NBA teams have officially been informed that over 200 basketball prospects have declared early-entry candidates for the 2020 Draft.
The deadline to submit paperwork to make yourself eligible was at midnight on April 26. NCAA prospects who are not automatically eligible by finishing four years of college basketball eligibility must declare early entry in order to be considered in the draft.
Currently, the CBA allows a prospect to declare early entry two times. That means if someone declared early entry as a freshman and sophomore but both times opted to return to school before the allotted deadline, they would not be allowed to declare again until they were a senior.
Even though those rules within the collective bargaining agreement are fairly lenient, it remains important to use the declarations wisely. For example, this rule played a crucial role in why NBA prospects Siena’s Jalen Pickett and Utah State’s Neemias Queta will both return to school for their junior years after declaring for the draft as early freshmen in 2019.
Underclassmen who did not appear on the memo sent out to front offices on Tuesday evening will not be eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. According to Jonathan Givony, however, there are multiple prospects who said they were entering the draft were not included on the list (via ESPN):
“An interesting trend: at least a dozen players announced they are entering the NBA Draft via social media, but never actually made it onto the early-entry list. Had a change of heart, a paperwork error or maybe just looking for likes?”
One newsworthy example: Tulane junior guard TeShaun Hightower, who declared for the draft on April 18, was arrested and charged with murder as well as other felony accounts on April 26.
For fairly obvious reasons, he was not included on the early-entry list that was sent out to NBA teams on Tuesday evening.
Paul Atkinson: Staying at Yale
Of course, in less extreme situations, folks change their mind. Some of the prospects may have simply had a change of heart before the deadline passed.
For example, Yale’s Paul Atkinson was originally expected to declare for the 2020 NBA draft. Here is what he said on March 31 (via Yale Daily News):
“It kind of always went through my mind. I think I’m good enough to put my name in the draft and hear from a couple of organizations … I talked to my family and friends and it turned into a decision that a lot of people helped me make.”
Atkinson, who won Co-Ivy League Player of the Year in 2020, recently tweeted that he would return to Yale for his senior year. As such, it was no surprise that the 6-foot-10 prospect was excluded from the memo that was sent to NBA teams on Tuesday night.
Kendric Davis: Staying at Southern Methodist
One notable prospect that was omitted: Southern Methodist’s Kendric Davis. After spending his freshman season at TCU, the 5-foot-11 guard transferred to SMU and averaged 14.2 points with 6.7 assists per game.
While one publication reported that Davis would declare for the 2020 NBA Draft, the prospect later clarified on an Instagram post that it was simply not true (via 247 Sports):
“After talking to my family and coaches over the past few weeks, it was brought to my attention of being able to enter the NBA Draft. Coach Jankovich and the rest of the staff gave me the chance to play for a beautiful university. Our goal was to win a championship and still is. After seeing blogs and links with my name to enter the NBA draft, I’ve been getting calls and texts wondering if it’s true. I wanted to announce I will be coming back for my junior year. Thank you SMU for accepting me. It is still unfinished business. Pony Up!”
This was simply a reporting error that Davis was able to help clarify.
Chaundee Brown and Marcus Santos-Silva
Other examples of prospects who may fit the description mentioned by Givony are prospects who said they were testing the waters while also entering their names in the transfer portal.
These prospects may have originally considered going to the NBA route while also keeping their transfer window open. That is what Evansville’s Deandre Williams, whose name appeared on the memo, recently told HoopsHype that he intended to do.
Williams covered his bases by getting his declaration for the NBA on the record while also seeking potential fits in the transfer portal.
Others, including Chaundee Brown, did not keep their options quite as wide open. After spending his first three years of eligibility at Wake Forrest, the 6-foot-5 wing was expected to begin the draft process.
But just three days ago, the former Florida Gatorade High School Player of the Year shared a list of his final four NCAA choices: Gonzaga, LSU, Illinois and Iowa State.
Brown is clearly more focused on another year of college basketball than the professional route at this time considering his name was omitted from the early-entry candidates.
Another player in a similar situation is former VCU forward Marcus Santos-Silva.
Even though Santos-Silva originally posted that he would test the waters, last week he tweeted a graphic suggesting his final six potential destinations for a transfer: Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Penn State and Arizona State.
Cartier Diarra: Transferring to Virginia Tech
More potential confusion caused by NCAA transfers: Cartier Diarra, a grad transfer from Kansas State, is currently committed to Virginia Tech.
While he told Jeff Goodman that he also planned to declare for the NBA Draft, he was not mentioned in the memo.
As such, his original plan of spending a graduate transfer season at Virginia Tech seemingly remains intact.
Ceasar DeJesus: Going Overseas?
Similarly, UCF’s Ceasar DeJesus still had another year of eligibility left after playing three seasons for head coach Johnny Dawkins.
His coach recently explained why he was not surprised DeJesus decided against a return (via SB Nation):
“For Ceasar, he graduates this year, so for him, you have to weigh all of the options. He felt the appropriate time is now to try to continue his career professionally, so we understand that. Every kid has to run his own race with where they are, them and their families. He’ll have his degree, which is the most important thing, and he has a chance to continue to play a sport that he loves at a different level. If he wasn’t on track to graduate, then I don’t think, as his counselor — like all of us as a staff — I think the counsel would be a lot different. But he’s going to get his degree. That’s the most important thing. He’s not leaving here without his degree.”
The original post from DeJesus made some believe he would declare for the NBA Draft.
But the reality is that a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged just 9.5 points and 2.4 assists per game will not generate very much interest from the typical NBA front office. Of course, there are plenty of options for DeJesus if he plans to continue his professional career overseas.
Devon Daniels: Staying at NC State?
NC State’s Devon Daniels posted what seemed to be a goodbye to his school on March 12.
Two weeks later, Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts told reporters that the 6-foot-5 guard would declare for the draft (via SI.com):
“DJ Funderburk and Devon Daniels will both go through the process with the NBA to figure out what their status is and obviously learn a lot more about what the NBA folks think about them. They’ll take the feedback and will make an informed decision about what their future is here.”
Daniels may not have liked the feedback that he received from the UAC considering his name was not included in the memo announcing early-entry candidates.
That may be good news for NC State, especially after four-star recruit Josh Hall announced that he would declare for the 2020 NBA Draft.
Chidi Udengwu: Just a stunt?
But the only example of someone who seemed to post a declaration for the NBA Draft for “likes” without following through on such a promise would be Idaho State sophomore wing Chidi Udengwu. He averaged 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
During his two years of collegiate basketball thus far in the mid-major Big Sky Conference, he has made 13 appearances in the starting lineup out of 47 possible games.
Udengwu tweeted about his declaration starting off as a “stunt” but that he was now committed enough to the bit that he intended to hire an agent.
He even got an article written about him in the local newspaper. Here is what he told the reporter (via Idaho State Journal):
“A lot of people come into the NBA looking to just score 30 points. But there’s players like James Harden on a team that are just looking for players like P.J. Tucker that are 6-foot-6 and are going to rebound and do their role. That’s really what I specialize in, is my role.”
The college basketball player also added that he was talking to “sports public relations people, sports marketing people and whatnot” to help him with the process.
But fortunately for fans of the Idaho State Bengals who want to see more of his prowess on the court, it seems that Udengwu will indeed be back for his junior season.
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