In recent years IU fans have had to sweat it out while prominent players such as Trayce Jackson-Davis, Juwan Morgan and others made NBA Draft stay-or-go decisions.
There has been no such drama in Bloomington this year. Center Kel’el Ware has made it clear for a couple months he’s in the draft and staying there. The All-Big Ten performer is likely to be chosen in the first round in next month’s draft. And Mackenzie Mgbako announced in late March he was returning to the Hoosiers for his sophomore season.
But there are still a few key decisions outstanding vis-à-vis the NBA Draft as it relates to the now 18 team Big Ten Conference. And so before we can start doing deep dives on returning rosters across the league and what it all means for the 2025 Big Ten race, we’ll of course want to see how these final moves involving key players shake out.
There have been years where NBA Draft decisions looked like they’d have a massive impact on the competition for the Big Ten title. That’s not necessarily the case this year, although obviously, anyone still making this decision is good enough to change the course of the season in one way or another.
Here’s where things stand with the 15 players from the Big Ten who entered with college eligibility remaining.
DECISION TO MAKE
- Brooks Barnhizer – Northwestern
- Cam Christie – Minnesota
- N’Faly Dante – Oregon
- Coleman Hawkins – Illinois
- Payton Sandfort – Iowa
Notes: Barnhizer is expected to return to Northwestern. Sandfort is seen as 50/50 and he’s expected to announce this week. If Christie and Hawkins return, they are not expected to return to the same school they played for last season. Both are also in the transfer portal. Dante would be one of the best big men in the league if he came back for a sixth year via a medical hardship waiver.
EXPECTED TO STAY IN DRAFT
- Kel’el Ware – Indiana
- Adem Bona – UCLA
- Isaiah Collier – USC
- Zach Edey – Purdue
- Bronny James – USC
Notes: Ware and Edey have definitively said they are staying in the draft. But no one in this group is expected to play in college next year.
COMING BACK TO SAME SCHOOL
- Nimari Burnett – Michigan
COMING BACK TO COLLEGE, BUT TRANSFERRING
- A.J. Hoggard – Michigan State –> Vanderbilt
- Scotty Middleton – Ohio State –> Seton Hall
- A.J. Storr – Wisconsin –> Kansas
- Terrance Williams – Michigan –> USC
COMING INTO THE BIG TEN, AND WITHDRAWING FROM NBA DRAFT
- Ben Humrichous – Illinois
Players have until May 29 to formally notify the NBA of their intent to withdraw from the draft. The 2024 NBA Draft is June 26-27.
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