Malik Bowman

Draft Notes: Mitchell, Love, Jackson, Blums, Bowman

Junior guard Ajay Mitchell, a projected second-round pick, is declaring for the draft, agent Todd Ramasar tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). The 6’4″ UC Santa Barbara floor leader averaged 20.3 points and 4.3 assists while making 38% of his 3-point attempts this past season. He’s currently ranked No. 54 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related news:

  • Arizona guard Caleb Love will enter the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he revealed on a Twitter post. Love averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists this past season. Love played three seasons for North Carolina and averaged 18.8 points during a 2022 NCAA Tournament run when the Tar Heels reached the title game.
  • Overtime Elite’s Jahzare Jackson is declaring for the draft, he announced on Instagram. The 6’11” center averaged 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds for the developmental team.
  • VEF Riga combo guard Roberts Blums will declare for the draft, Jon Chepkevich tweets. Blums was the 2023 FIBA European U18B’s MVP. This season, he was named the Estonian-Latvian League’s Best Young Player.
  • American-born Malik Bowman, who is playing in Portugal, is also declaring for the draft, he announced on Instagram. Bowman, a power forward, has averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12 games for SC Lusitania.

And-Ones: O’Quinn, Stone, Overtime Elite, 2022 Draft

Veteran NBA big man Kyle O’Quinn will continue his career in France, having signed a contract with Paris Basketball, according to the team (Twitter link).

An eight-year NBA veteran, O’Quinn began his career in 2012 after being selected 49th overall by Orlando. In 472 career regular season NBA contests for the Magic, Knicks, Pacers, and Sixers, O’Quinn averaged 5.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 14.2 minutes per contest. He signed with Turkish team Fenerbahçe for the 2020/21 season and will now return to Europe for at least one more year.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Free agent big man Diamond Stone has agreed to sign with the Taiwan Beer of the Super Basketball League, sources tell our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Stone, 24, was the 40th overall pick in the 2016 draft, but appeared in just seven games for the Clippers. He spent several seasons in the G League and played in Puerto Rico earlier this year.
  • The Overtime Elite league for top high school prospects continues to fill out its ranks for its inaugural season. OTE announced the additions of Malik Bowman, Devontes Cobbs, and Kok Yat earlier this week, then finalized deals with Bryson Warren and Dominick Barlow today, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony writes. Warren, a five-star recruit, ranked No. 14 in ESPN’s list of class of 2023 recruits.
  • Jeremy Woo of SI.com has unveiled his early big board for the 2022 NBA draft, headed by the usual suspects, including Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, and Jaden Hardy.
  • A handful of ESPN writers identified some under-the-radar concerns for some of the NBA’s best teams. The Suns‘ ability to repeat last season’s good health luck and Anthony Davis‘ willingness to play big minutes at center are among the topics highlighted by ESPN’s panel.