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Draft Decisions: Tshiebwe, Phillips, Brown, More

May 31st, 2023 at 5:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

In one of this year’s most anticipated decisions, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe announced that he will keep his name in the NBA draft pool, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

Tshiebwe was selected as the national player of the year in 2022 after averaging 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per game as a junior, and he was an All-American again this season with 16.5 PPG and 13.7 RPG. Despite his lofty college status, Tshiebwe isn’t a sure thing to get drafted, ranking 75th on ESPN’s big board.

“What makes me decide what I’m going to do today is not about me,” Tshiebwe said in his press conference, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “Most of the time I pray and I follow the discernment of God. It’s just I am following what God has put in place, because the decision, if you feel peace and joy and happiness in your heart, that’s what you’ve got to go with.”

A few more high-profile players have decided to remain in the draft ahead of the 11:59 pm EDT deadline to withdraw and retain their NCAA eligibility. Among them are Tennessee’s Julian Phillips, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). The freshman small forward has gotten positive feedback from NBA teams during the pre-draft process, Givony adds. Phillips, 19, is listed at 34th on ESPN’s rankings, making him a potential late first-round pick.

Also staying in the draft is Kobe Brown of Missouri, tweets Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. Norlander considers the senior power forward a possible second-round pick, and ESPN has him listed at No. 46.

Baylor’s Adam Flagler, who has one year of eligibility remaining, has decided to remain in the draft as well, Goodman tweets. The shooting guard is listed as No. 80 by ESPN.

Among those deciding to withdraw from the draft, today’s most significant decisions involved Florida Atlantic guards Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, who helped the Owls reach the Final Four in March, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He projects that their return will make FAU a preseason top-five team for next season.

According to Woj, Martin worked out for the Mavericks, Celtics, Bulls and Clippers, while Davis had sessions with the Celtics, Kings, Bucks, Jazz, Sixers and Pacers.

Here are a few more early entrants who have decided to return to school:

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Central Notes: Pacers, Pistons, Duren, Cavs

May 11th, 2023 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Indiana will be hosting six prospects on Friday for the team’s first pre-draft workout, the Pacers announced in a press release.

The six players are UConn’s Andre Jackson, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez, Missouri’s Kobe Brown, Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma, North Dakota State’s Grant Nelson, and Liutauras Lelevicius, a Lithuanian prospect who played for Zalgris II this past season.

Jackson (30), Jaquez (32), Brown (43), Kaluma (90), and Nelson (94) all appear on ESPN’s top-100 prospects list, while Lelevicius is unranked. The Pacers control their own lottery pick, two late first-rounders (26th and 29th), and two second-round picks (either 50th or 32nd, plus 55th).

Here’s more from the Central:

  • Hiring the right head coach, having a successful draft, and acquiring forward depth in free agency are among the top offseason priorities for the Pistons, according to Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscriber link), who thinks the team should pursue Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson.
  • Pistons center Jalen Duren, who was recently named to the All-Rookie Second Team, was mostly pleased with his debut season, but he’s going to work on his conditioning and consistency in year two, Curtis writes in another subscriber-only story. “Consistency is a huge word,” Duren said. “To be great, you have to be consistent. For me, it’s honestly just being locked in and trying to understand what’s going on. ‘Being where my feet are,’ I like to say, and try to take over games, dominate games and affect games in any way possible. … I feel like that will come. I’m excited about what I can be in this league.”
  • Josh Richardson, Kelly Oubre, Max Strus, Gary Trent Jr. and Jalen McDaniels could be the types of wings the Cavaliers choose to go after in free agency with their mid-level exception, Kelsey Russo states in a mailbag for The Athletic. I don’t see Trent falling to that price point, especially since he could just opt in to his $18.8MM player option if he isn’t confident about getting a better payday, but the other four might be attainable (whether or not they’d be a good fit is another story).
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NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine

May 9th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.

Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.

Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.

The list of invitees is as follows:

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Draft Notes: Bates, Early Entrants, NTX Combine

April 24th, 2023 at 9:44am CST by Arthur Hill

Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates, the nation’s top high school recruit in 2021, has decided to enter the NBA draft, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“What I been dreaming for my whole life,” Bates wrote on his Instagram account this morning.

The 19-year-old swingman spent his first collegiate season at Memphis before transferring to the Eagles last summer. He averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 30 games as a sophomore while shooting 40.5% from the field and 33% from three-point range.

Bates has slipped to 56th on ESPN’s latest big board of the top 100 draft prospects, so he’s not a sure thing to be selected. EMU is coming off an 8-23 season, and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony speculated last month that Bates might have hurt his draft stock by staying in school.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

  • Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson (Twitter link), Missouri’s Kobe Brown (Instagram link), and Baylor’s Jalen Bridges (Twitter link) have all declared for the draft while retaining their college eligibility. Johnson ranks 40th on ESPN’s big board, while Brown is 43rd and Bridges is 69th. The deadline to withdraw from the draft and still be eligible to play in college next season is May 31 at 11:59 pm ET.
  • Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma announced on his Twitter page that he’ll be entering the draft, making no mention of possibly returning to college. The sophomore power forward is 90th in ESPN’s rankings.
  • Serbia’s Mihailo Boskovic has also put his name in the draft, according to Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link).
  • The NTX Combine expects to host 32 draft prospects from May 2-4 with representatives of more than 20 NBA team in attendance, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He notes that past participants have landed Exhibit 10, summer league and G League contracts. Former NBA players Maurice Evans, Mike James and Shawn Respert will be among the coaches at the combine.
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Draft Notes: K. Brown, Wong, Fudge, P.I.T.

April 17th, 2023 at 1:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Missouri forward Kobe Brown plans to enter the 2023 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, according to Matt Stahl of The Columbia Daily Tribune.

As Stahl notes, Brown is a projected second-round pick, currently No. 43 on ESPN’s big board. He was an All-SEC First Team member in 2022/23 after averaging 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals on an impressive .553/.455/.792 shooting line in 34 games (29.6 MPG).

Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes that Brown has some question marks surrounding his height, frame (he’s listed at 6’7″ and 240 pounds) and defense, but the 23-year-old has a high skill level that seems like it would translate well to the NBA, as he’s a versatile offensive player with a high basketball IQ who can dribble, pass, shoot and score from all over the court.

Brown is a senior, but he has one year of eligibility left due to COVID-19.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Miami guard Isaiah Wong is declaring for the draft, the team announced (via Twitter). He tested the draft waters in both 2021 and 2022, so he’ll go pro this time around (college prospects can’t withdraw from the draft more than twice). A three-time All-ACC honoree, Wong was named ACC Player of the Year as a senior in ’22/23 after averaging 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals on .445/.384/.845 shooting in 37 games (33.4 MPG). He helped lead the Hurricanes to a Final Four appearance this season, ultimately losing to eventual champion UConn. Wong is ranked No. 71 on ESPN’s board, so he’s considered a fringe second-round pick.
  • Florida forward Alex Fudge will forgo his remaining college eligibility and enter the draft, sources tell Jacob Rudner of Swamp247. As Rudner writes, Fudge had a solid start to ’22/23, but his numbers declined after sustaining a concussion in late January. He wound up averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds on .397/.229/.589 shooting in 32 games (19.3 MPG) as a redshirt sophomore for the Gators. Viewed as a solid defender, Fudge is not listed on ESPN’s board, which ranks the top 100 prospects ahead of the 2023 draft.
  • Jon Chepkevich of RookieScale.com provides the measurements and athletic testing numbers of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament attendees (Twitter link). The P.I.T. is a showcase for the year’s top senior prospects. Jimmy Butler, Derrick White, Richaun Holmes and Kendrick Nunn are among the many current NBA players who have taken part in the P.I.T. in previous years.
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