Marcus Carr

Eastern Notes: Hawks, Quickley, Rubio, Celtics, Redick

The Hawks held pre-draft workouts with six college players on Thursday and will be hosting six more on Friday, the team announced (Twitter links).

Thursday’s group featured Alex Fudge (Florida), Logan Johnson (St. Mary’s), Matthew Mayer (Illinois), Kevin Obanor (Texas Tech), Antonio Reeves (Kentucky) and Hunter Tyson (Clemson), while Marcus Carr (Texas), Kendric Davis (Memphis), Tosan Evbuomwan (Princeton), Landers Nolley (Cincinnati), Drew Peterson (USC) and Erik Stevenson (West Virginia) will be working out tomorrow.

Of the players mentioned, only Evbuomwan — who helped lead the 15th-seeded Tigers to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament — appears on ESPN’s top-100 prospects list ahead of the draft; he’s considered a fringe second-round pick at No. 77. The Hawks control the 15th and 46th overall picks in June’s draft.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Trailing 3-1 and facing playoff elimination tonight, the Knicks will be without Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Immanuel Quickley for the second straight game due to a left ankle sprain, head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters, including Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Thibodeau did say the third-year guard’s injury has improved, but obviously not enough to play. He’s still considered day-to-day, Begley adds. Reserve guard Evan Fournier (illness) will also be sidelined, per the Knicks (Twitter link) — the veteran has yet to play this postseason.
  • Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio didn’t have the season he was hoping for after returning from his second left ACL tear, but he and the team are hoping for better results in 2023/24, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor the Cavs are encouraging Rubio to play in this summer’s World Cup for Spain, but the veteran hasn’t made a decision on that front. “I think it will help,” Rubio said. “I’m going to meet with my team, my personal team, see what’s the best for me in rehab. I think I’ve got to get more even strength on my lower legs, lower body and see what’s the best for me. I always want to compete up. The World Cup is something special as well. But I will take my time.”
  • Former NBA veteran JJ Redick, who is now an ESPN analyst, recently interviewed for Toronto’s head coaching job. The Celtics are among “several teams” that have shown interest in hiring Redick as an assistant coach since he retired a couple years ago, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Draft Notes: Carr, Primo, Hall, Vila, Perry

Marcus Carr is expected to withdraw from the draft and transfer to another college, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Carr worked out for the Hornets and Timberwolves last month. Carr averaged 19.4 PPG and 4.9 APG for the Minnesota Golden Gophers last season.

We have more draft-related news:

  • Alabama’s Joshua Primo will remain in the draft and hire an agent, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The 6’6” Primo was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after averaging 8.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 22 MPG. He’s currently ranked No. 25 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
  • Jordan Hall will return to college and remain at St. Joseph’s, according to Rothstein. He had contemplated a transfer to Texas A&M. The 6’8” Hall averaged 10.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 5.7 APG as a freshman.
  • UTEP’s Eric Vila will play professionally in Spain rather than returning to college, Rothstein reports in another tweet. The Spanish-born Vila started 14 games for the Miners last season.
  • UCF’s Darius Perry will return to school and use his additional year of eligibility, Rothstein tweets. The 6’2” guard averaged 14.7 PPG last season.

Draft Notes: Mamukelashvili, Carr, Champagnie, Figueroa, Cockburn, Sims

Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili is scheduled to work out for the Pistons on Thursday, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. The 6’11” Mamukelashvili already worked out for the Jazz, Thunder and Hornets. He’s currently listed as the No. 56 overall prospect on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more news and insights on this year’s draft:

NBA G League Announces 40 Draft-Eligible Participants For Elite Camp

The NBA G League has announced in a press release that 40 draft-eligible prospects are set to participate in the NBAGL Elite Camp next week in Chicago from June 19-21.

The G League Elite Camp is back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place right before the draft combine, will give a few dozen draft-eligible players an opportunity to impress scouts, coaches, and executives through strength and agility drills and 5-on-5 games.

As today’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which is scheduled for June 21-27 in Chicago.

The list of draft-eligible players who took part in the most recent G League Elite Camp in 2019 included a handful of prospects who were eventually drafted, such as Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Justin Wright-Foreman, Reggie Perry, and Dewan Hernandez.

Many of the draft-eligible participants in the 2019 Elite Camp also made it to the NBA after going undrafted, including Oshae Brissett, Chris Clemons, Tyler Cook, Tacko Fall, DaQuan Jeffries, Caleb Martin, Justin Robinson, and Max Strus.

Two years ago, this event also featured 40 G League veterans, for a total of 80 players. Based on today’s press release, it sounds like this year’s Elite Camp may be pared down to only include draft-eligible prospects, though it’s possible the NBAGL will announce more names within the next few days.

Here are the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the 2021 G League Elite Camp:

  1. Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
  2. Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
  3. Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech)
  4. Juhann Begarin (France)
  5. Chaundee Brown (Michigan)
  6. Jordan Burns (Colgate)
  7. Marcus Carr (Minnesota)
  8. D.J. Carton (Marquette)
  9. Moussa Cisse (Memphis)
  10. Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
  11. Oscar Da Silva (Stanford)
  12. Darius Days (LSU)
  13. Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
  14. Dawson Garcia (Marquette)
  15. Marcus Garrett (Kansas)
  16. Haowen Guo (China)
  17. Jay Huff (Virginia)
  18. DeJon Jarreau (Houston)
  19. Carlik Jones (Louisville)
  20. DeVante’ Jones (Coastal Carolina)
  21. Balsa Koprivica (Florida State)
  22. A.J. Lawson (South Carolina)
  23. E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
  24. Mac McClung (Texas Tech)
  25. JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB)
  26. Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
  27. RJ Nembhard (TCU)
  28. Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon)
  29. EJ Onu (Shawnee State)
  30. Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
  31. Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
  32. Aamir Simms (Clemson)
  33. Javonte Smart (LSU)
  34. Mike Smith (Michigan)
  35. D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State)
  36. MaCio Teague (Baylor)
  37. M.J. Walker (Florida State)
  38. Duane Washington (Ohio State)
  39. Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
  40. Jalen Wilson (Kansas)

Draft Notes: Sharpe, Carr, Sengun, Champagnie

Potential first-round pick Day’Ron Sharpe has declared for the draft, posting his decision on his Twitter page. He’s currently ranked No. 33 on ESPN’s Best Available list. The one-and-done center out of North Carolina averaged 9.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG for the Tar Heels in 29 appearances, including four starts. He’s ranked fourth among center prospects.

We have more draft decisions and news:

  • Minnesota’s Marcus Carr will test the draft waters and sign with an NCAA-certified agent, though he’s also entering the transfer portal as a backup plan, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. The junior guard led the Golden Gophers with 19.4 PPG, 4.9 APG and 4.0 RPG. He currently ranks 89th on ESPN’s board.
  • Euro prospect Alperen Sengun isn’t interested in being a draft-and-stash prospect, Sportando’s Dario Skerletic relays. Sengun indicated that via Anadolu Agency. “I want to go there and develop there as soon as possible,” he said of the NBA. The 18-year-old Turkish big man is a potential lottery pick, currently ranked No. 13 on ESPN’s board.
  • St. John’s sophomore wing Julian Champagnie will enter the draft process but maintain his eligibility, according to RedStormSports.com. Champagnie averaged a Big East-leading 19.8 PPG and 7.4 RPG.

Draft Notes: Cockburn, Dosunmu, Ayayi, Carr, More

Illinois will have two important players back on campus next season as center Kofi Cockburn and guard Ayo Dosunmu have both withdrawn from the NBA draft, writes Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Cockburn made an impact in his first collegiate season, averaging 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in 31 games. He announced his decision today on Twitter.

“He’s coming back to improve on all aspects of his game,’’ said Karriem Memminger, who serves as a mentor to the 7-footer. “He feels like there’s so much more he wants to show to the next level (NBA). He’s never satisfied. He wants to win a Big Ten championship followed by a national championship. And he wants to be selected to first team all-conference. Plus he loves the coaching staff and Illinois fans, who he feels are the best fans in college basketball. His dream is to become an NBA player and an NBA All-Star.’’

Dosunmu, who made his decision Friday night, averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as a sophomore. He was among the players invited to this year’s draft combine.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

  • Joel Ayayi has decided to return to Gonzaga for his junior season, Zagoria tweets. Ayayi averaged 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds this year and was named Most Outstanding Player in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
  • Point guard Marcus Carr has decided to bypass the draft and return to Minnesota, writes Marcus Fuller of The Star Tribune. A transfer from Pitt, Carr set a school record this season with 207 assists and was a Third Team All-Big 10 selection by the media. “I am dedicating this season to my brother, and I can’t wait to be out on the court with my teammates in front of Gopher nation,” Carr wrote in a text.
  • Damien Jefferson and Denzel Mahoney will both return to Creighton next season, according to a tweet from head coach Greg McDermott.
  • Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe will return to school for his junior season, tweets Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Joe averaged 16.9 PPG this year.
  • Colorado guard McKinley Wright has elected to pull out of the draft and return to school next season, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Carr, Martin, Teague, Olaniyi

University of Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr is declaring for the draft but won’t hire an agent, Evan Daniels of 247Sports tweets. Carr averaged 15.4 PPG, 6.7 APG and 5.3 RPG in his sophomore season for the Golden Gophers. The 6’2” Carr played one season at Pittsburgh, then sat out a season after transferring.

We have more draft declarations:

  • Arizona State point guard Remy Martin has entered his name in the draft pool, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. Martin averaged 19.1 PPG and 4.1 APG as a junior. The 6’0” Martin is a two-year starter after coming off the bench as a freshman.
  • Baylor’s MaCio Teague will test the draft waters but he’ll keep his options open, according to his Twitter feed. The 6’3” Teague averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.6 RPG in his junior season. Teague played two seasons at UNC Asheville, then sat out a year after transferring.
  • Stony Brook’s Elijah Olaniyi is declaring for the draft but won’t hire an agent, he tweets. The 6’5” shooting guard averaged 18.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG in his junior season. Olaniyi has played 91 career games for the Seawolves.