NCAA underclassmen must declare before April 22nd to be eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft.
If these NCAA players opt to withdraw their declaration and return to college, they have until May 29th to do so. The NBA Draft Combine runs from May 16-20. So, we are still early in the window of declaration, but things are getting real with NCAA March Madness standout, Ja Morant throwing his hat into the ring.
As it stands today, Murray State’s Ja Morant would be projected at or around the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The consensus number one pick is still Duke’s Zion Williamson by a decent margin. Williamson has yet to declare, and his fellow Duke teammates have not either. Don’t worry; they will. Fellow freshman, RJ Barrett is projected to be picked in the top three with Zion and Ja.
Those players that have declared have likely signed with agents. How college students can afford professional agents is an article for another day.
Below is the list of declared players as it stands right now (per Yahoo! Sports):
Tyus Battle, Syracuse
Bol Bol, Oregon
Ky Bowman, Boston College
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
Darius Garland, Vanderbilt
Dewan Henandez, Miami
Nassir Little, UNC
Jalen McDaniels, San Diego State
Ja Morant, Murray State
Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s
Naz Reid, LSU
Simi Shittu, Vanderbilt
Coby White, UNC
Kris Wilks, UCLA
The same Yahoo! Sports page names the following players as still “Testing the water.” This means that the players have declared to gauge interest, but have likely not gone so far as to hire agents and or go all-in.
Jordan Bone, Tennessee
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse
Charlie Brown, Saint Joseph’s
Amir Coffey, Minnesota
Steve Enoch, Louisville
Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State
Nathan Knight, William & Mary
Sagaba Konate, West Virginia
Jalen LeQue, N.C. State
Jaden Nwora, Louisville
Miye Oni, Yale
Reggie Perry, Mississippi State
Isaiah Reese, Canisius
Derrik Smits, Valparaiso
Jimmy Whitt, SMU
With the likes of ZIon absent from this list, you know that there are many names still on their way. It is still exciting to see players such as Ja Morant, Nassir Little, and Bol Bol already on here. As we near the April 22nd deadline, many of the names you are hearing amidst the March Madness will start to pop up.
You know we will keep you up-to-date if anything big happens leading up to the combine and the 2019 NBA Draft. Remember to follow us on Twitter @BBall_Movement, Instagram, and like us on Facebook to stay in the know!