2019 NBA Draft: SEC Basketball leads with 16 invites to draft combine
The invitations have gone out for the 2019 NBA Draft combine. Of the 66 players attending the combine, it was SEC Basketball who had the highest number of invitees.
The ACC was seen by many to be the premier conference in college basketball this past season, but even they couldn’t top SEC Basketball when it came to players attending the NBA Draft combine. The SEC and ACC have the first and second most players attending the combine. The SEC has a total of 16 players going to the combine, and the ACC has 13 players. Behind them is the PAC-12 with eight, Big Ten with seven, and the Big 12 with five players.
It was clear throughout most of the season that some of the best players in the country played in the ACC. There were a few from different conferences sprinkled in there like Ja Morant and Jarrett Culver. For the most part, when looking at mock drafts and who the best players in the country are it is mostly ACC players, so it is surprising to see the SEC have a few more players going to the combine than the ACC. For the other three Power 5 conferences, they are going to need to step their game up. The Big Ten, Big 12, and PAC-12 all combine for just 20 players attending the combine.
The Big 12 coming out of this with just five players attending the combine is kind of surprising. They had two teams that fell under the ten loss mark along with six teams that participated in the NCAA tournament. In comparison, the Big 12 had 11 players attend the combine last year. The Big 12 dropping off in those numbers was something that some may have seen coming with Kansas struggling, and young stars already going pro in the years prior.
The SEC, on the other hand, will have a phenomenal showing at the combine. Getting 16 players to the combine, but they deserve it. The SEC has been working hard the past few years to get their school’s basketball programs to new heights, and it is paying off. It used to be Kentucky running through the conference every year, but now we are seeing competition in Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU trying to get the crown of SEC Champion.
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The ACC is the premier conference in college basketball right now, and although they won’t have the most players attending the combine, they will have the most players being drafted in the lottery and could have more players drafted than the SEC. So, for now, they are looking past that combine number and they are focusing on the real goal in getting their players to the NBA.