Trentyn Flowers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Chomche, Dadiet, Flowers, Onyenso Among Draft’s Latest Early Entrants

April 15th, 2024 at 8:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Ulrich Chomche, an 18-year-old Cameroon center at the NBA Africa Academy, is entering the 2024 NBA draft, his agents at Klutch Sports tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

While Chomche is ranked 39th overall on ESPN’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects, that’s not necessarily the consensus. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (Twitter link) says he didn’t get the impression at last week’s Hoop Summit that Chomche was “anywhere near ready” to enter for the NBA and says that many NBA evaluators had a similar take. Vecenie adds that the big man is No. 86 on his own big board.

The No. 40 prospect on ESPN’s board, French wing Pacome Dadiet, has also declared for the draft, agent Yann Balikouzou tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). The 18-year-old made 36% of his three-pointers while playing for Ratiopharm Ulm in Germany’s top basketball league this past season, Givony notes.

Another draft prospect who spent the season overseas has announced his intentions to enter the 2024 draft, according to the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League, who say (via Twitter) that 6’9″ wing Trentyn Flowers is declaring.

Flowers is an American prospect who spent his first professional season in Australia as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program. He’s the No. 77 prospect on ESPN’s board.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

Kentucky sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso, an elite shot blocker who swatted 2.8 shots in just 18.8 minutes per game this season, will enter the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, Givony reports at ESPN. Onyenso, the No. 47 prospect on ESPN’s board, averaged just 3.6 points per contest but told Givony he wants to show teams during the pre-draft process that he can shoot the ball and isn’t “just a defensive player.”
Texas sophomore forward Dillon Mitchell is entering both the NCAA portal and the NBA draft, reports Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). The No. 71 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, Mitchell averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game in 34 contests for the Longhorns in 2023/24.
Grand Canyon senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster, the WAC Player of the Year in 2023/24, is entering the draft rather than using his final year of NCAA eligibility, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Grant-Foster, who has now undergone multiple heart surgeries, made his return to the court this season after collapsing at halftime of a game at the start of the 2021/22 season.
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a pre-draft event showcasing draft-eligible seniors, has announced its rosters for 2024 (Twitter links). This year’s PIT will tip off later this week and will run from April 17-20.
Michigan State senior guard A.J. Hoggard, who is taking part in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, is testing the draft waters while retaining his college eligibility (Twitter link via Kyle Austin of MLive.com). Hoggard is the very last prospect to crack ESPN’s big board, coming in at No. 100.
Senior guard Jordan Ivy-Curry (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports) and Wake Forest senior forward Andrew Carr (Twitter link) are also testing the draft waters. If he returns to school, Ivy-Curry is transferring from UTSA to Virginia Tech.

And-Ones: Rivers, Myers, ESPN, Flowers, Tillman

August 14th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

ESPN has officially hired former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers to join its top broadcast team, the network announced in a press release written by Ronce Rajan. Rivers, who signed a multiyear contract to be an analyst, will work alongside fellow analyst Doris Burke and play-by-play announcer Mike Breen.

ESPN decided to shake up its top broadcasting group after releasing former analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy.

In addition to Rivers, ESPN has also signed longtime Warriors executive Bob Myers, who left his post a couple months ago. Myers will serve as analyst on NBA countdown and will also call games during the season, per Rajan.

The signings of Rivers and Myers were previously reported by The New York Post.

ESPN also announced a new secondary broadcast team comprised of play-by-play voice Ryan Ruocco alongside analysts — and former NBA players — JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson. Jefferson received a multiyear extension, Rajan adds.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Forward Trentyn Flowers, who had committed to Louisville, has decided against playing for the Cardinals and will instead head overseas in an effort to make the NBA. Flowers announced on Twitter that he’ll be joining the NBL’s Next Stars program and will play for the Adelaide 36ers. The NBL features nine Australian teams and one based in New Zealand. As Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report tweets, Flowers is one of a handful of potential 2024 first-round picks who have decided to play in the NBL.
Greece’s AEK Athens has officially signed big man Justin Tillman, according to Eurohoops.net. Tillman never actually got in an NBA game, but he signed a 10-day hardship deal with the Hawks a couple years ago and has been a highly productive player in the G League. The former VCU star has had several other international stops during the course of his professional career.
In case you missed it, we passed along several World Cup notes this morning.