim has worked out for the Knicks, Kings and Warriors and had an impressive showing at the G League Elite Camp, per Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Boeheim will hold a Pro Day in Chicago today.
- Seven players from the Elite Camp were able to earn spots at the NBA’s draft combine, the G League announced on Twitter. They are LSU’s Darius Days, Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Lofton Jr., Connecticut’s Tyrese Martin, Seton Hall’s Jared Rhoden, Houston’s Marcus Sasser, Texas Tech’s Bryson Williams and Kansas’ Jalen Wilson.
- Auburn forward Jabari Smith is number one on the list of top 20 prospects by John Hollinger of The Athletic. Banchero is the only other prospect in Hollinger’s top tier, and he ranks Purdue guard Jaden Ivey and Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren right below them.
- Several new mock drafts were released after Tuesday’s lottery. Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic both have Smith going to the Magic at No. 1, followed by Holmgren to the Thunder at No. 2 and Banchero to the Rockets at No. 3. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer has Holmgren going to Orlando, Smith to Oklahoma City and Banchero to Houston.
Draft Notes: Christie, Rhoden, Brooks, Lee, Johnson, Bieniemy, Combine
Michigan State freshman guard Max Christie will stay in the draft and hire an agent, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Christie is ranked No. 44 in ESPN’s Best Available list after averaging 9.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.5 APG in 35 games with the Spartans in 2021/22. He’s participating at the Chicago pre-draft combine this week.
We have more draft-related news:
- Seton Hall wing Jared Rhoden, who impressed at the recent G League Elite Camp, has worked out for the Knicks, Nets and Celtics, Adam Zagoria tweets. The 6’6” Rhoden averaged 15.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG for the Pirates.
- Kentucky’s Keion Brooks said he’s staying in the draft, Zagoria writes in a ZagsBlog.com post. The 6’7” Brooks averaged 10.8 PPG and 4.4 RPG this past season. “I’m all in on the draft,” he said.
- Like Brooks, Davidson’s Hyunjung Lee says he’s not going back to college, Zagoria tweets. “I’m 100 percent in for the draft… This is my long-term dream.” Lee said. “If I play whether in the League or the G League, I feel I can improve faster.”
- Cleveland State forward Deante Johnson is withdrawing from the draft and returning to college, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.
- UTEP swingman Jamal Bieniemy, who averaged 14.7 PPG last season, is staying in the draft, Rothstein tweets.
- Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams, Toledo’s Ryan Rollins, North Carolina State’s Terquavion Smith and Colorado State’s David Roddy are among the players who stand the most to gain from the combine, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Givony write.
44 Prospects Announced For 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp
The NBA G League has formally announced its field of 44 draft prospects for the 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp.
The event, which will take place May 16 and 17 in Chicago, “gives draft prospects an opportunity to display their skills in front of NBA and NBA G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives over the course of the camp by playing in five-on-five games and participating in strength and agility drills.”
The top performers from the camp will be invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will take place from May 18-22 in Chicago. Some NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Clippers wing Terance Mann, and Heat wing Max Strus.
Here’s the list of 44 draft-eligible attendees:
- Max Abmas (Oral Roberts)
- James Akinjo (Baylor)
- Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
- Jules Bernard (UCLA)
- Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse)
- Jamaree Bouyea (San Francisco)
- Eli Brooks (Michigan)
- Keion Brooks Jr. (Kentucky)
- Tevin Brown (Murray State)
- Gabe Brown (Michigan State)
- Tyler Burton (Richmond)
- Darius Days (LSU)
- Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech)
- Allen Flanigan (Auburn)
- Kyle Foster (Howard)
- Javon Freeman-Liberty (DePaul)
- Kellan Grady (Kentucky)
- AJ Green (Northern Iowa)
- Brison Gresham (Texas Southern)
- Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
- Jordan Hall (St. Joseph’s)
- Quenton Jackson (Texas A&M)
- Hyunjung Lee (Davidson)
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech)
- Brady Manek (North Carolina)
- Tyrese Martin (Connecticut)
- David McCormack (Kansas)
- Kevin McCullar (Texas Tech)
- Kameron McGusty (Miami FL)
- Pete Nance (Northwestern)
- JD Notae (Arkansas)
- Shareef O’Neal (LSU)
- MJ Randolph (Florida A&M)
- Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall)
- Jermaine Samuels (Villanova)
- Marcus Sasser (Houston)
- Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State)
- Luke Travers (Perth Wildcats)
- Ryan Turell (Yeshiva University)
- Fabian White Jr. (Houston)
- Bryson Williams (Texas Tech)
- Vince Williams Jr. (VCU)
- Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
- Kok Yat (Overtime Elite)
The list of attendees features 13 players on ESPN’s big board, notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (via Twitter), so some players have a chance to be drafted.
The top-ranked prospect at the camp is Scheierman (No. 69), who averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals on .508/.469/.802 shooting this season for South Dakota State (35 games, 33.3 minutes per contest).
And-Ones: Wright, Martin, Rhoden, Maxey, Poole, Draft
Jay Wright isn’t interested in coaching in the NBA after retiring from his post at Villanova.
Wright, who won two national championships, enjoyed assisting Gregg Popovich on the Team USA staff but never came close to leaving Villanova for NBA jobs, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Sources who have talked to Wright don’t believe the NBA holds appeal to him now or in future, Wojnarowski adds.
According to a school press release, Wright will take the post of Special Assistant to the President at the university. Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune, a former Wildcats assistant, will replace Wright, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former UConn wing Tyrese Martin and Seton Hall wing Jared Rhoden were among the players who stood out at the Portsmouth Invitational, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports. San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea and Texas A&M guard Quenton Jackson also turned some heads at the annual event.
- The NBA playoffs has thus far been a boon for some of the league’s young guards, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes. Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole, Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards have delivered big offensive games to lift their teams to victories.
- Now that all the tiebreakers have been decided, the NBA draft order is set up until next month’s lottery. The Athletic’s Zach Harper takes a closer look at all the lottery teams, their needs and what kind of players they might target.
Draft Notes: Peterson, Mutts, Mohammed, Rhoden, Miles
USC’s Drew Peterson will test the draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on his Twitter page. The 6’9” Peterson averaged 12.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 3.3 APG this past season. He has started the past two seasons for the Trojans after two seasons with Rice.
We have more draft-related decisions:
- Virginia Tech’s Justyn Mutts has declared for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Twitter. The senior forward averaged 10.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 3.4 APG this past season.
- Georgetown freshman swingman Aminu Mohammed will go through the process, his guardian confirmed to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. “We will go through the draft process and let that play out,” his guardian Shawn Harmon said. “Any other decision counter to that will be made at the appropriate time.” Mohammed averaged 13.7 PPG and 8.2 RPG for the Hoyas.
- Seton Hall’s Jared Rhoden will forego a fifth year of eligibility and turn pro, Zagoria reports in a separate story. The 6’6” Rhoden averaged 15.5 PPG and 6.7 RPG for the Pirates. He’s been invited to the Portsmouth Invitational.
- After initially testing the draft waters, TCU’s Mike Miles has changed course and will return to school, Rothstein tweets. The sophomore guard averaged 15.4 PPG and 3.8 APG in 31 starts.