Breaking Down The Most Important NBA Draft Decisions

Since UConn cut down the nets in Houston less than a month ago, the College Basketball season hasn’t slowed down at all. The Transfer Portal has been buzzing, with some of the biggest names in the sport entering their name and anyone who follows this sport knows just how vital the portal is to today’s game.

While there are still some major decisions to be made in terms of transfers, the volume of names in the portal has slowed down a bit. Now, it is time to shift our focus to the players that have entered the NBA Draft while maintaining their college ability. Here are some of the biggest decisions to be made, when it comes to staying or going in the college ranks. The early entry deadline to enter the NBA Draft is April 23rd, however the big date is May 31st, which is the last day for early entry underclassmen to withdraw their names from the draft.

Oscar Tshiebwe – Kentucky

The 2022 National Player of the Year returned to school for an encore, and it didn’t disappoint. Arguably the best transfer in the history of College Basketball, Oscar had another dominant season for Kentucky, which included leading the country in rebounds per game with 13.7. In addition, Tshiebwe finished top 3 in the SEC in scoring, with 16.5 points per game and led Kentucky to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2019. If Oscar is back, he’d join the likes of the #1 ranked recruiting class in College Basketball next season, alongside possibly guys like Antonio Reaves and Chris Livingston, who each played major roles for Kentucky in 2023.

With that being said, Oscar was a liability at times on the defensive end. When opposing teams were able to put the big man in ball screens and force him to guard on the perimeter, it usually would not end well for Kentucky. This is a possible problem that comes with your big man being your best player in the year 2023, as you can exploit Tshiebwe on the defensive side of the floor.

If Kentucky were to lose Tshiebwe, there are plenty of reinforcements that could help fill the void. Primarily backup big man and former top 40 recruit, Ugonna Onyenso will be back in Lexington, after entering his name into the Transfer Portal earlier this offseason. The big name for Kentucky fans to keep their eyes on however, is Michigan Transfer Hunter Dickinson, who John Caliapri reportedly flew out to see earlier this week. Dickinson is arguably the biggest name in College Basketball we’ve seen to enter the Transfer Portal as a former First Team All American, and has reportedly shown interest in Kentucky, if Tshiebwe does not return to school.

Zach Edey – Purdue

Edey is in a very similar spot to Tshiebwe, considering he is a former National Player of the Year that has the option of returning to school. In addition, he is someone that there is no guarantee can work in the NBA, considering guarding on the perimeter is a clear weakness. You can also argue however, that Edey’s 7’4” size and rebounding ability is always going to be something that can translate in the league.

Whether Edey comes back or not, will be a massive domino for a Purdue program that is desperate to break through in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilers are set to return their four other starters alongside Edey, including the Freshman backcourt duo of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Both of these guys really delivered, considering the position they were put in as an all-Freshman backcourt. This is despite the fact that they hit a little bit of a midseason wall and clearly weren’t ready for the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament.

Something Purdue really needs to focus on, is in game adjustments and stop trying to force their opponents into only playing their style of basketball. This has been something that has burned the Boilers in each of their last two NCAA Tournament losses, both of which came in embarrassing fashion to #15 seeded Saint Peters and #16 seeded Fairleigh Dickinson. In both games, Purdue’s opponents limited the Boilers star players down the stretch in Jaden Ivey and Edey and never looked back after that. With Edey back, Purdue should open up the season as a top 5 team once again, yet the only thing in the mind of Boilers fans will be a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Without Edey, there is a good chance this Purdue team would open up the season outside the Top 25. That’s how big of a division is about to be made, from the 7’4” big man from Toronto.

Andre Jackson – UConn

The Huskies will be in a very good position entering next season after cutting down the nets, despite what happens with Jackson here. UConn will bring back big man Donavan Clingan, who will be poised for a breakout in a much bigger role, plus the addition of Top-10 Recruit Stephon Castle and the return of Alex Karaban. Jackson returning to school however, would make the Huskies a clear-cut Top 5 team if not better.

The high-flying combo Guard, was vital to UConn’s National Championship run as an elite defender, great passer and a guy that was always just in the right place at the right time on the floor. Jackson’s ability to initiate offense and find the open man for UConn was special and there is definitely a place in the NBA for him. What makes Jackson unique, is the fact that the only thing he isn’t good at is something you are going to need to do in the NBA and that’s shooting the basketball. Jackson only shot 28.1% from three this past season and this will be something he needs to improve on.

If Jackson were to enter the NBA Draft, he would likely be an early second round pick this season. However, with next year’s High School recruiting class being weaker than usual, Jackson could be a lottery pick in next season’s Draft, with another great season at UConn. The Huskies are also waiting on the status of Tristen Newton for next year’s team and will officially be losing the Final 4’s Most Outstanding Player in Adama Sanogo.

Johnell Davis & Alijah Martin – Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic shocked the world, when they made it to the Final 4 as a #9 seed, in only their second tournament appearance in program history. The Owl’s dynamic duo during this magical run were Davis and Martin, who were the team’s top two leading scorers and averaged a combined 27.2 points per game.

While there were a ton of rumblings about FAU’s players being poached by other programs to enter the Transfer Portal before their run even ended, both Davis and Martin have said that if they do return to College Basketball they will be back in an Owls Uniform. As a matter of fact, the only player for FAU that is completely out of eligibility is Michael Forrest, who was a 5th year Senior and a very impactful player off the bench.

FAU will be one of the more difficult teams to rank in the preseason assuming both games are back, due to the fact that the Owls were good enough to win the whole thing this past season, however ranking FAU in the top 5 would be saying that they would be the favorite to win a handful of Power 6 leagues, which might not be reasonable. Despite where they are ranked preseason, Dusty May established himself as one of the premier coaches in College Basketball and Martin and Davis coming back would make FAU one of the favorites to get back to the Final 4 for the second straight season.

Coleman Hawkins – Illinois

For the third consecutive NCAA Tournament, Illini fans were left severely disappointed, following Illinois’ first round loss to Arkansas. This marked also the third consecutive big dance, that the Illini have gotten very unlucky when it comes to their seeding. In each of the last two seasons prior to 2023, Illinois faced a KenPom Top 10 Ranked team, prior to the Sweet 16. Then this past season, they opened up the tournament against an Arkansas team that had 3 McDonald’s All American and a Coach that had gotten to the Elite 8 in 2021 and 2022.

Brad Underwood is a coach that has gone to the NCAA Tournament seven different times, since he took over Stephen F. Austin in 2013. However, he is still looking to get to his first second weekend and there are some Illini fans growing impatient. Illinois will need Coleman Hawkins back, after he was their leading rebounder and assist man in 2023 and was super valuable to the team. Especially after Terrance Shannon Jr, The team’s leading scorer announced that would be heading to the NBA. Hawkins is currently projected as a second round pick in the NBA Draft, but similar to Andre Jackson, could climb even higher in the 2024 Draft with a better season.

Illinois have also lost Guards Skyy Clark, RJ Melendez and Jayden Epps to the portal, which leaves the Illini backcourt very thin for next season. Getting Hawkins back is a huge key, heading into Brad Underwood’s seventh season in Champaign.