And-Ones: Early Entrants, Ball, Pierce, Diaw
After releasing a 233-player list of early entrants for the 2019 NBA draft on Tuesday, the league followed up today by adding a few more names to that list. According to an announcement from the league, “timely letters” were received from three more prospects who declared for the draft. Those players are as follows:
- Kevin Cham, G, France (born 1998)
- Anthony Lamb, F, Vermont (junior)
- Xavier Sneed, F, Kansas State (junior)
Leading up to the early entry deadline, there were reports that Cham, Lamb, and Sneed all intended to enter the draft, so it was a little surprising not to see them on the NBA’s official list this week. They’re on there now though, and the additions of those three names mean that this year’s early entrant total is up to 236 players, matching a record set in 2018.
As we noted on Tuesday, there were still several players who reportedly intended to declare for the draft as early entrants and aren’t on the NBA’s list, so they either had second thoughts or missed the deadline. The next deadline will arrive on May 29, when NCAA prospects will have to either withdraw from this year’s draft pool or officially forfeit their remaining college eligibility.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Alan Foster, a former associate of Lonzo Ball and the Ball family, is under FBI investigation, according to a report from Tania Ganguli and Richard Winton of The Los Angeles Times. The Bureau is looking into whether Foster defrauded the Ball family out of millions of dollars, according to Ganguli and Winton, who say the investigation has been going on for more than two months. Foster was already facing a lawsuit accusing him of embezzling over $2MM from Big Baller Brand for his personal use.
- Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce has taken the place of Pacers head coach Nate McMillan as an assistant on Team USA’s coaching staff for 2019/20, according to a press release. McMillan withdrew due to scheduling conflicts, opening the door for Pierce to claim a spot on Gregg Popovich’s staff for the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics.
- Longtime NBA forward Boris Diaw is reportedly poised to take over as the president of French team Levallois Metropolitans. The news was reported by Le Parisien, and relayed by Sportando and Eurohoops. Assuming it becomes official, Diaw will become the second notable NBA player to assume the role of team president for a French club, joining former teammate Tony Parker, who runs ASVEL Villeurbanne.
233 Early Entrants Declare For 2019 NBA Draft
The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2019 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 233 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 175 are from colleges, while 58 are international early entrants.
That number falls just short of the previous record for early entrants, established in 2018. Last year, 236 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 91 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline.
This year’s total of 233 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by May 29 and again by June 10, the two key deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like that pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants almost certainly exceeding 60, the number of picks in the draft.
Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:
College underclassmen:
The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list.
- Darius Bazley, F, Princeton HS (OH) (N/A)
- Moses Brown, C, UCLA (freshman)
- Caleb Daniels, G, Tulane (sophomore)
- James Dickey, F, UNC Greensboro (junior)
- David DiLeo, F, Central Michigan (junior)
- Davon Dillard, G, Shaw (NC) (junior)
- Jason Draggs, F, Lee College (TX) (freshman)
- Aljami Durham, G, Indiana (sophomore)
- TJ Gibbs, G, Notre Dame (junior)
- Tony Goodwin II, G/F, Redemption Christian Academy (N/A)
- Jayce Johnson, C, Utah (junior)
- Sacha Killeya-Jones, F, North Carolina State (junior)
- Martin Krampelj, F, Creighton (junior)
- Trevor Manuel, F, Olivet (MI) (junior)
- Davion Mintz, G, Creighton (junior)
- Devonte Patterson, F, Prairie View A&M (junior)
- Lamar Peters, G, Mississippi State (junior)
- Cletrell Pope, F, Bethune-Cookman (junior)
- Nik Popovic, F, Boston College (junior)
- Austin Robinson, G, Kentucky Christian (sophomore)
- Ayinde Russell, G, Morehouse (junior)
- Kevin Samuel, C, TCU (freshman)
- Josh Sharkey, G, Samford (junior)
- Justin Smith, F, Indiana (sophomore)
- Jalen Sykes, F, St. Clair College (Canada) (junior)
- Marlon Taylor, G, LSU (junior)
- Donnie Tillman, F, Utah (sophomore)
The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.
- James Banks III, F, Georgia Tech (junior)
- Samson Froling, F/C, Creighton (freshman)
- Kadre Gray, G, Laurentian (Canada) (junior)
- Vance Jackson, F, New Mexico (sophomore)
- Anthony Lamb, F, Vermont (junior)
- Devontae Shuler, G, Ole Miss (sophomore)
- Xavier Sneed, F, Kansas State (junior)
- Jeremiah Tilmon, F, Missouri (junior)
- Breein Tyree, G, Ole Miss (junior)
International players:
The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.
- Adrian Bogucki, C, Poland (born 1999)
- Leandro Bolmaro, G, Argentina (born 2000)
- Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, G/F, Greece (born 1999)
- David Okeke, F, Italy (born 1998)
The following international players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.
- Kevin Cham, G, France (born 1998)
Latest On Early Entrants List For 2019 NBA Draft
The deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2019 NBA draft fell on Sunday night, with plenty of NCAA underclassmen and international prospects entering their names into the draft before that deadline.
News continues to trickle in on players making draft decisions, and it will just be a matter of time before the NBA issues an official list of the players who declared for the 2019 NBA draft as early entrants. Once that group is set, the next key deadline to watch will be May 29 — that’s the last day for NCAA players to withdraw from draft consideration while retaining their college eligibility.
Here are many of the early entrants who have declared for the draft within the past couple days (our full list can be found here):
NCAA early entrants:
- James Banks III, F, Georgia Tech (junior) (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of SI.com)
- Phil Bledsoe, F, Glenville State (junior) (link via Ryan Decker of 12 WBOY)
- Marques Bolden, C, Duke (junior) (press release via Duke)
- Jarron Cumberland, G, Cincinnati (junior) (press release via Cincinnati)
- Note: Cumberland is the No. 91 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.
- Tulio Da Silva, F, Missouri State (junior) (press release via Missouri State)
- Silvio De Sousa, F, Kansas (sophomore) (Twitter link via De Sousa)
- Javin DeLaurier, F, Duke (junior) (press release via Duke)
- Kevon Harris, G, Stephen F. Austin (junior) (via agent Jerry Dianis)
- Malik Maitland, G, Bethune-Cookman (junior) (Twitter link via Maitland)
- Jermaine Marrow, G, Hampton (junior) (link via Dave Johnson of The Daily Press)
- Zach Norvell Jr., G, Gonzaga (sophomore) (press release via Gonzaga)
- Joel Ntambwe, F, UNLV (freshman) (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Jalen Pickett, G, Siena (freshman) (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jonathan Givony)
- Nick Richards, F, Kentucky (sophomore) (press release via Kentucky)
- Xavier Sneed, F, Kansas State (junior) (link via KWCH.com)
- Killian Tillie, F, Gonzaga (junior) (press release via Gonzaga)
- Note: Tillie is the No. 82 prospect on Givony’s big board.
International early entrants:
- Dikembe Andre, C, Brazil (born 1999) (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jonathan Givony)
- Kevin Cham, G, France (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Leo Cizmic, F, Croatia (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Digue Diawara, F, France (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Nenad Dimitrijevic, G, Macedonia (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Felipe Dos Anjos, C, Brazil (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Yago Mateus Dos Santos, G, Brazil (born 1999) (link via Cancha Latina)
- Paul Eboua, F, Cameroon (born 2000) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Osas Ehigiator, C, Spain (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Biram Faye, F, Senegal (born 2000) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Ivan Fevrier, F, France (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Aleix Font, G/F, Spain (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Kadre Gray, G, Laurentian (Canada) (junior) (Twitter link via Barry Hayes)
- Lukasz Kolenda, G, Poland (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Muhaymin Mustafa, G, Turkey (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Joshua Obiesie, G, Germany (born 2000) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Note: Obiesie is the No. 46 prospect on Givony’s big board.
- Zoran Paunovic, G, Serbia (born 2000) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Dino Radoncic, F, Montenegro (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Sander Raieste, F, Estonia (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Neal Sako, C, France (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Luka Samanic, F, Croatia (born 2000) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Note: Samanic is the No. 39 prospect on Givony’s big board.
- Njegos Sikiras, F, Bosnia (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Borisa Simanic, F, Serbia (born 1998) (Twitter link via agent Misko Raznatovic)
- Khadim Sow, C, Senegal (born 1999) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Michael Uchendu, C, Brazil (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Bastien Vautier, C, France (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Warren Woghiren, C, France (born 1998) (Twitter link via Givony)
