Draft Declarations Thread



  • BShark said:

    Jaren Jackson JR declaring w/ agent. What a wasted one year at MSU.

    Top 3 pick potentially, yeah that was just a matter of time. I’m a little on the fence with him. Lots of talent, not sure he’s really ready for this.



  • @justanotherfan

    Thanks! I think the general consensus out there is that the G-League isn’t paying well enough but if that’s where they are headed towards then we will see a dramatic shift in the top HS kids in the future as well. Bazley is yet another example of this from this years class.

    I’m surprised its taken the league this long to go in this direction.



  • By Vick leaving are we are talking about to play pro ball somewhere, but not transferring, correct?



  • @BucknellJayhawk3

    Yes, lots of options for him to play pro.

    Transferring out to sit a year to play 1 wouldn’t seem likely



  • @BucknellJayhawk3 This is the exact scenario why players should all be able to hire agents strictly to get the best information possible.

    Vick should be able to sign an agent who can get him offers from all over the World and he could make a truly informed decision. Instead, Vick has no idea what his pro prospects look like.

    That is a rule that should be changed.



  • @BShark said, “My guess is Newman declares with agent, Doke declares w/o and probably comes back and Vick ends up somewhere else one way or another.”

    BeddieKU23 said:

    @BShark

    Agree on all.

    Ditto.



  • Tony Carr leaving Penn State.



  • @BShark Vick leaving appears to be the prevailing feeling. What is driving that?



  • @Hawk8086 Perhaps the apparent lack of commitment on the court game after game???



  • Shine and Sima leaving Okie St.



  • BShark said:

    Shine and Sima leaving Okie St.

    Oklahoma St returning 3 players who even played. lol. 5 open scholarships



  • Barry Brown from K-St declares without Agent.

    Dewan Huell from Miami declares without Agent.

    Clemons’s duo of Reed & Mitchell declare without Agents.

    Kevin Knox and Alexander of Kentucky expected to declare with Agents any day.



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    BShark said:

    Shine and Sima leaving Okie St.

    Oklahoma St returning 3 players who even played. lol. 5 open scholarships

    I thought they were going to be interesting next year but now…



  • BShark said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    BShark said:

    Shine and Sima leaving Okie St.

    Oklahoma St returning 3 players who even played. lol. 5 open scholarships

    I thought they were going to be interesting next year but now…

    Dumpster fire now. Except when they find 4 grad transfers that play like Kobe against KU.



  • Jaren Jackson’s statement is awesome.

    Michigan State is an amazing place. And this has been an amazing year —from the time I hit the campus in June for summer workouts and summer school until now. I never imagined it would be like this. Never. Playing for Coach Izzo and the rest of the staff has been incredible. They’ve helped me develop so much, both on and off the court. After only one year, I know my memories are few but they will never be forgotten: football games, late night study group and early morning study hall at the Smith Center, the Breslin and the mighty Izzone, the PK80 title, the outright Big Ten Championship, and being recognized as Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the B1G. Please know that nothing was lost on me. Still, nothing is bigger than the bond I have with my teammates. These guys are my family. They will always be my brothers.

    Spartans, this was not an automatic decision. And honestly, thank you for making it one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to think about. While playing in the NBA was always my dream and desire, I did not know the opportunity would present itself in quite this way. I’m ready to live my dreams and I cannot pass it up. Therefore, the time has come to declare for the 2018 NBA Draft.

    Even though I will no longer play for MSU, I will ALWAYS be a Spartan! I will finish my studies and I will kiss the Spartan helmet on the Breslin court.

    #SpartanForLife

    Go Green!

    -Jaren



  • Ray Spalding hiring an agent from Louisville.

    Nevada’s trio, twins Cody & Caleb Martin & Jordan Caroline testing without agents



  • @BShark

    He was automatically gone before he stepped foot in College. These kids are funny



  • @BShark Mercy , going to be lots of new faces in the Big 12 next year. - -Okie St - - Texas Tech -Texas



  • @BShark I find quite a bit of class in it



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    @BShark

    He was automatically gone before he stepped foot in College. These kids are funny

    I thought it was cool. Clearly he loved it there. I didn’t get that feeling from some of the KU oads.



  • @BShark

    I agree it was a classy letter. I just find it funny that the decision was actually that difficult after he’s been projected Top 5 prospect since last spring



  • Yeah you have to go when you are projected top 5. Then again Bridges stayed. Something in the water up there I guess.



  • @BShark I don’t think Self helps himself though. He trusts experienced players to a fault. Look how much of an impact De Sousa made when Self was forced to develop him.

    Oubre, Cliff, Diallo and Bragg (not OAD, but probably could have been in the right circumstance I think) all got screwed coming here imo. Tons of talent that we just never unleashed.

    Bill will forever be fitting square pegs into round holes. I’m not saying to go full Calipari and just hope your talent plays well enough to overcome poor strategy, but 3 out of those 4 should have been major impact players at the college level.

    But then there are other guys that I think never were here mentally. Henry, Selby and Wiggs should never have played college ball. We weren’t even Henry’s or Selby’s first choice. So that definitely doesn’t help with buying in. Wiggs has literally never looked like he even likes playing basketball.

    The only OAD that has seemed worth taking so far is JJ.

    That’s the reason I like the recruits we have this season. Dotson De Sousa and Grimes would have to have monster years to be OAD. They have something to play for instead of these higher ranked guys that are just trying to make it through a year.



  • Declarations will probably pick up now that the season is over.

    I imagine Brunson, Bridges, Wagner, and Newman will all declare with or without agents in the next few days. Quite a few others may test the waters.

    It wouldn’t be the worst decision for guys like Azubuike and Dean Wade (KSU) to test the waters so they know where they specifically need to improve over the next year. That’s what Barry Brown is likely doing, and I think it is smart for a guy that may be a year away to test and get feedback. Because you can’t really have contact, most college players don’t have anyone they can talk to that can give them legitimate feedback and guidance. Vick should at least test the water for that reason. Even if he does return, he needs a specific list of things to work on so that he can round out his game to have the best possible opportunity in the pros.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @BShark I don’t think Self helps himself though. He trusts experienced players to a fault. Look how much of an impact De Sousa made when Self was forced to develop him.

    Oubre, Cliff, Diallo and Bragg (not OAD, but probably could have been in the right circumstance I think) all got screwed coming here imo. Tons of talent that we just never unleashed.

    Bill will forever be fitting square pegs into round holes. I’m not saying to go full Calipari and just hope your talent plays well enough to overcome poor strategy, but 3 out of those 4 should have been major impact players at the college level.

    But then there are other guys that I think never were here mentally. Henry, Selby and Wiggs should never have played college ball. We weren’t even Henry’s or Selby’s first choice. So that definitely doesn’t help with buying in. Wiggs has literally never looked like he even likes playing basketball.

    The only OAD that has seemed worth taking so far is JJ.

    That’s the reason I like the recruits we have this season. Dotson De Sousa and Grimes would have to have monster years to be OAD. They have something to play for instead of these higher ranked guys that are just trying to make it through a year.

    Overall I would agree.

    Cliff was coming along before the suspension issue.

    Oubre and Diallo were just about Self’s biggest failures at KU imo. Oubre played about as many minutes as Jamari, while Oubre was no worse than the third best player on that team. Self should have unleashed Oubre from the start, instead he stifled him and it hurt his development.

    Grimes thinks he is OAD. He very well might be but I can see some struggles with him early. Dotson I think will be the man from day one. Very nice job by the staff getting a good class with good fits in an overall weak class.



  • @BShark

    I will respectfully disagree on Oubre. Only Mason (36), Perry (34) and Selden (36) started more games than Oubre (27) and comparing his time with Traylor is not correct since Traylor was the starting Center sharing time with Lucas and Alexander and neither of them was that competent or experienced at the the time while Oubre was competing for time with Selden, Ellis, Svi and Green and yet he managed to average 21 mpg (more in conference play) and was the overall #15 pick in the draft after his freshman year. Perry, Selden, Mason, Graham and Green had all better 3 point shooting % than Oubre.

    All things consider, a pretty successful year for Oubre.



  • @JayHawkFanToo Oubre was never competing for time with Perry for PT really. I never remember a time where Ellis played the “3.” Oubre should have been playing 30mpg easy. His advanced stats are off the charts compared to all of the other guards. Had we let him play through mistakes and grow, I think he probably goes top 5 in the draft and leaves on a similar note as JJ. He was our best defender and most efficient scoring guard. He almost lead the team in steals despite the fact he played much less than any Frank or Selden.

    He should have gotten all of Svi’s minutes that year. Svi was a 17 year old who could barely speak any English at that point. Yet he ate up 11 mpg.

    I could not confidently say Oubre was handled correctly, or in the best way to maximize the team’s potential by the end of the season.



  • Ethan Happ declares but won’t hire agent which probably means he’s back (fingers crossed) for his senior Badger season.



  • @JayHawkFanToo Oubre was better than Selden that year. It wasn’t particularly close either.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    @JayHawkFanToo Oubre was never competing for time with Perry for PT really. I never remember a time where Ellis played the “3.” Oubre should have been playing 30mpg easy. His advanced stats are off the charts compared to all of the other guards. Had we let him play through mistakes and grow, I think he probably goes top 5 in the draft and leaves on a similar note as JJ. He was our best defender and most efficient scoring guard. He almost lead the team in steals despite the fact he played much less than any Frank or Selden.

    He should have gotten all of Svi’s minutes that year. Svi was a 17 year old who could barely speak any English at that point. Yet he ate up 11 mpg.

    I could not confidently say Oubre was handled correctly, or in the best way to maximize the team’s potential by the end of the season.

    Real talk right here.

    I think Selden was playing nicked up that year which didn’t help.



  • @BShark @Kcmatt7

    It is hard to tell whether Oubre was better than Selden since it a a subjective opinion but Selden had the advantage of an extra year in the system. Oubre’s numbers might be somewhat skewed because he did not play as much at the start of the season and his playing time increased as the season moved on. Both were All Big 12 Honorable Mention; Perry was First team and Mason Second team All Conference.



  • @JayHawkFanToo In that case it’s kind of more impressive, because Oubre couldn’t compile stats against weak teams. Like what Vick did this year.



  • @BShark

    I was referring to playing time, his scoring increased in proportion to the increased playing time.



  • Oubre came on strong late. Bill himself said he should’ve played him more early in the season. Lesson learned. Water under the bridge.



  • PJ Washington of Kentucky, no Agent

    Isiah Moss of Iowa, no Agent

    Kris Wilkes of UCLA, no Agent

    Konate of West Virginia, no Agent

    Zhaire Smith of Texas Tech, no Agent



  • PJ Washington of Kentucky, no Agent

    Isiah Moss of Iowa, no Agent

    Kris Wilkes of UCLA, no Agent

    Konate of West Virginia, no Agent

    Zhaire Smith of Texas Tech, no Agent



  • Smith is a projected first rounder everywhere I look.



  • Surprising to see Kevin Knox reports about him being torn on whether to declare. A lotto pick if he leaves…



  • Cal must want him back then. 😂



  • BShark said:

    Cal must want him back then. 😂

    He sold his soul and told him he should come back to both Kevin and his dad. Seems like they are buying into it



  • Cal getting desperate lol.



  • @Kcmatt7 Yeah, the 18 class is pretty bad. Looks like he really won’t take a big this class so it will be interesting to see who goes and stays.



  • @BShark Well let’s hope SGA, Washington and Knox all go. Then Green transfers. That would leave them with a rough group lol.



  • @Kcmatt7 Rough by UK standards I suppose. Still a lot of talent. Post situation won’t change a ton either way.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    Cal getting desperate lol.

    I think I’ve read Cal has never returned his leading scorer since coaching Kentucky. I don’t know what to believe but there are some UK people believing he’s coming back…



  • BShark said:

    Yeah you have to go when you are projected top 5. Then again Bridges stayed. Something in the water up there I guess.

    Has a player ever really improved his stock by coming back that was projected lottery after their freshman year. I remember Smart coming back and he dropped a bit, Bridges didn’t really improve his stock, Robert Williams didn’t either…



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    Kcmatt7 said:

    Cal getting desperate lol.

    I think I’ve read Cal has never returned his leading scorer since coaching Kentucky. I don’t know what to believe but there are some UK people believing he’s coming back…

    Drugged by Cal.



  • Auburn’s Mustapha Heron signing with an Agent



  • Oregon’s Troy Brown signing with an Agent. No surprise there



  • I could actually see Knox moving up to be a top 5 pick in 2019 if he returns. If he can improve his ball handling so that he can be a primary scorer at the next level, he’s a top 5 pick, particularly since the 2018 HS group isn’t exactly overwhelming. If Knox can make himself into a star at the next level, he should return and do that. If he can’t, he should go and be a role player now.

    SGA probably leaves. Washington probably returns. UK is probably stacked if that happens. If SGA stays, look out. They are right on the level with KU and Duke.


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