Now that the NCAA season is coming to a close, and has ended for most schools, it's getting to be "that time of the year." We'll start reading a lot of articles about who will stay in school and who will be entering the NBA draft. In this thread, we'll keep track of that and cite each underclassmen that has decided to enter the draft. I'll edit this post as often as I can, so you can read it as a list (alphabetical order by last name) with links posted next to each name for proof of the decision. The format is as follows: Name (School) - Position - Class - Agent or not - Source link And of course FR means freshman, SO means sophomore, and JR means junior. <span style="color:#FF0000">Entering the Draft</span> A.J. Abrams (Texas) - PG/SG - JR - No Agent - Source Joe Alexander (West Virginia) - SF - JR - No Agent - Source Antonio Anderson (Memphis) - SG - JR - No Agent - Source Ryan Anderson (California) - PF - SO - No Agent - Source Darrell Arthur (Kansas) - PF - SO - No Agent - Source D.J. Augustin (Texas) - PG - SO - No Agent Yet - Source Jerryd Bayless (Arizona) - PG - FR - Hired Agent - Source 2 Michael Beasley (Kansas State) - SF/PF - FR - No Agent Yet - Source Chase Budinger (Arizona) - SG/SF - SO - No Agent - Source Derrick Caracter (Louisville) - PF - SO - No Agent Yet - Source Mario Chalmers (Kansas) - PG - JR - No Agent - Source Earl Clark (Louisville) - SF - SO - No Agent - Source Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis) - SF/SG - JR - Unknown - Source Robert Dozier (Memphis) - PF - JR - No Agent - Source Danilo Gallinari (Italy) - SF - 19 years old - Source Eric Gordon (Indiana) - SG - FR - Hired Agent - Source Jamont Gordon (Mississippi State) - PG/SG - JR - No Agent - Source Donte Greene (Syracuse) - SF - FR - No Agent - Source Richard Hendrix (Alabama) - PF - JR - No Agent - Source J.J. Hickson (NC State) - PF - FR - Hired Agent - Source Shawn James (Duquesne) - PF - JR - No Agent - Source DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M) - C - FR - No Agent - Source Kosta Koufos (Ohio State) - C - FR - No Agent - Source Brook Lopez (Stanford) - C - SO - Hired Agent - Source 2 Robin Lopez (Stanford) - C - SO - Hired Agent - Source 2 Kevin Love (UCLA) - PF - FR - No Agent Yet - Source O.J. Mayo (USC) - SG/PG - FR - Will Hire Agent - Source Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (UCLA) - SF - JR - No Agent - Source JaVale McGee (Nevada) - C - SO - Hired Agent - Source Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga) - PG - JR - No Agent - Source Anthony Randolph (LSU) - SF - FR - Hired Agent - Source Derrick Rose (Memphis) - PG - FR - Will Hire Agent - Source Brandon Rush (Kansas) - SF/SG - JR - Hired Agent - Source Marreese Speights (Florida) - PF/C - SO - No Agent - Source Ronald Steele (Alabama) - PG - JR - No Agent - Source Robert Vaden (UAB) - SG - JR - No Agent - Source Bill Walker (Kansas State) - SG/SF - SO - No Agent - Source Russell Westbrook (UCLA) - SG/PG - SO - No Agent Yet - Source In this thread, please post anything you find regarding any underclassmen. This will help me organize this post with the list I've planned, and it will also eliminate cluttering in the forums with "___ will stay/leave" threads for every prospect.
Here's some updates from draftexpress: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Early-Entry Rumor Mill—Centers Dominate -Sources indicate that Blake Griffin appears closer than ever to entering this year’s draft. His head coach Jeff Capel—one of the lowest paid coaches in the Big 12-- is yet to receive any kind of offer for a raise, and looks very vulnerable to being plucked out of Oklahoma (frontrunners: South Carolina) if their administration does not make a quick move. In that case, Griffin will surely be gone. Even if Capel gets the raise he covets, Griffin could still be gone—he’s suffered injuries to both knees this season, and would be passing up likely being a top-10 pick. He’s clearly hedged on his decision since initially emphatically stating he’ll be back next season. -Kosta Koufos is another interesting name to keep an eye on. Most NBA execs assumed he would surely be back in Columbus next season after the underwhelming freshman season he’s had, but there has been a great deal of chatter coming out of Greece these past few weeks that Koufos and his mother are not so quietly exploring their overseas options. Koufos turned down significant money from both of the top teams in Greece to play for Ohio State, but his (and his mother’s) relationship with Thad Matta apparently isn’t the best. If he decides to leave Ohio State, he could enter the draft this year (where he’s likely a mid to late first round pick), or play in Greece for a season and try again next season. But then again, it could just be a lot of posturing that in the end sees him go back to school. -Javale McGee is another big man who is gathering information and weighing his options regarding the NBA draft. McGee clearly could use another season in college, but NBA execs we spoke with were intrigued enough about his upside to comfortably project him as a first round pick, if not top-20. - Sophomore Marreese Speights has been quietly discussed as a likely early-entry candidate for a few months now, but it’s not quite clear which direction he’s leaning towards at the moment. Never considered a bookworm out of high school, academics could play a factor in Speights’ decision. Scouts we spoke with love his upside and terrific scoring ability, but resoundingly agree that he needs another season in college to help improve his defensive awareness and overall mental focus. Should he decide to enter, he’s very likely a first round pick, and possibly even top-20 depending on red flags and the rest of the early-entry list. -Don’t be too quick to pencil in DeAndre Jordan onto your 2008 mock drafts just yet…he will be meeting with the coaching staff soon to hear about their plans for him next year, and could very well decide to return for his sophomore season. Nothing has been decided quite yet, but it may be premature to assume that he’s 100% gone… -Depending on how things go this weekend, Robin Lopez is yet another project center who could decide to enter his name in the draft pool, following in the footsteps of his twin brother Brook, who he is obviously very close with. NBA people we spoke with are somewhat split on him, but he clearly has his fans around the league, especially with the way he’s played lately. -How many centers would that leave us with vying for the first round, if all the players above indeed decide to enter? Count them yourself: Brook Lopez DeAndre Jordan Roy Hibbert Hasheem Thabeet Marreese Speights Kosta Koufos JaVale McGee Robin Lopez DeVon Hardin Jason Thompson Nikola Pekovic Nathan Jawai Omer Asik John Riek Semih Erden -This might go down as the largest class of project big men we’ve seen in quite some time. The problem is, once you get past Brook Lopez, there is really very little consensus on how to rank them. As one person we spoke to this week put it…you might talk to 15 different NBA teams and get 15 different rankings. -According to the research we’ve done, on average there are only 6.6 centers drafted in the first round every year. The most in the last 10 years was 2001, with eight. So at the end of the day, someone on that list is probably going to get their feelings hurt.</div> http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Early-Entry-List-Analysis/ Its crazy how many underclassmen big men could come out this year. If most of these guys do it will be an insanely deep draft. IMO Robin Lopez, Marreese Speights, JaVele McGee really should go back to school. Robin Lopez would shoot up the draft boards if he stayed at Stanford and became "the man", took all of those shots, rebounds, etc. that Brook Lopez would leave behind. Right now hes a late first/second round pick but I think he could easily be lotto-mid first next year if he stays at Stanford with his brother moving onto the league. Speights just isn't that impresive right now and he could raise his stock a lot with an improved junior year playing on what projects to be a very good Florida team with Calathes giving him lots of assists. McGee is another guy who would benefit from playing on an improved Nevada team and showing that he can dominate against other NBA level college players.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Donte Greene, Fr., F On whether or not he is returning to Syracuse next year: "I don't know yet. I don't know."</div> link I'll keep this updated when I find out more information.
Kufous should come back. Wouldn't be suprise of McGee and Griffin keep their names in, both of them will go in the top15.
Derrick Caracter is making the stupid decision to come out early. He has a lot of talent and I like his upside, but he really needs a lot of refinement and tutelage. Rick Pitino is one of the best disciplinary coaches in college basketball, and my observation is that Caracter was sick of Pitino "riding him," if you will. Well, Derrick... I hope you're ready for the challenge, because NBA coaches will ride you harder than Jenna Haze. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pegs @ Mar 27 2008, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Donte Greene, Fr., F On whether or not he is returning to Syracuse next year: "I don't know yet. I don't know."</div> link I'll keep this updated when I find out more information. </div> Thanks pegs, but I hope he makes the right move and stays in school at least another year. As of right now he is basically a lesser talented Kevin Durant - doesn't do much else but take contested jumpers and finish on the break. He needs to develop his overall offensive game, and really needs to learn how to use that terrific athleticism to his advantage. If he ever grasps that and turns out to weigh more than 73 pounds, I love his upside.
I'm sure Pitino was pushing him out of the program at least as much as DC wanted to leave it. As far as NBA coaches, yes they will get on the players they care about; however, the moment they decide you can't help them win, they just ignore you.
JJ Hickson needs to come back. He had just average defense last year, mostly by mistiming most of his shot block attempts. He still needs to work on some what of an outside game because he is only 6'9. He could really be a special player if he would take the time to develop the next two years and come out after his junior year. Right now JJ is probably a late 1st rounder or early 2nd, depending on who enters the draft like Thabeet, Love, Lopez.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Mar 27 2008, 04:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>\ <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pegs @ Mar 27 2008, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Donte Greene, Fr., F On whether or not he is returning to Syracuse next year: "I don't know yet. I don't know."</div> link I'll keep this updated when I find out more information. </div> Thanks pegs, but I hope he makes the right move and stays in school at least another year. As of right now he is basically a lesser talented Kevin Durant - doesn't do much else but take contested jumpers and finish on the break. He needs to develop his overall offensive game, and really needs to learn how to use that terrific athleticism to his advantage. If he ever grasps that and turns out to weigh more than 73 pounds, I love his upside. </div> Agree 100%. Greene needs to learn to rebound better, to defend better, and how to contribute when his shot isn't falling...whether it's by driving, getting to the line, posting up, or creating for teammates.
Davon Jefferson is staying in school. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"He is not declaring for the draft," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He has not hired an agent nor will he hire an agent. He looks forward to going back to USC and is 100% committed to the team." The source said that Jefferson, the Trojans' second-leading scorer who averaged 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, would not attend the pre-draft camp May 27-29 in Orlando, Fla., to assess his NBA stock and learn which aspects of his game could use improvement. Neither Jefferson nor USC Coach Tim Floyd could immediately be reached for comment. One NBA executive who has seen Jefferson play multiple times this season said he would be best served by returning for another year. "If he doesn't come out," the executive said, "people will expect him to improve his ball-handling, have a move in the low post and if he doesn't they'll start beating him up. You want to come out when everyone's looking at the positives and overlooking the negatives."</div> He made the right decision. I like Jefferson a lot, and I think he has quite a bit of potential, but he's nowhere near NBA-ready.
Now that I think of it McGee needs to stay another year. He hasn't played against much competition, he has been under the radar not many know about him well. He might end up another player, that scouts fall in love with in workouts, and ends of underachieving in the NBA. He could benefit from staying another year, cause Nevada will actually have a nice team next year, and they might make some noise. Right now he's a Patrick O'Bryant/C.Simmion type player.
McGee enters and signs with an agent <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Breaking News: JaVale McGee Entering Draft, Hires Agent Eugene Parker by: Jonathan Givony - President March 29, 2008 JaVale McGee has decided to jump head first into this year’s NBA draft, by signing with an agent and nullifying his remaining college eligibility, McGee confirmed exclusively to DraftExpress today. McGee is a 7-foot, long, skilled and athletic 237 pound center from Nevada who averaged 14 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in this, his breakout sophomore season. When asked what made him decide to enter the draft so quickly, McGee said that he “wanted to get it off my mind and start working hard.” He stated that his mother had been talking to “NBA GMs” recently, and they informed her that McGee would be drafted from the “late lottery to 20” portion of the draft, which in his words, “sounds about right” and “can’t get any better.” McGee made the interesting decision to sign with one of the top agents in the NFL draft, Eugene Parker, a former basketball standout at Purdue and 5th round NBA draft pick in 1978 by the San Antonio Spurs, who made a name for himself representing top football players such as Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis, and many others. McGee stated that Parker is not just a top NFL agent, but is one of the “top agents amongst all agents,” and confirmed that he expects him to be helpful on the marketing side of things in particular. Parker is currently not listed as being a certified NBA agent in the most recent Players Association Agent Listing, and did not immediately respond to multiple phone messages seeking comment Saturday afternoon. The NBPA certification process typically takes 8-12 weeks, although an uncertified agent can advise the player, talk to teams and marketing groups on his behalf, and only needs to be officially certified by the day of the NBA draft. Most NBA executives DraftExpress spoke with over the past few weeks had McGee firmly slated as a first round pick, with some even going as far as to rate him as a potential late lottery selection. He is an extremely raw prospect physically and experience-wise, but is considered to have great upside due to his combination of size, athleticism, length, and budding skills facing the basket. After the Elite Eight we will provide an up-to-date in-depth scouting report, as we recently acquired a number of games of his from February and March.</div> bad move imo. http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Early-Entry-List-Analysis/
Both Lopez sisters put their name in the draft: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Lopez twins are going pro together. Stanford sophomore Robin Lopez is joining his 7-foot brother Brook in entering the NBA draft. The brothers made their announcement to The Associated Press on Monday through mother, Deborah Ledford. It was expected that Brook would declare himself eligible for the NBA, but Robin was not so certain. They were prep stars in Fresno, Calif., and came to Stanford together. Now they will depart as a tandem, too. "This has been a very difficult decision for me because I really enjoyed my two years at Stanford," Robin Lopez said in a statement released to the AP. "I have always hoped I would have an opportunity to play in the NBA and I feel now is the right time to make that dream a reality." Brook Lopez, a third-team All-American and a first-team Pac-10 selection, averaged 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds to go with 56 blocks this season. He scored the game-winning basket with 1.3 seconds left in an 82-81 victory over Marquette in the second round of the NCAA tournament to put Stanford in the regional semifinals for the first time since 2001. He averaged 16.0 points and 7.1 rebounds in his two college seasons, blocking 101 shots and shooting 48 percent from the field in 53 games. Brook, who missed time earlier in the season because he was academically ineligible, scored in double figures in 41 games and scored a career-high 31 points at Washington this season. "After a great deal of thought and discussion with my family, I feel it is the appropriate time to enter the NBA draft," Brook Lopez said. "It is the dream of every basketball player to play and succeed in the NBA and I feel I am ready to take on this new challenge." Robin's confidence during the tournament run was contagious, according to his teammates. He averaged 10.2 points and 5.2 boards and blocked 83 shots for the Cardinal. Both Lopez brothers said they will return to Stanford over time to complete their degrees. Ledford, a former Stanford swimmer, opted to send out separate statements from the twins in order to keep the attention on both of them. "When they go into the NBA, they're going to go to separate teams," she said. "Robin, his whole life he's been underappreciated and undervalued." The Cardinal were eliminated by Texas in the South Regional semifinals on Saturday in Houston. Ledford said coach Trent Johnson was supportive of the twins' decision. A message left at Johnson's office was not immediately returned.</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/ne...tory?id=3322897
Brook was a no-brainer. He's going to be a top 5 pick for sure. But Robin? I think he may be making a mistake. He needs time to develop, and with Brook leaving, he would have gotten more touches to test himself in games. Oh well. He's just another project big entering this year's draft.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Mar 31 2008, 07:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Brook was a no-brainer. He's going to be a top 5 pick for sure. But Robin? I think he may be making a mistake. He needs time to develop, and with Brook leaving, he would have gotten more touches to test himself in games. Oh well. He's just another project big entering this year's draft.</div> Agreed. Robin is probably going to get drafted anywhere from 18-40. If he played another year at Stanford where he would be the man, getting tons of touches, rebounds, etc. he'd probably be a lotto pick. Robin could be a nice steal in this draft. I think he'll get his stock up into the mid-late first area (18-30). Hes got good size, good athleticism, hes not a go-to scorer but he can finish under the rim, nice hands, runs the floor well. Hes much more active than Brook, hes more athletic and more of a live body. He reminds me a lot of Andris Biedrins; quick and runs the floor well for a 7 footer, great hands, can be a good pick and roll player, good dirty work/hustle player, not a go-to scorer but can finish, no outside game, won't be a star but a very nice starting caliber role player. This is good for teams who pick late in the first though. Seems like there are a ton of good prospects coming out this year. IMO this draft has an extremely weak top 10 after Beasley and Rose but after those two guys it seems like theres about 20 more players who are all pretty damn talented. Lots of talent, just not a lot of elite talent.
When Brook was out Robin wasn't very impressive being the man.His stock is as high as it's gonna get to be honest. Smart move for Robin.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (o.iatlhawksfan @ Mar 31 2008, 08:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>When Brook was out Robin wasn't very impressive being the man.His stock is as high as it's gonna get to be honest. Smart move for Robin.</div> Keep in mind that he would have another season to improve his offense though. I don't think he would do as well as Brook did offensively this season but he could improve a lot. Stanford is going to be terrible next season though so it may have been a bad choice to return anyway.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (o.iatlhawksfan @ Mar 31 2008, 08:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>When Brook was out Robin wasn't very impressive being the man.His stock is as high as it's gonna get to be honest. Smart move for Robin.</div> Exactly, Robin plays the best when he is with Brook, because he can play outside the paint and go hi-low with Brook. I really like Robin, but he does need some time to develop. However, he is going to make some playoff team very happy, because he is a 7'0 athletic big man that can play PF. He handles the ball pretty well for his size, is very athletic, and is a good defender (the better of the two). I see him going late 1st and the chances that he improves his stock by staying another year at Stanford are not very good. Stanford doesnt exactly have the best guard play and the Lopez twins were the whole team.
Some new updates from DraftExpress: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>-Ryan Anderson will be officially announcing that he's entering the NBA draft in the next day or so, and will do so in a press release through his college. Anderson is just testing the waters at this point, and will not hire an agent until he feels comfortable that he's assured of a spot in the first round. -Multiple sources informed DraftExpress this week that the LSU freshman Anthony Randolph has decided to enter his name in the draft, and will be closing the door on returning to school shortly by hiring an agent. B.J. Armstrong of Wasserman Media Group (Arn Tellem’s agency) is expected to be his choice. A representative of WMG had no comment on the report. -If you’re an Indiana fan hoping for some unexpected good news from Eric Gordon’s press conference later this week, we’d advise you not to hold your breath…Gordon has been shopping for an NBA agent these days, and was even seen sitting court-side at a Lakers game last week with Kobe Bryant’s agent Rob Pelinka. -Gerald Henderson had wrist surgery this week, shelving him for 3 to 4 months and ending any possibility of him declaring for the NBA draft. Henderson will be back at Duke next season, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. -The Blake Griffin saga continues…after Jeff Capel got the extension he so coveted, it now looks likely that he’ll be able to keep Griffin at Oklahoma for at least another season. We’ve moved him to our 2009 mock draft after receiving multiple reports that he is very likely to stay in school now. -Tom Crean leaving Marquette might cause Dominic James to think about declaring for the NBA draft now. The problem is he already used his “draft card” last season, and would be in for good should he decide to do so. James would be wise to return to Marquette for his senior season regardless of the coaching situation—as he is not a lock to get drafted even in the second round at this point. -Bill Walker will be testing the waters 100% from what we were told, but will hold off on signing with an agent until his draft status clears up a bit more.</div> Source I'll update the opening post with official links once the announcements go national, but for now I'll just use this link source on the list.
