Welcome Back Boys
An insane number of underclassmen have made themselves eligible as the 2008 NBA Draft draws near. Some have hired agents and other have decided not to gamble leaving them with the option of returning school next season. The draft is scheduled for June 26 in New York City.
A total of 69 United States colleges and university players will vie for 60 NBA Draft spots. That doesn’t include the 22 international players coming out early and the seven seniors projected to go in the first and second rounds.
Players who have not hired an agent have until June 16 to withdraw from the draft and return to school. As that deadline looms, 17 players have hired agents so far putting them at the point of no return as far as their college eligibility is concerned.
The list of players who have not hired an agent as of today include, A.J. Abrams (G, Texas), Joe Alexander (F, West Virginia), Antonio Anderson (G, Memphis), Ryan Anderson (G, California), Darrell Arthur (PF, Kansas), Keith Brumbaugh (Hillsbourgh Community College), DeMarre Carroll (F, Missouri), Mario Chalmers (G, Kansas), Lee Cummard (G, BYU), Robert Dozier (F, Memphis), Wayne Ellington (SG, North Carolina), Jamont Gordon (G, Mississippi State), Danny Green (F, North Carolina), Richard Hendrix (F, Alabama), J.J. Hickson (F, North Carolina State), Lester Hudson (G, Tennessee-Martin), Ty Lawson (PG, North Carolina), Kevin Love (F/C, UCLA), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (F, UCLA), Jeremy Pargo (PG, Gonzaga), Marreese Speights (F/C Florida), Ronald Steele (G, Alabama), Robert Vaden (G, Alabama-Birmingham), Bill Walker (G, Kansas State), Russell Westbrook (G, UCLA).
From that list, Alexander, Arthur, Brumbaugh, Chalmers, Ellington, Gordon, Hendrix, Lawson, Love, Speights and Westbrook are projected by many draft experts to be taken in the first and second rounds. Love a first team All-American and the Pac-10 Player of the Year, could go as high as fifth.
Some players have seen the writing on the wall and are deciding to come back for their sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Some big names include 2008 All-American and Wooden Award winner Tyler Hansbrough from North Carolina, Darren Collison from UCLA, Blake Griffin from Oklahoma, and Hasheem Thatbeet from Connecticut and Antonio Anderson,
The biggest return without a doubt so far has to be the 6-foot-9, 250 pound junior forward Hansbrough. Last season Hansbrough averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds and helped lead the Tar Heels to the Final Four. He would have easily been a lottery pick, if not the top overall draft pick.
Collison, a third team All-American flirted with turning pro only briefly after the 2008 NCAA Tournament, averaged 14.5 points and 3.8 assists last season for the Bruins. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the 2008 Pac-10 Tournament and has been on all three of UCLA’s Final Four teams.
Shipp said last week also said that he was returning to the Bruins for his senior year. Last season Shipp averaged 12.2 points and 3.2 rebounds a game and led the Bruins in three-pointers with 70.
And stay tuned Bruin fans. Mbah a Moute said that he would return if he was not a projected first round pick.
As mentioned here last week, UCLA already has one of the best, if not the best recruiting classes in the nation. The return of Collison, Shipp and the possible return of Mbah a Moute make the Bruins even more powerful and could be the preseason number one team in the nation.
We will keep you posted on others players deciding to stay in school.
Photo: Newscom
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POSTED IN: Miscellaneous
1 opinion for Welcome Back Boys
Alec
May 25, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Hansbrough is a big returning name since he was an All-American and Wooden Award winner. However he is not even close to being the #1 overall selection in the draft. He likely will not even be a lottery pick in next years draft either.
Check out a 2009 NBA mock draft here.
http://www.nbadraft.net/index.asp?content=mock2009
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