Draft News

[Admiral]

N.C. State freshman J.J. Hickson will enter his name in the NBA Draft this year and go through the process without hiring an agent, Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said after his weekly radio show Monday.


"He'll test the waters," Lowe said. "He'll get all the information he can and decide what's the best thing. It may depend on where he's going in the draft."

"If I'm not where I want to be in the draft, then I'll come back and start all over again," Hickson said Thursday.

The News & Observer

[cooldude32]

I'm not familar with his game.

[encmetalhead]

he's a good player but i think he needs one more year or two in college

[esoteric]

who? lol

[Admiral]

Although USC sophomore Taj Gibson announced at the Trojans' team banquet Monday night that he would return for his junior season, a source close to the situation said the 6-foot-9 forward would assess his future over the next few days before deciding whether to make himself available for the NBA draft.

Reached by telephone at her New York home on Tuesday, Gibson's mother, Sharon, said her son had not informed her of his plans.

Los Angeles Times

[Admiral]

"I really don't know," Donte Greene said. "I haven't thought about it. I've been thinking about this team and this season. It's been the media and people have been pushing it in my face."


However, Greene did back off statements he made to the New York Times at the Big East Tournament when he said he would only enter the NBA Draft if he was a certain Top 5 pick. "You never know," he said. "It depends on who likes who and whatever."

Paul Harris put an end to rumors surrounding his future with the Orange. Harris said he will return to Syracuse next year for his junior season.

The Post-Standard

[Admiral]

Andrew (Chicago): Hey Chad If i were drafting a Pf could you rank these guys for me, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love,Tyler Hansbrough and whats the latest on griffins decision??

Chad Ford: You've got them in the right order. Griffin is a potential Top 10 pick. Love is late lottery to mid first round. Hansbrough is a pick in the 20s to early second round.

MJ (ATL): Any chance Anthony Randolph goes back for another year. With the incoming class and Mitchell and Temple returning, LSU could be pretty good next year.

Chad Ford: No ... everyone I talk to says he's gone. I hear he's already talking to NBA agents. He's a likely Top 10 pick in this year's draft. He has a chance to move up very high in the draft ... I think his range is 3 to 11

Alex (Glen Burnie, MD): Is Rose the most logical pick for the Knicks since it seems as though the Knicks will not be able to unload Curry and Zach without giving up decent young players at the same time.

Chad Ford: I have Michael Beasley on the top of almost every team's draft board ... but the Knicks may be the exception. The desperately need a floor leader and a great citizen on and off the court ... Rose seems like a much better fit.

Hank (Portland): Wait how come Beasley is a #1 pick and Hansbrough is in the 20s?

Chad Ford: Athleticism, offensive versatility and rebounding ... but mostly athleticism. Hansbrough's a below average athlete who plays under the rim for the most part. There's a minimum level of athleticism necessary to make in the league. Hansbrough's on the bubble there.

James (titusville, fl): Why do you have Deandre Jordan going higher than Brook Lopez? Deandre Jordan has not looked impressive at all and Brook Lopez is tearing it up!

Chad Ford: Upside mostly. Jordan is a bigger, better athlete. He's also a year younger. But on production there's no question that Lopez has been better. Jordan's a high risk, high reward type player. Lopez is more of a sure thing, but he doesn't have the potential to be great in my opinion.

Sandy (Springfield, OH): Is Bill Walker from Kansas State a first-rounder on potential? Do you think he'll turn out?

Chad Ford: He's got the athleticism, shooting ability and size to go that high ... but he's been terribly inconsistent this season. He'd probably be better off waiting a year ... but most likely he comes out and he's a bubble first rounder.

Larry (New York): O.J. Mayo: the real deal or not?

Chad Ford: More and more the answer is beginning to look like ... yes. He hasn't lived up to the hype ... but who could. He's not a point guard ... but as a scoring two guard, he looks like the real deal. My guess is he's gone somewhere between 3 and 8.

Mark (Boston): Derrick Rose, the next Chris Paul?

Chad Ford: I'm not willing to go that far. He's actually got some things going better than Paul. He's bigger, stronger and more athletic. However, he doesn't have the floor vision, leadership and shooting ability of Paul ...yet. He's a very good prospect ... but Paul was a once in the decade type point guard.

Link

[Admiral]

A source close to USC freshman Davon Jefferson emphatically said Thursday that the 6-foot-8 forward would return for his sophomore season instead of declaring for the NBA draft.

"He is not declaring for the draft," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He has not hired an agent nor will he hire an agent. He looks forward to going back to USC and is 100% committed to the team."

Los Angeles Times

[Admiral]

Sophomore center Derrick Caracter will not be back. His enigmatic college career ended with a whimper on Saturday, when he scored only two points and did not play in the second half against North Carolina. Still, the 6-foot-8 Caracter said he believes he can work his way into the NBA draft.


"I'm going to go back home to New Jersey for a little bit, and after that, the phones are getting cut off," he said. "It's time to get on my grind. All the doubters who feel I may not get drafted, well, I've been doubted my whole life, so that's nothing new."

Forward Terrence Williams is contemplating whether to turn pro and plans to gauge his stock at the NBA predraft camp this summer. Sophomore forward Earl Clark said Saturday night that he would follow Rick Pitino's recommendation and return for his junior season, when he could blossom into one of the nation's best players.

The Courier-Journal

[Admiral]

Although JaVale McGee said he feels like he made the right decision to hire an agent and enter the draft, it certainly wasn't an easy decision.


"I just decided I would like to go and I'm predicted to go in the first round, so this felt like the right time," McGee told the RGJ when reached Sunday night.

Roosevelt Barnes, McGee's agent at Maximum Sports Management, said his client is a sure-fire first-round pick.
"Everybody's saying he's a first-round pick," Barnes said. "There's no way that he falls out of the first round. No way. From what they saw at Nevada, everybody has been very impressed with him. He's the most skilled 7-footer in the world."

Reno Gazette-Journal