The News Is...

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TwoSaints
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The News Is...

Post by TwoSaints »

...no news! :roll:

Long-time NBA draft expert Chad Ford just published a "Final list of early entrants to the 2021 Draft". As it turns out, though, it's not quite final. He divided the list into six groups with these headings: potential lottery picks, potential first-rounders, potential second-rounders, still on the fence, returning to school, and likely undrafted. Scottie is among the players in the fourth group. Here's the entire list of those "Still on the Fence" (the asterisk means "To preserve eligibility, player has not hired an agent"):

STILL ON THE FENCE

Players who are still testing the waters and haven’t decided whether to stay in the draft or return to school

Max Abmas, G, Oral Roberts*
Draft range: 25-40

Marcus Bagley, F, Arizona State*
Draft range: 20-35

Ron Harper Jr, F, Rutgers*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Johnny Juzang, SG, UCLA*
Draft range: 20-35

Makur Maker, F, Howard*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Isiah Mobley, F, USC*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Jason Preston, G, Ohio*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Scottie Pippen Jr, G, Vanderbilt*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Terrence Shannon Jr., SG, Texas Tech*
Draft range: 25-40


Several of those guys--Abmas, Bagley, Juzang, and Maker--went into the pre-draft process with realistic hopes of being first-rounders. But they underwhelmed, either with their measurements (especially Abmas and Juzang) or their performance. For instance, Abmas is tiny, but there are some who see a lot of Isaiah Thomas or Nate Robinson in him. And Juzang, of course, was everybody's hero in the NCAA tournament this year, but would be undersized in the NBA. Still, there are those who see a lot of Jared Dudley in him. Both guys are good examples of the kinds of players who often slip in the draft because of measurements and workouts, but end up having better careers than half the lottery picks. Thomas, for instance, was "Mr. Irrelevant" (the last player picked out of 60) in 2011 and yet he was one of only six guys that year who have ever been named All-NBA (1st, 2nd, or 3rd team).

It's interesting, too, that three of the nine have close family who are or were established in the league: Scottie, of course; Ron Harper Jr., whose Dad was an all-star and a teammate of Pippen and Jordan on three of the Chicago championship teams (and won two more in LA with Shaq and Kobe); and Marcus Bagley, whose older brother was somehow drafted ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young a couple of years ago by Sacramento. I think Maker, by contrast, is there because he barely got to play at Howard this year (due to COVID-19), so nobody knows what to make of him. The same might be true of the elder Mobley brother.

The one thing that all of them have in common, for whatever reason, is that their draft range is extremely wide. In other words, while the consensus may be that Abmas is too small, there are at least some GMs or scouts who think he's an NBA player. And of course all it takes is one team to draft you. I know that Scottie's draft range is about as wide a those of Abmas, Juzang, and Bagley--partly because of the surprising NBA success of Saben Lee.

All nine of them have asterisks. So perhaps that means that, because they've each "preserved their eligibility", they have until the 19th (the cut-off date for the NBA, rather than the NCAA) to decide?


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Re: The News Is...

Post by commadore »

TwoSaints wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 4:59 pm ...no news! :roll:

Long-time NBA draft expert Chad Ford just published a "Final list of early entrants to the 2021 Draft". As it turns out, though, it's not quite final. He divided the list into six groups with these headings: potential lottery picks, potential first-rounders, potential second-rounders, still on the fence, returning to school, and likely undrafted. Scottie is among the players in the fourth group. Here's the entire list of those "Still on the Fence" (the asterisk means "To preserve eligibility, player has not hired an agent"):

STILL ON THE FENCE

Players who are still testing the waters and haven’t decided whether to stay in the draft or return to school

Max Abmas, G, Oral Roberts*
Draft range: 25-40

Marcus Bagley, F, Arizona State*
Draft range: 20-35

Ron Harper Jr, F, Rutgers*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Johnny Juzang, SG, UCLA*
Draft range: 20-35

Makur Maker, F, Howard*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Isiah Mobley, F, USC*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Jason Preston, G, Ohio*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Scottie Pippen Jr, G, Vanderbilt*
Draft range: 40-undrafted

Terrence Shannon Jr., SG, Texas Tech*
Draft range: 25-40


Several of those guys--Abmas, Bagley, Juzang, and Maker--went into the pre-draft process with realistic hopes of being first-rounders. But they underwhelmed, either with their measurements (especially Abmas and Juzang) or their performance. For instance, Abmas is tiny, but there are some who see a lot of Isaiah Thomas or Nate Robinson in him. And Juzang, of course, was everybody's hero in the NCAA tournament this year, but would be undersized in the NBA. Still, there are those who see a lot of Jared Dudley in him. Both guys are good examples of the kinds of players who often slip in the draft because of measurements and workouts, but end up having better careers than half the lottery picks. Thomas, for instance, was "Mr. Irrelevant" (the last player picked out of 60) in 2011 and yet he was one of only six guys that year who have ever been named All-NBA (1st, 2nd, or 3rd team).

It's interesting, too, that three of the nine have close family who are or were established in the league: Scottie, of course; Ron Harper Jr., whose Dad was an all-star and a teammate of Pippen and Jordan on three of the Chicago championship teams (and won two more in LA with Shaq and Kobe); and Marcus Bagley, whose older brother was somehow drafted ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young a couple of years ago by Sacramento. I think Maker, by contrast, is there because he barely got to play at Howard this year (due to COVID-19), so nobody knows what to make of him. The same might be true of the elder Mobley brother.

The one thing that all of them have in common, for whatever reason, is that their draft range is extremely wide. In other words, while the consensus may be that Abmas is too small, there are at least some GMs or scouts who think he's an NBA player. And of course all it takes is one team to draft you. I know that Scottie's draft range is about as wide a those of Abmas, Juzang, and Bagley--partly because of the surprising NBA success of Saben Lee.

All nine of them have asterisks. So perhaps that means that, because they've each "preserved their eligibility", they have until the 19th (the cut-off date for the NBA, rather than the NCAA) to decide?
That is what I have been saying but no one seems to believe me. Obviously this long time expert has no clue what he is talking about because all the experts here have spoken.
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AuricGoldfinger
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Re: The News Is...

Post by AuricGoldfinger »

July 19 is, in effect, the deadline for international players to withdraw from the draft. If a player withdraws after tonight (11 PM CT), he forfeits his remaining college eligibility. July 29 is the NBA draft date.
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Re: The News Is...

Post by MrMemorial »

The posters on the Ohio U. Bobcats forum are pretty sure Preston is staying in the draft.

The kid never even started in high school, so even a late 2nd round pick or G-league thing would be a huge step for the kid. He's a true underdog story. Hard to not love this success for him.

UPDATE: confirmation... he's staying in the draft...

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/jason-presto ... t-process/
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