Tae Davis

Niederhauser Staying In Draft; Others Announce Withdrawals Before Deadline

Penn State big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser has decided to remain in the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Givony states that Niederhauser moved into first-round consideration with a strong performance at the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month. He was also impressive at the G League Elite Camp, making him one of five players from the event to earn an invitation to the combine.

A seven-footer out of Switzerland, Niederhauser spent two years at Northern Illinois before transferring to Penn State last summer. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in 29 games for the Nittany Lions while shooting 61.1% from the field and leading the Big 10 in blocks with 2.3 per night. He’s listed as the No. 85 prospect on ESPN’s latest big board, but has reportedly moved up significantly in the eyes of scouts since it was published.

Givony describes Niederhauser as “one of the best athletes in the draft” (Twitter link), weighing 243 pounds and combining a 7’3″ wingspan with a 9’3″ standing reach. Givony also cites his “significant potential as a vertical pick and roll spacer.”

We have updates on a few more early entries who reached their decisions shortly before Wednesday night’s deadline to withdraw and maintain their NCAA eligibility:

  • Miles Byrd will take his name out of the draft and return to San Diego State for his senior season, his father tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Ranked No. 51 by ESPN, Byrd was also impressive at the combine. He averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals for the Aztecs last season.
  • Quincy Ballard tells Rothstein (Twitter link) that he’s also pulling out of the draft and will transfer from Wichita State to Mississippi State. It will be the third school for the senior center, who averaged 10.0 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Shockers last season.
  • Jaron Pierre, who played at Jacksonville State last season, will leave the draft and transfer to SMU, according to Rothstein (Twitter link). He’ll be a fifth-year senior after posting 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game with the Gamecocks.
  • Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli will return to school after putting up 20.5 points per game for the Wildcats last season, Rothstein tweets. Rothstein expects the rising senior to be one of the Big Ten’s top players.
  • Tae Davis will leave the draft and transfer from Notre Dame to Oklahoma for his senior season, Rothstein adds (Twitter link). Davis averaged 15.1 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Irish as a junior.

Thiero, Penda, Pettiford Among Latest Draft Early Entrants

French forward Noah Penda is declaring for the 2025 NBA draft, agent Francois Nyam tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Penda has spent the 2024/25 season playing in France’s top domestic league, the LNB Élite. In 24 games with Le Mans, he has averaged 10.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 25.8 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .431/.292/.753.

The 20-year-old combo forward comes off the board at No. 32 overall in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link), and No. 24 in the latest mock from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, making him a potential late first-round pick.

Arkansas junior Adou Thiero is also declaring for the 2025 draft (Instagram link). Theiro, who goes No. 26 overall in ESPN’s mock and No. 39 in Bleacher Report’s, didn’t say anything about keeping his remaining college eligibility, so it sounds like he’s committed to staying in the draft.

An athletic forward, Thiero had a productive season for the Razorbacks, averaging 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.6 SPG on .545/.256/.686 shooting in 27 games (27.5 MPG). He’s viewed as a project at this point, per ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, but has considerable upside if he can improve in certain areas (ball-handling, shooting, among others).

Here are a couple more draft early entrants:

  • Auburn freshman Tahaad Pettiford will declare for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, according to Givony (Twitter link). The 6’1″ point guard goes No. 39 overall in ESPN’s mock. He averaged 11.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .421/.366/.804 shooting in 38 games (22.9 MPG) in ’24/25, helping the Tigers advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
  • Junior forward Tae Davis, who spent this past season with Notre Dame, will enter the draft with the goal of securing a guaranteed contract, agent Ron Shade tells Givony (Twitter link). If Davis withdraws from the draft, he will transfer to Oklahoma, Givony adds. Davis goes undrafted in the mocks from ESPN and Bleacher Report.