Only 106 players declared early for the NBA draft, the league announced earlier this month, the smallest number of early entrants since 91 players declared as underclassmen in 2015.
The reason is obvious: NIL. The ability for college athletes to land major-money deals for their name, image and likeness has changed the equation for many borderline draft picks, who now have the option of making more money in school than sitting near the end of the bench for an NBA franchise.
The 106-player list of entrants has been trimmed in the past few weeks as many high-profile players have decided to spend at least one more season on the college ranks. That includes standouts who will compete for postseason hardware – led by new Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, Florida forward Alex Condon and Kentucky guard Otega Oweh.
In the bigger picture, the biggest winner of the declaration deadline has to be the SEC. After a record-setting year that established the SEC as the strongest conference in the country, the league could be even better this season with a deep collection of players opting out of the draft.
Led by Michigan, the SEC and Duke, here are the biggest winners and losers from the deadline:
Winners
Michigan
The Wolverines will start as the favorite in the Big Ten and one of the top-ranked teams in the preseason USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll after convincing Lendeborg to follow through on his transfer from Alabama-Birmingham. The senior was one of the most productive players in the country last year, averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, joining Larry Bird as the only players in Division I history to post at least 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists in a season. (That pretty much says it all.) With Lendeborg in the middle and three additional impact transfers – former North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau, former Illinois forward Morez Johnson and former UCLA center Aday Mara – joining the mix, coach Dusty May has constructed a roster built for a Final Four run.
Florida
Condon had an uneven NCAA tournament but came up huge in the championship game against Houston, illustrating his potential along with the need to hone his game before taking the next step into the NBA. Junior center Rueben Chinyelu also backed out of the draft, while forward Thomas Haugh decided not to enter the process and will see an increase in minutes with three key seniors, led by Walter Clayton Jr., gone from last year’s team. The Gators also added one of the biggest transfers of the spring in former Arkansas guard Boogie Fland – another player that considered turning pro before staying in school.
The SEC
The bad news for the SEC: Florida is going to be really good, once again. But key draft decisions will help some of the top teams in the league bring down the Gators. Surprisingly, Alabama will bring back sophomore guard LaBaron Philon, who started 29 games as a rookie and was widely expected to land in the back half of the first round. Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford will return in an effort to boost his draft stock, he said this week. Texas A&M forward Mackenzie Mgbako will stick with the Aggies after transferring in from Indiana. Karter Knox will return to Arkansas for his sophomore season, giving John Calipari’s second team a big boost – though it’s not all great news for the Razorbacks. And Oweh’s decision to opt out of the draft is huge for the Wildcats, who can build an SEC contender around the all-conference pick.
Houston
The defending runners-up had counted on an elite recruiting class to stay in the mix for the national championship. But Houston will now bring back guard Milos Uzan, too, after the senior averaged 11.4 points and 4.3 assists per game in his first year in coach Kelvin Sampson’s system following two years at Oklahoma. Uzan and returning contributors Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler will be the building blocks for what should again be one of the top teams in the country.
Losers
Duke
That Duke was dinged by early draft entrants was totally expected: Cooper Flagg is more than ready to shine in the NBA, sharpshooting guard Kon Knueppel has the toolbox to play major minutes as a rookie and center Khaman Maluach is a hugely promising but unfinished prospect who could develop into a menace on the defensive end. The Blue Devils hoped to replace a chunk of this lost production with transfer Cedric Coward, who began his career on the Division III level, spent two years at Eastern Washington and then played six games last year at Washington State before suffering a shoulder injury. But Coward blew up during draft workouts and should land somewhere in the first round as one of the draft’s fastest-rising prospects.
Arkansas
Knox should take on more responsibility as a scorer and work on developing his overall game before hopping into the draft next spring. He’ll be the centerpiece of a rotation that also will include guard DJ Wagner, two frontcourt transfers in Nick Pringle (South Carolina) and Malique Ewin (Florida State), and two five-star freshmen in Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas. The bad news for Arkansas is the decision to stay in the draft by 6-foot-6 forward Aduo Thiero, who averaged 15.2 points per game after following Calipari from Kentucky. With Thiero, the Razorbacks might’ve been seen as the team to beat in the SEC.
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