Monday, June 16, 2008

Who's In, Who's Out?

Despite the fact today at 5:00 p.m. EST is the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from the NBA Draft, there were still 20 players who had yet to make a final decision heading into yesterday afternoon. While some players are expected to withdraw and others are almost guaranteed to stay in, there are also several prospects who are completely up in the air. What is the latest word on each of the 20 remaining underclassmen without an agent? Let's take a look.

A.J. Abrams, Texas: Has not decided yet, but will make his final choice today. (Austin American-Statesman)

Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton: No word from him, but signs point to him staying in the Draft.

Joe Alexander, West Virginia: Has signed with agent Doug Neustadt; will not return to school. (FOXSports.com)

Ryan Anderson, California: Entirely up in the air; said last Tuesday he was nowhere near a decision. (ESPN.com)

Chase Budinger, Arizona: Said he has received "good enough" feedback to justify staying in Draft. (Arizona Daily Star)

Mario Chalmers, Kansas: Informed coaching staff he was staying in the draft. (Kansas City Star)

Lee Cummard, BYU: Coach Dave Rose said Cummard has decided to return to school. (ESPN.com)

Robert Dozier, Memphis: Coach John Calipari expects Dozier to come back to school. (Memphis Commercial Appeal)

Wayne Ellington, North Carolina: Will make decision today; no indication of where he is currently leaning. (Raleigh News & Observer)

Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State: As good as gone. For weeks, he and his people have been saying that he is likely staying in the Draft.

Danny Green, North Carolina: Was supposed to talk to coach Roy Williams Sunday, but meeting has been postponed until today. Said he will make his decision after talking to Williams. His father announced that he would be staying in school, and Danny also said he was likely returning.(Raleigh News & Observer, Fayetteville Observer, FOXSports.com).

Richard Hendrix, Alabama: Has not announced his decision, and was still working out with teams this weekend. (The Huntsville Times)

J.J. Hickson, North Carolina State: Officially announced on Sunday that he was staying in the Draft. (Scout.com)

Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin: Met with his coaches this weekend to make a final decision; said if he was projected to be drafted in the first 35 picks, he would leave. (Jackson Sun)

Ty Lawson, North Carolina: Has not made a decision yet, and will announce final choice today. Originally looked like he would stay in the Draft, but developments over the last couple of weeks have clouded the picture. (Winston-Salem Journal)

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA: Has not reached a decision yet. It seems like he wants to stay in the Draft, but might not get feedback he needs to justify that decision.

Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga: No indication as to which way he is leaning; coach Mark Few does not know what Pargo will do.

Ronald Steele, Alabama: After the back-and-forth announcements that occurred a couple of weeks ago, there has not been much talk about him. He was still working out for teams this weekend, and will announce his decision today. (The Huntsville Times)

Robert Vaden, UAB: Coach Mike Davis said Vaden is 50/50 on staying in the Draft. He has a final workout today with Detroit, and will likely make a decision after that. (ESPN.com)

Bill Walker, Kansas State: Might be the most interesting case of them all. It looked like he was going to stay in the Draft; coach Frank Martin said he was not expecting Walker to return to school. However, Walker injured his right knee this weekend and will need an MRI. Will not make a decision until just before the deadline today. (FOXSports.com, ESPN.com)

2 comments:

  1. It seems (by a lot of rumors) that the trio from North Carolina might all be back for one more year at Chapel Hill.

    AEM

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  2. I think Green and Ellington will be back, but I still think Lawson will go high enough that he might stay in the draft.

    However, with everything that has happened over the past couple of weeks (the arrest, the missed workout), I wouldn't be surprised if he returned.

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