Saturday is a big day with the deadline for American college players to either confirm that they're in or out of the NBA draft. Just as I've done all week, here are the players that declared their intentions - one way or another - on Friday.
Jordan Crawford declares for NBA draft | Detroit Free Press
Now Jordan Crawford has a chance to dunk on LeBron James again.The Xavier sophomore star has decided to enter the NBA draft and hire an agent. Crawford averaged 20.5 points and led the Atlantic 10 in scoring last year. He made an impact in the NCAA tournament when he scored 32 in a 101-96 double-overtime loss to Kansas State in the West regional semifinals.
After his March Madness performance (and the earlier dunking on LeBron James in the Summer stuff), I think the buzz was sufficient enough that staying in the Draft made sense. I'm not sold that he's a definite first round pick, but it should be close.
USF's Jones reaffirms decision to enter NBA Draft
TAMPA – As expected, Dominique Jones won't be coming back to USF for his senior season. Jones said he has signed with agent Michael Hodges and is ready to prove any doubters wrong. "I'm 100 percent in the draft," Jones said.
The Celtics were the first NBA team Jones has worked out for, but he is going to Washington and San Antonio next week for team workouts.
First, I really have to figure out who the Celtics had in for their workouts - Jimmer and Jones are the only two I know for sure. Also, Jones also has enough positive buzz around him that this too makes sense. For what it's worth, Ford didn't have him being drafted in the top 35 and DX has him in the early second round.
New Mexico's Darington Hobson elects to stay in draft - ESPN
New Mexico junior forward Darington Hobson will forego his senior season and remain in the NBA draft, Lobos coach Steve Alford confirmed Friday night. Hobson is projected to be a late first-round pick in the NBA draft.
I love the lefties, but I'm not sure how much I love Hobson. Here's my takeaway from Draft Express: "Hobson will likely garner looks in the second round whenever he decides to declare, but ultimately may find more success in Europe where he could be extremely effective mismatch threat as a face-up combo forward, ala Kasib Powell."
Fredette injured during workout - Salt Lake Tribune
Jimmer Fredette's final workout in front of an NBA team was cut short Friday by a quad injury, but the BYU guard reportedly will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft today before the 3 p.m. MDT deadline.Working out for the New York Knicks, Fredette was injured early in the practice session and was treated by the Knicks' medical staff. His father, Al Fredette, told a New York television station that the injury was not serious.
This is disappointing for Fredette, but ultimately unsurprising. It was an uphill battle to get the first round guarantee he was looking for and the injury (no matter how serious it was) certainly didn't help.
Morehead's Faried withdraws from NBA Draft - College Basketball - Kentucky.com
Morehead State University basketball star Kenneth Faried will remove his name from the NBA Draft and return for his senior season.MSU Coach Donnie Tyndall said the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year informed him of his decision late Friday morning in a three-way phone call that included the player's mother, Waudda.
"Kenneth learned a tremendous amount about himself as a player going through the draft process," Tyndall said Friday afternoon. "I think mostly he just feels relieved to have his decision made and have a plan going forward."
This is surprising to me, especially after Chad Ford had him as the 22nd player off the board in his first mock draft. If he's able to dominate the boards for another season, though, he'll all but be guaranteed a first round pick next season.
Trail Blazers begin NBA draft workouts | OregonLive.com
The underclassmen who worked out Friday were E'Twaun Moore of Purdue, Lavoy Allen of Temple, Talor Battle of Penn State, Malcolm Delaney of Virginia Tech, Eniel Polynice of Mississippi, Alex Tyus of Florida and Mike Davis of Illinois. Others working out were Dominic Waters of Portland State, Devan Downey of South Carolina, NBDL player Jeremy Wise, Donald Sloan of Texas A&M and Connecticut's Gavin Edwards."The draft in general is quite strong, to be honest with you," said Chad Buchanan, the Blazers' director of college scouting. "I think there are a couple stars at the top and a lot of very good potential starters and rotation guys down to the early second round. It's a deep draft."
I mentioned some of those players in my post yesterday, but there are the rest.
Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney returning for senior year - ESPN
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said Friday night that Delaney would be back and withdraw by Saturday's new NCAA deadline to let the NBA know he would no longer be eligible for the June NBA draft.The 6-3 guard should be one of the top guards in the ACC along with Duke's Nolan Smith. Delaney had multiple 30-plus point games, including scoring 32 against Georgia Tech in the last regular season game.
Delaney was kind of growing on me, but I guess I needn't worry about him again until next year.
Three Seton Hall players pull out of NBA draft - NCAA Basketball - SI.com
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) -- Seton Hall says three of its top basketball players will return to school instead of entering the upcoming NBA draft. Assistant athletic director Matt Sweeney confirmed Friday that guard Jeremy Hazell and forwards Jeff Robinson and Herb Pope have filed the paperwork to withdraw their names from the draft, thereby retaining their amateur status.
I wonder if Pope would have stayed in if he was healthy. I also wonder how Hazell will do in the D-League.
Anderson withdraws from NBA draft | Richmond Times-Dispatch
University of Richmond guard Kevin Anderson yesterday withdrew his name from the list of eligible players for the NBA draft. No surprise there, on the eve of the deadline for players who hadn't retained an agent to withdraw and maintain their collegiate eligibility.Though Anderson, a rising senior, was the 2010 Atlantic 10 Conference player of the year, he wasn't projected as a draft choice.
"No surprise there" - well put, Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Wolfpack's Smith pulls name out of NBA Draft | Burlington Times News
RALEIGH — North Carolina State forward Tracy Smith will remain in school for his senior season of men’s basketball, according to a report on the university’s Web site.Smith submitted his name for early entry into the NBA Draft, but because of his academic schedule he didn’t go through workouts for NBA teams.
And again, no surprise there. It is disappointing that his academic schedule didn't allow him to at least get a look, however.
Hodzic withdraws from NBA draft - Taiwan News Online
Adnan Hodzic of Bosnia, The second-leading scorer in U.S. college basketball last season, withdrew from the NBA draft and will return to Lipscomb University for his final season.Hodzic was second in the U.S. in scoring at 22.7 points per game, and was the Atlantic Sun player of the year for the conference champions.
Oh, Adnan.
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