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Niederhauser Staying In Draft; Others Announce Withdrawals Before Deadline

May 28th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Penn State big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser has decided to remain in the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Givony states that Niederhauser moved into first-round consideration with a strong performance at the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month. He was also impressive at the G League Elite Camp, making him one of five players from the event to earn an invitation to the combine.

A seven-footer out of Switzerland, Niederhauser spent two years at Northern Illinois before transferring to Penn State last summer. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in 29 games for the Nittany Lions while shooting 61.1% from the field and leading the Big 10 in blocks with 2.3 per night. He’s listed as the No. 85 prospect on ESPN’s latest big board, but has reportedly moved up significantly in the eyes of scouts since it was published.

Givony describes Niederhauser as “one of the best athletes in the draft” (Twitter link), weighing 243 pounds and combining a 7’3″ wingspan with a 9’3″ standing reach. Givony also cites his “significant potential as a vertical pick and roll spacer.”

We have updates on a few more early entries who reached their decisions shortly before Wednesday night’s deadline to withdraw and maintain their NCAA eligibility:

  • Miles Byrd will take his name out of the draft and return to San Diego State for his senior season, his father tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Ranked No. 51 by ESPN, Byrd was also impressive at the combine. He averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals for the Aztecs last season.
  • Quincy Ballard tells Rothstein (Twitter link) that he’s also pulling out of the draft and will transfer from Wichita State to Mississippi State. It will be the third school for the senior center, who averaged 10.0 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Shockers last season.
  • Jaron Pierre, who played at Jacksonville State last season, will leave the draft and transfer to SMU, according to Rothstein (Twitter link). He’ll be a fifth-year senior after posting 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game with the Gamecocks.
  • Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli will return to school after putting up 20.5 points per game for the Wildcats last season, Rothstein tweets. Rothstein expects the rising senior to be one of the Big Ten’s top players.
  • Tae Davis will leave the draft and transfer from Notre Dame to Oklahoma for his senior season, Rothstein adds (Twitter link). Davis averaged 15.1 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Irish as a junior.
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44 Prospects Invited To G League Elite Camp

May 5th, 2025 at 7:19am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 44 college and international prospects have been invited to the 2025 G League Elite Camp, aka the G League Combine, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The list of invitees, as reported by Scotto, is as follows:

  1. Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Providence)
  2. Brooks Barnhizer (Northwestern)
  3. Tamar Bates (Missouri)
  4. Nathan Bittle (Oregon)
  5. Dylan Cardwell (Auburn)
  6. Rueben Chinyelu (Florida)
  7. Thierry Darlan (Delaware Blue Coats – G League)
  8. Johnell Davis (Arkansas)
  9. Jyare Davis (Syracuse)
  10. RJ Davis (UNC)
  11. Dawson Garcia (Minnesota)
  12. Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State)
  13. Caleb Grill (Missouri)
  14. Chucky Hepburn (Louisville)
  15. Chase Hunter (Clemson)
  16. Kobe Johnson (UCLA)
  17. Curtis Jones (Iowa State)
  18. Arthur Kaluma (Texas)
  19. Miles Kelly (Auburn)
  20. Viktor Lakhin (Clemson)
  21. Malique Lewis (South East Melbourne – Australia)
  22. Caleb Love (Arizona)
  23. Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh)
  24. Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee)
  25. Chance McMillian (Texas Tech)
  26. Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana)
  27. Igor Milicic Jr. (Tennessee)
  28. Jacksen Moni (North Dakota State)
  29. Eli Ndiaye (Real Madrid – Spain)
  30. Ryan Nembhard (Gonzaga)
  31. Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Penn State)
  32. Isaac Nogues (Rip City Remix – G League)
  33. Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra – Australia)
  34. Sean Pedulla (Ole Miss)
  35. Jonathan Pierre (Belmont)
  36. Jaron Pierre Jr. (Jacksonville State)
  37. Will Richard (Florida)
  38. Kadary Richmond (St. John’s)
  39. Joson Sanon (Arizona State)
  40. Nate Santos (Dayton)
  41. Brandon Stroud (South Florida)
  42. Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M)
  43. Amari Williams (Kentucky)
  44. Chris Youngblood (Alabama)

These prospects will meet with NBA evaluators and scrimmage for two days in Chicago starting on May 9, ahead of the league’s annual draft combine. A small group of standout players from this event are generally invited to stay in Chicago for the full-fledged combine that takes place immediately following the G League Elite Camp. Typically, at least a half-dozen players move on.

While the May 11-18 combine focuses on the top-ranked players in each draft class, the G League Elite Camp offers opportunity to prospects further down boards who are more likely to go undrafted.

None of the 44 players invited to the G League Elite Camp show up in the top 50 of ESPN’s list of this year’s top prospects. Williams (No. 58) and Lewis (No. 59) are the top-ranked prospects for the event, per ESPN.

The G League Elite Camp will give invitees who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 28. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Jose Alvarado, Terance Mann, and Jaylen Martin are among the current NBA players who once took part in the G League Elite Camp. Last year’s list of invitees was highlighted by Jaylen Wells, though he ultimately received a combine invite before either event tipped off.

Keion Brooks, Isaiah Crawford, Yongxi Cui, Enrique Freeman, Emanuel Miller, Nae’Qwan Tomlin, and Anton Watson were among the other 2024 participants who signed two-way contracts with NBA teams this past year, while Isaac Jones finished the 2024/25 season on a standard contract in Sacramento.

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Rutgers’ Dylan Harper Declares For NBA Draft

March 31st, 2025 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper, one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class, announced on ESPN’s NBA Today on Monday that he’ll be entering the 2025 NBA draft (Twitter video link).

The decision comes as no surprise, as Harper has long been considered a strong bet to be one of the first players off the board this June. He ranks second overall on ESPN’s board behind only Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, notes draft expert Jonathan Givony.

A 6’6″ point guard and the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, Dylan averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals in 32.6 minutes per game in 29 outings during his first and only college season. He posted a shooting line of .484/.333/.750 and was named to the All-Big Ten third team.

Harper broke Rutgers’ freshman scoring record and finished fifth in the Big Ten in points per game, according to Givony, who says the 19-year-old has drawn comparisons in NBA circles to a young James Harden.

“NBA teams saw I am an all-around player,” Harper said. “I can do whatever it takes to win. Whether it’s score, defend or facilitate. Anything coach needs me to do.”

Here are a few more prospects entering the 2025 draft:

  • St. John’s junior forward RJ Luis is declaring for the draft while maintaining his remaining college eligibility and entering the NCAA’s transfer portal, agent Sam Permut tells Givony (Twitter link). Luis had a big year as a junior, averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game en route to Big East Player of the Year honors. He ranked 72nd overall on ESPN’s top-100 list as of last week.
  • Oregon senior big man Nathan Bittle will be testing the draft waters while retaining his final year of college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. The No. 96 prospect on ESPN’s board, Bittle averaged 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game across 35 starts this season, earning spots on the All-Big Ten third team and the conference’s All-Defensive team.
  • Following his junior season, Vanderbilt guard Jason Edwards is heading back into the transfer portal while testing the NBA draft waters, he tells Joe Tipton of On3 Sports (Twitter link). Edwards, who transferred from North Texas a year ago, averaging 17.0 points per game for the Commodores in 2024/25.
  • Jacksonville State senior guard Jaron Pierre will test the NBA draft waters while entering the transfer portal, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Pierre isn’t on ESPN’s top-100 list but ranked first among all Conference USA players with 21.6 points per game in 2024/25. He knocked down 38.2% of a career-high 7.6 three-point attempts per game.
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