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Mouhamed Faye, Ben Henshall To Pull Out Of NBA Draft

June 14th, 2025 at 6:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Potential second-round pick Mouhamed Faye will take his name out of this year’s draft, agent Matteo Comellini tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Faye, 20, will consider options in both the EuroLeauge and the NCAA for next season, according to Givony. The 6’10” Senegalese center played this year with Reggie Emilio in Italy, where he averaged 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He ranks 54th on ESPN’s big board.

Faye left Senegal at age 16 to join Reggiana’s youth team for the 2022/23 season. He was promoted to the senior team a year later and was honored as the best player under 22 in Lega Basket Serie A. He also registered for the 2024 draft, but withdrew in mid-June.

Australian guard Ben Henshall is also exiting the draft, agent Sam Rose tells Givony (Twitter link). Henshall, 20, also plans to consider NCAA and professional opportunities for next season. He spent this year with the Perth Wildcats in the NBL, averaging 9.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Henshall ranks 64th on ESPN’s list of the best prospects.

International players have until June 15 to pull their names out of this year’s draft. The NCAA set a May 28 deadline for college players to withdraw and keep their eligibility.

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Draft Notes: Early Entrants, T. Johnson, C. Bryant, Combine

May 2nd, 2025 at 8:44pm CST by Luke Adams

When the NBA announced its initial early entrant list for the 2025 NBA draft, there were just 106 names on that list. As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes, that’s the lowest total since 91 players declared early in 2015, which was the last year before college players were granted permission to test the draft waters while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.

According to Vorkunov, a handful of factors contributed to the major drop-off in early entrants this season, but the money now available to college players is easily the No. 1 factor. Prospects increasingly have opportunities to earn higher “salaries” playing college basketball than they would if they were a second-round pick in the NBA, Vorkunov points out.

The name, image, and likeness (NIL) money available to NCAA players isn’t just reducing the number of American-born players entering the draft. As Vorkunov details, international prospects have also become increasingly inclined to leave top teams and developmental programs in Europe in order to play college basketball, lowering the number of international early entrants.

Here’s more on the 2025 NBA draft:

  • Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published a new mock draft ahead of this year’s lottery and combine, with Texas wing Tre Johnson among his big risers — the No. 7 pick in Vecenie’s March mock draft, Johnson moves up to No. 3 this time around, with Ace Bailey slipping to No. 5. Arizona’s Carter Bryant is among the other notable risers on Vecenie’s board, moving up to No. 9 after coming in at No. 23 in his previous mock draft. According to Vecenie, Bryant has a “ton of juice when you talk to front offices” and has moved into the No. 7 to No. 16 range of the draft.
  • Although Cooper Flagg is considered a high-end talent at No. 1 overall and Dylan Harper looks locked in at No. 2, teams around the NBA have “real questions” about the average value of this year’s draft class starting at No. 3, Vecenie notes within that new mock draft. While there are solid prospects to be had in the middle of the lottery and into the teens, those players come with significantly more question marks, so the results of the lottery will be especially important for teams seeking a cornerstone player, Vecenie explains.
  • According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link), all 75 prospects invited to this month’s NBA combine in Chicago are among the top 100 players on ESPN’s big board. ESPN’s top 56 prospects all made the cut, with No. 57 Mouhamed Faye of Reggio Emilia representing the site’s highest-ranked player who didn’t get a combine invite. Kentucky’s Amari Williams (No. 58) and Malique Lewis of South East Melbourne (No. 59) are the others in ESPN’s top 60 who weren’t invited to the event.
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And-Ones: Awards, Fredette, Silver, Early Entrants

April 28th, 2025 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

After announcing Stephen Curry as this season’s Teammate of the Year on Monday afternoon, the NBA will unveil three more award winners later this week, according to the league (Twitter link).

The 2024/25 Rookie of the Year is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday at 7:00 pm Eastern time, with Most Improved Player to follow on Wednesday, 24 hours later. The league’s Sportsmanship Award winner will be revealed on Thursday at 12:00 pm ET.

Spurs guard Stephon Castle, Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher, and Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells are the finalists for Rookie of the Year honors, while Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Clippers center Ivica Zubac remain in the running for Most Improved.

The Sportsmanship Award isn’t one of the major ones voted on by media members — it’s voted on by players after league executives select six finalists, who were announced earlier this month. Those finalists are Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, and Magic forward Franz Wagner.

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

  • Less than a week after announcing his retirement as a player, former NBA lottery pick Jimmer Fredette has a new job. USA Basketball stated in a press release on Monday that Fredette has been named the first-ever managing director for Team USA’s 3×3 men’s national team. Fredette will be responsible for compiling USA Basketball’s coaching staff and roster for 3×3 international competitions, essentially taking on the same role that Grant Hill performs for the 5×5 men’s national team.
  • Appearing on ESPN’s Numbers on the Board podcast (YouTube link), NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about a number of topics, including whether shortening the regular season from 82 games is a viable possibility for player health reasons. While Silver said that “nothing is off the table,” his response suggested the idea of reducing the 82-game schedule is likely a long shot (YouTube clip).
  • We can probably expect a full, official list from the NBA in the coming days, but in the meantime, news of early entrants who declared for the 2025 draft ahead of Saturday’s deadline continues to trickle out. Here are a few more of the players who are testing the draft waters this spring:
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Izan Almansa Among Players Withdrawing From Draft

June 16th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After five workouts with NBA teams, Reggio Emilia center Mouhamed Faye has decided to withdraw from the 2024 draft and will return to the Italian pro club, his agent Matteo Comellini informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Last year, the 6’9″ big man averaged 7.9 points on 62.4% field goal shooting, while also contributing 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest in 30 games for Reggio Emilia.

Another international prospect, French guard Ilias Kamardine, also plans to withdraw from the draft this year, his rep Herman Manakyan told Givony (via Twitter). Kamardine spent 2023/24 with JDA Dijon in Pro A France. He played sparingly for Dijon last year, averaging 5.3 minutes per game.

6’10” former Illinois power forward Zacharie Perrin, now with SLUC Nancy in his native France, is also opting out of the draft, his agents Nicolas Dos Santos and Max Wiepking tell Givony (Twitter link).

Nineteen-year-old former G League Ignite big man Izan Almansa also intends to withdraw from the draft, his agents Wiepking, Jim Tanner and Guillermo Bermejo have informed Givony  (Twitter link). In an effort to become a first-round draft selection next season, the 6’10” Spaniard is looking to continue his career for a team in Australia or Europe for 2024/25. Across 32 regular season contests (30 starts), Almansa averaged 11.7 points on 56% shooting from the field for the Ignite, along with 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.7 steals per game.

Of these players, Almansa is the top-ranked prospect on ESPN’s current big board, where he was listed as the No. 49 prospect. Perrin is at No. 67, Kamardine is No. 80, and Faye narrowly made the list at No. 99.

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Trey Alexander Among Latest Draft Early Entrants

April 28th, 2024 at 9:23am CST by Rory Maher

Creighton’s Trey Alexander is entering his name in the 2024 NBA Draft pool, he announced on Twitter. The junior guard’s statement doesn’t say anything about maintaining his remaining college eligibility, and he confirmed to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports he intends to turn pro (Twitter link).

An All-Big East Second Team selection in 2023/24, Alexander averaged 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals on .446/.339/.824 shooting in 35 games (37.3 MPG) for the Bluejays, who were eliminated in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Alexander first tested the draft waters last spring before withdrawing and returning to school. At the time, he was ranked No. 89 on ESPN’s big board. For 2024, he has moved up to the No. 63 spot on ESPN’s list, making him a potential second-round pick.

Here are a few more early entrants:

  • Belgian forward Thijs De Ridder is entering the draft, according to his agency, Tangram Sports (Twitter link). The 21-year-old has been playing for Bilbao Basket in Spain’s top basketball league this season (hat tip to RookieScale.com). According to Basketball-Reference, De Ridder has averaged 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds on .520/.395/.656 shooting in 31 Liga ACB games this season (17.5 MPG).
  • British guard Quinn Ellis is entering the 2024 draft pool, per Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link). Ellis, 21, has spent the 2023/24 season with Trento, a team that played in the EuroCup tournament and Italy’s top basketball league (Lega Basket Serie A).
  • Senegalese center Mouhamed Faye, a 19-year-old who plays for Pallacanestro Reggiana in Italy’s top league, is declaring for the draft (Twitter link via Sigma Sports).

The NBA’s early entrant deadline officially passed last night, but there will likely be more names trickling in before the league releases its full list of draft-eligible players.

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