Big Ten Basketball: Top Players from the Conference in the 2018 NBA Draft
The NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline was Sunday Night and there are a lot of guys interested, including 21 Big Ten Basketball players that are going pro for sure or are testing the waters to see where they currently stand.
The Big Ten has a few important names interested in going to the NBA. April 22 marked the first important date of the NBA Draft. It was the deadline to throw your name into consideration.
A lot of guys have declared professional status and will hire an agent for the draft in June. Many more are testing the NBA Draft waters, but aren’t hiring an agent which means they’re able to return to school.
There were two guys that the Big Ten knew for sure that was going pro. Both Michigan State Spartans Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. Bridges was a big name last year. He gave up a potential lottery selection for one more year in school. Bridges is still projected in that position.
Jackson was one of the more dominant freshman this year. He was very highly recruited. Jackson stands at six-foot-eleven, has a nice jumper and is a deadly shot blocker.
From there it was unclear on who else was declaring. We had a feeling there were going to be quite a few who were going to test the waters, but not hire an agent. It turned out so many players decided to take that route.
There are 13 players who are declaring without an agent: Nick Ward, Carsen Edwards, Nojel Eastern, James Palmer, Isaac Copeland, Jack McVeigh, Charles Matthews, Juwan Morgan, Bruno Fernando, Kevin Huerter, Ethan Happ, Tyler Cook and Isiah Moss.
I really can’t imagine a whole lot from those that would stay and hire an agent. Ward and Edwards were great this season, but they’re not NBA ready. Nebraska and Maryland have a lot of potential for next season so I’m not riding on any of those guys leaving.
It’s good though for those guys to get some feedback from NBA minded guys. They all have the ability to play at the next level, but now is not the time.
There are six other players along with Bridges and Jackson who have declared early. There’s one other senior who has the possibility of getting drafted.
There’s still quite a bit of debate on the look of different big boards. The majority is agreeing that Bridges and Jackson are going to be lottery picks. The other two are that Leron Black and Corey Sanders are more than likely not going to get drafted.
I will give quick descriptions of four guys and then I’ll feature who I think are the top five-guys. Obviously only two are consensus for right now. The draft is two months away and there is still plenty of time left to debate.