ADVERTISEMENT

Draft Deadline

Villian07

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2015
6,168
3,525
113
Players opting to return to school so far today

Remy Martin - ASU
Aaron Henry - Sparty
Jared Butler - Baylor

Earlier this week

Luka Garza/Luke Graza - Iowa
Ayo I??????? - Illinois
 
Last edited:
@dukedevilz didnt mean to steal ur thunder in the top 50 team top 100 players thread but figured in a slow time this should get its own thread.

Has Teague already decided to return to Baylor as well?
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukedevilz
Ayo and the big center both are returning. Illinois could be the team to beat in the Big10 this year if there's actually a season.
 
@dukedevilz didnt mean to steal ur thunder in the top 50 team top 100 players thread but figured in a slow time this should get its own thread.

Has Teague already decided to return to Baylor as well?

You're good. It probably does merit its own thread. And yes, MaCio Teague announced earlier that he's returning. Baylor will be a contender next season, no doubt.

Corey Kispert is making me nervous. Why is he taking so long to decide lol?
 
Last edited:
Kispert is coming back to GU. Gonzaga a top 2 team this preseason

Good! He sure took his sweet time, though.

How would you rank the Zags players, in order of most impactful in 2021? You probably have a better feel than I do, but I'll say...

1. Corey Kispert
2. Jalen Suggs
3. Joel Ayayi
4. Drew Timme
5. Anton Watson
6. Oumar Ballo
 
Good! He sure took his sweet time, though.

How would you rank the Zags players, in order of most impactful in 2021? You probably have a better feel than I do, but I'll say...

1. Corey Kispert
2. Jalen Suggs
3. Joel Ayayi
4. Drew Timme
5. Anton Watson
6. Oumar Ballo

I'd go with this:
1. Suggs
2. Kispert
3. Timme
4. Ayayi
5. Watson
6. Ballo

If the Zags are going to win the national championship then Kispert can't be their best player. He is a very, very good player. But at the end of the day he is primarily a catch and shoot guy. I compare him to saying that Klay Thompson is never going to be the lead dog on a championship team.

Timme is likely to score around 15ppg so he may have the best stats, but I think Ballo's defensive presence will have a lot to say come tourney time. That dude is an elite rim protector.

Honestly I expect a similar year from Ayayi offensively, but every NBA guy told him that his defense sucked. He is way too athletic to be as bad defensively as he is, so i expect a big jump from him in that regard.

I have no idea what Watson is at this point since he was hurt all year. He needs to be able to make open 3's and rebound like crazy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukedevilz
I'd go with this:
1. Suggs
2. Kispert
3. Timme
4. Ayayi
5. Watson
6. Ballo

If the Zags are going to win the national championship then Kispert can't be their best player. He is a very, very good player. But at the end of the day he is primarily a catch and shoot guy. I compare him to saying that Klay Thompson is never going to be the lead dog on a championship team.

Timme is likely to score around 15ppg so he may have the best stats, but I think Ballo's defensive presence will have a lot to say come tourney time. That dude is an elite rim protector.

Honestly I expect a similar year from Ayayi offensively, but every NBA guy told him that his defense sucked. He is way too athletic to be as bad defensively as he is, so i expect a big jump from him in that regard.

I have no idea what Watson is at this point since he was hurt all year. He needs to be able to make open 3's and rebound like crazy.

Seems reasonable. If Ballo is a dominant force in the paint, he could command more minutes. You think there's any chance Timme and Ballo play many minutes together? I'd be a little worried about the spacing with those two.
 
Seems reasonable. If Ballo is a dominant force in the paint, he could command more minutes. You think there's any chance Timme and Ballo play many minutes together? I'd be a little worried about the spacing with those two.
Ya, they can only play together if Timme develops a mid range jump shot. Last year, the worst lineup the Zags would have is when Timme and Petrusev were on the court at the same time.

That is why Tillie was so important to last year's team. They really need a 4 to help stretch the court.

But yes, I think Ballo can be a real force. I think this team is so stacked offensively that haveing a rim protector who can also finish might be more important in tight games. I imagine that Timme will be able to score with the best of them next year, but I care more about their defense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukedevilz
With how things sit, not sure returning to school would be my decision. Go G-League, overseas...Get paid while you can. It's very iffy there will even be a season. And if there is, it'll probably be an abbreviated one. JMO. But if it were me, and with the circumstances, no chance I return.
 
Weird brooks didn’t test the waters, I know Calipari encourages it (as should all coaches when u can do it multiple times and still return to school)

IIRC Brad Calipari tested the waters a year or so ago lol
 
Nvm I seen in the other thread EVERYONE is returning besides Woodard from Miss St.

Whose the biggest withdraw winners? Baylor, Illinois, Iowa, and LSU?
 
Might not have any draft lottery players for the first time in cal's reign I believe

Which is funny, because Duke probably won’t either. Heck, Duke might not even have a first rounder.

What’s going on with those two recruiting classes?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Noahtogo24
Which is funny, because Duke probably won’t either. Heck, Duke might not even have a first rounder.

What’s going on with those two recruiting classes?

Yeah with more and more mock drafts, Carey isn't in the first round. However, if he would have came back, Duke would have been preseason top 5, so theres that at least :p
 
  • Like
Reactions: GE Nole
How many did y’all lose? And how many of those will be 1st rounders?
All the starters (Richards, Montgomery, Quickley, Hagans, and Maxey). Maxey is probably the only first rounder. Also lost Sestina (was a grad transfer), Whitney (quit halfway through the season), and Juzang (transferred to UCLA). They only have 2 scholarship players returning and Brooks is the only one that played, Allen was a redshirt (injury).
 
All the starters (Richards, Montgomery, Quickley, Hagans, and Maxey). Maxey is probably the only first rounder. Also lost Sestina (was a grad transfer), Whitney (quit halfway through the season), and Juzang (transferred to UCLA). They only have 2 scholarship players returning and Brooks is the only one that played, Allen was a redshirt (injury).

Any thing significant to take from that? Were they gonna have minutes cut due to incoming kids? Or they just would rather go play pro somewhere (even G league) than stay at UK for a maybe/maybe not season of college ball?
 
Cassius Stanley may not be drafted in the 1st Round, but I think he has first round value. The knock on him was always his shooting. Shot around 25% from three his junior year of high school. This past season, he was 36% from three - and his 53.1% efg was almost identical to Grayson Allen's career effective field goal percentage. Stanley is freaky athletic; has a slightly higher vertical than Zion. I think he's going to be a steal.
 
So who’s gonna have multiple first rounders? Memphis, FSU, and Arizona all seem pretty locked in. Any other team?
 
The Homer in me thinks David Johnson and Sam Williamson have a chance to be first rounders. Might be wishful thinking but both showed flashes their freshmen years. Plus both will be called upon to contribute much more, especially Sam stepping into nwora/Sutton’s role. And I Imagine we will start Johnson and Jones in the backcourt, giving Johnson ample opportunities, hopefully he can stay healthy this season. There has also been a lot of positive buzz around Jaelyn Withers, although I imagine he would be more of a candidate to play 2-3 more years before going pro. FWIW he redshirted last year and grew 1.5 inches and packed on some muscle, and the staff is really high on him. And we are gonna need him bc the 4 is our biggest question mark followed by backcourt depth.

Also have to assume Boston and Clarke from UK will be first rounders based on their ranking and UKs track record. Then again recent 5* guards like Hagans and Quickley didn’t, while Maxey, Herro, and Johnson all went 1st round OaD in the same time frame. I’ve admittedly not seen anyone on their roster play, sans Sarr and Brooks, so I don’t know how The new guys compare to the old ones. Also wouldn’t suprise me if Brooks has a really nice season. I’m not sure if he has a PJ Washington type sophomore season in him, but crazier things have happened. I think he is a really good player, who at times struggled with the speed of the game last year. Also Allen is a complete wildcard as he was very highly regarded as well before And injury has had him out since the mid way of his senior year in HS.
 
Last edited:
Any thing significant to take from that? Were they gonna have minutes cut due to incoming kids? Or they just would rather go play pro somewhere (even G league) than stay at UK for a maybe/maybe not season of college ball?

Not a UK fan but I’d say it’s a more of the fact that sans EJ Montgomery, most have probably peeked their draft potential. Richards and Maxey are no brainers, as they will likely go first round. Quickley was the SEC POY and still isn’t getting a lot of first round looks, so hard to imagine he will have a significantly better season had he come back. He’s likely reached his draft stock ceiling. Hagans is probably ready to get paid, regardless where. He had some chemistry issues at the end of the year as well. And Montgomery, I really don’t know, that one makes no sense to me. I figured he’d be better off transferring that going pro, but he might just be ready to get paid too.

I feel like a lot of these 5* top 15 recruits only plan on staying in college 1-2 years regardless of whether or not they will be drafted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GE Nole
Any thing significant to take from that? Were they gonna have minutes cut due to incoming kids? Or they just would rather go play pro somewhere (even G league) than stay at UK for a maybe/maybe not season of college ball?
The only significance is that every kid that comes to UK thinks he's ready to go pro before he is. All those guys would've played major minutes next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GE Nole
The Homer in me thinks David Johnson and Sam Williamson have a chance to be first rounders. Might be wishful thinking but both showed flashes their freshmen years. Plus both will be called upon to contribute much more, especially Sam stepping into nwora/Sutton’s role. And I Imagine we will start Johnson and Jones in the backcourt, giving Johnson ample opportunities, hopefully he can stay healthy this season. There has also been a lot of positive buzz around Jaelyn Withers, although I imagine he would be more of a candidate to play 2-3 more years before going pro. FWIW he redshirted last year and grew 1.5 inches and packed on some muscle, and the staff is really high on him. And we are gonna need him bc the 4 is our biggest question mark followed by backcourt depth.

Also have to assume Boston and Clarke from UK will be first rounders based on their ranking and UKs track record. Then again recent 5* guards like Hagans and Quickley didn’t, while Maxey, Herro, and Johnson all went 1st round OaD in the same time frame. I’ve admittedly not seen anyone on their roster play, sans Sarr and Brooks, so I don’t know how The new guys compare to the old ones. Also wouldn’t suprise me if Brooks has a really nice season. I’m not sure if he has a PJ Washington type sophomore season in him, but crazier things have happened. I think he is a really good player, who at times struggled with the speed of the game last year. Also Allen is a complete wildcard as he was very highly regarded as well before And injury has had him out since the mid way of his senior year in HS.

I meant multiple first rounders in THIS years draft.
 
I meant multiple first rounders in THIS years draft.

Oh my apologies, idk why in the world I thought u meant next year. I guess since we were discussing kids coming back I just assumed I meant next year for some reason, my bad.

Id still say UK has a chance with Maxey and Richards.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GE Nole
ADVERTISEMENT