Tag: Jaden Hardy

Jaden Hardy recently linked up with Damian Lillard in the gym

NBA G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy recently worked out with Lillard in the gym ahead of the start of next season.

NBA G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy recently worked out with Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard in the gym ahead of the start of the 2021-22 season.

Hardy posted a few photos on Twitter with Lillard as he is seen taking some advice and pointers from the six-time NBA All-Star. The opportunity for Hardy to get some work in with such an established player like Lillard should prove to be highly valuable entering the season.

The 19-year-old announced in May that he would join the Ignite over collegiate programs like Kentucky, Oregon and UCLA. He is considered to be the No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2021 and is projected to be a top-five pick next year.

Entering their second season, the Ignite will feature five-star prospects Michael Foster Jr. and Hardy with Scoot Henderson and Dyson Daniels also signed for next season. The team will be coached by Jason Hart after Brian Shaw was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers.

While the inaugural Ignite class featured Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and others, the upcoming team figures to be highly intriguing with Hardy and Foster leading the way.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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2022 aggregate NBA mock draft: Debut ranking of all notable prospects

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, Yahoo, SB Nation, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Collegiate teams who had more than two players appear on a mock were Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA. Three players will be on the G League’s Ignite roster and one is on Overtime’s Elite squad.

Additionally, seven players are rostered in Spain and four are playing in Australia’s NBL. There are also three players on Serbia’s KK Mega Basket included.

Freshmen one-and-done candidates who didn’t make the list but could climb on to join during the season: Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), Josh Minott (Memphis), Kowacie Reeves (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky), Nathan Bittle (Oregon) and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor).

Some of the most notable collegiate returners who were snubbed from these rankings: Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Zach Edey (Purdue), Adam Miller (LSU), Colin Castleton (Florida) and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Relevant international prospects to know who were not included below: Fedor Zugic, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Jayson Tchicamboud, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Yoan Makoundou, Tom Digbeu and Makur Maker.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Main Image: Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group

2021 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Chet Holmgren

Let’s look ahead to next year’s draft.

We are only a couple of weeks removed from the 2021 NBA draft and it’s silly to publish a mock draft for next year. But let’s do it anyway.

Because frankly, far away as though it may seem, ten months can go by fast. Although a lot is going to change, some things stay the same. For example, I published my first mock draft of the 2020 cycle in May 2019 and all three of the first projected picks heard their names called within the first three picks nearly fifteen months later. Much of the rest, of course, is utterly wrong and embarrassing. But it is still helpful to track progression and regression.

Before we discuss the next crop of future NBA talent, however, let’s address the elephant in the room. You have probably noticed that the headline said this mock draft highlights 59 picks. No, that isn’t a typo.

Allow me to explain. The Milwaukee Bucks have forfeited the rights to their second-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft due to violating league rules regarding an attempted transaction made back in Nov. 2020. While it sucks for the additional person who is going to go undrafted, undrafted free agency isn’t the worst thing.

Otherwise, the order of this draft was determined by reversing the NBA futures odds courtesy of Tipico SportsBook. The teams whose odds fell outside the eight best in each conference composed the projected lottery. Meanwhile, all picks involved with previous trades were included in the order as well.

Another quick housekeeping note: My mock drafts tend to be fairly data-driven. But that can sometimes lead to some blind spots for evaluating prospects playing outside the NCAA (e.g. high school, AAU, FIBA, etc.), which made pre-season mock drafts particularly difficult.

That’s no longer the case thanks to the help from our fantastic new partners over at Cerebro Sports, a stats and analytics resource that scrapes box scores to determine how top basketball prospects have stacked up against all their previous competition.

With all that in mind, far away as we may be from draft night on June 22, here is how I see everything shaking out just based on what we know so far:

Report: Jaden Hardy plans to forgo college and sign with NBA G League

The No. 3 overall prospect becomes the third player to commit to the Ignite for next season.

On Saturday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported five-star prospect Jaden Hardy will forgo college and sign with the NBA G League Ignite for next season.

Hardy, who is a 6-foot-4 guard from Nevada, received offers from Kentucky, Oregon and UCLA among others. He is considered the No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2021 behind Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero, according to 247Sports.

The 18-year-old averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists during his junior year at Coronado. He did not play last season after high school sports were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hardy will announce his decision Saturday night on Instagram.

Hardy will become the third player to commit to play with the Ignite for the 2021-22 season, joining Michael Foster Jr. and Fanbo Zeng. The Ignite have signed two top-25 players, Hardy and Foster, while adding Zeng, the top Chinese prospect.

Coached by Brian Shaw, the Ignite completed their inaugural season in March after qualifying for the playoffs with an 8-8 record. Led by Jalen Green, the Ignite featured high-profile prospects Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix.

Of course, the stated goal of the Ignite is to provide development opportunities for those prospects looking to play professionally. The season gave the players a platform to showcase their skills in front of a nationally televised audience, and scouts and executives on hand.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Top remaining 2021 recruit Jaden Hardy is unlikely to play college basketball

The top remaining high school basketball recruit in the country is likely to take his talents directly to the professional ranks.

With Chet Holmgren committing to Gonzaga on Monday, there is a new top remaining high school basketball recruit in the class of 2021.

Henderson (Nev.) Coronado combo guard Jaden Hardy has ranked second just behind Holmgren in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings throughout the 2021 recruiting cycle. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Hardy has an offer from every blue blood program in college basketball and could make an instant impact for an NCAA Tournament title contender.

Just don’t expect him to be doing that come the fall.

Unlike Holmgren, who made it clear he is intent on playing college basketball leading up to Gonzaga, Hardy is more likely to take his talents straight to the professional ranks. All of Hardy’s current 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions project the Nevada native to go pro next season, which seems likely at this point.

RELATED: No. 1 2021 recruit Chet Holmgren commits to Gonzaga

That does not mean Hardy has completely shut the door on playing college basketball, though. He narrowed his list of suitors to Arizona State, Georgia, Georgetown, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, Oregon, Texas Tech and UCLA, and two schools look to be standing above the rest if he decides to spurn the professional ranks and play (likely) a year of college basketball.

“Right now, the three options receiving buzz behind the scenes are the G League, UCLA and Kentucky, in that order,” 247Sports’ Travis Branham said. “Kentucky was slotted as the early favorite in the race for Hardy but in recent months it has gone quiet as the G League has separated themselves as the clear-cut leader. If Hardy does make a surprising decision to attend college next season, signs point towards playing for Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins but again, the professional route is what is expected.”

Whether he lands in the Pac 12, SEC, or the G League, Hardy is one to keep an eye on throughout the next year. His recruitment hasn’t generated quite as much buzz as Holmgren’s, but what he brings to the court is an undeniably elite skill set that has him primed to be playing in the NBA sooner rather than later.

“Hardy is the best offensive player in the senior class,” 247Sports’ Brandon Jenkins said in his scouting report of Hardy. “He gets buckets from four different ranges on the floor and is elite at creating his own shot on demand. He has the touch of an elite scorer who can hit jumpers with a high degree of difficulty. He has tremendous range out to the NBA three-point line that stretches a defense and opens up driving lanes for his teammates.”

Max Christie among players selected to 2021 USA Nike Hoop Summit Team

Michigan State commit Max Christie was named to the 2021 USA Nike Hoop Summit Team tonight joining 13 other players on this illustrious team

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Michigan State commit Max Christie was named to the 2021 USA Nike Hoop Summit Team tonight and becomes the first Spartan commit to participate in the event since Jaren Jackson Jr. did in 2017. Christie is joined by other top 2021 prospects like Chet Holmgren, Jaden Hardy, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Hunter Sallis, Jabari Smith, Peyton Watson and a few other players.

Top players like Zion Williamson, Cade Cunningham, and Michael Porter Jr. have been apart of this team in years past. Christie and the USA team will face off against the World select team sometime in April in Portland, Oregon.  The United State currently boast 15-7 record over the World team.

Christie continues to expand his resume which already includes making the McDonald’s All-American Game roster. Christie, by the time he gets on campus, he will be a very decorated man and will look to be a key player for the Spartans for years to come.

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Bronny James and CBC fall to Air Nado after Jaden Hardy’s 39 points

Bronny James and his Sierra Canyon squad played against one of the best players in the nation in a great game.

Last night was a great night of basketball for hoops starved fans waiting to look for a glimpse of the talent projected to arrive in the NBA in the coming years. The main event was the showdown between No. 1 2021 recruit Chet Holmgren’s Team Sizzle against No. 1 2022 recruit, Emoni Bates, who some say is the best player in the high school basketball period. The nightcap featured Bronny James and his Sierra Canyon squad, playing as the AAU squad CBC to get around restrictions currently limiting school-sanctioned hoops, were in a classic against Air Nado out of Nevada.

While Bronny had some moments, both running the show as the point guard and letting it rain from the beyond the 3-point line, including a buzzer-beater, his squad was bested by five-star recruit Jaden Hardy, who had 39 points to lead all scorers for Air Nado.

Hardy, according to 247Sports, is drawing attention from Kentucky, Oregon, and UCLA.

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