Players that entered their names into the NBA draft have until May 29th to withdraw and return to school. As an NCAA Basketball fan, I have three wishes that involve players choosing to come back.
A few weeks ago, the final list came out of underclassmen that submitted their name into the NBA draft. These players have till May 29th to withdraw their name and retain their college eligibility. I looked into which teams had the most underclassmen declare and most weren’t surprising. Three teams have five underclassmen declaring.
(All statistics used in this article were found via KenPom and are up to date through season’s end).
Duke: Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, Marques Bolden, Javin DeLaurier
Kentucky: PJ Washington, Keldon Johnson, Tyler Herro, EJ Montgomery, Nick Richards
LSU (for the casual college basketball fan this might be a little surprising): Tremont Waters, Naz Reid, Javonte Smart, Skylar Mays, Emmitt Williams
Only two teams have four underclassmen declaring, one of which is not particularly surprising. The second, however, is a team that didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament last season.
Kansas: Dedric Lawson, Devin Dotson, Silvio De Sousa, Quentin Grimes
TCU: Kevin Samuel, Desmond Bane, Kouat Noi, Jaylen Fisher
1. TCU – Desmond Bane, Kevin Samuel
TCU definitely had NCAA tournament expectations heading into 2018-19 but fell short, earning a 1-seed in the NIT as a consolation prize. Since Jamie Dixon took over in 2016-17, the Horned Frogs have been slowly building towards NCAA Tournament success. In 2016-17, TCU missed the tournament but won the NIT as a 4-seed, a significant positive step forward for the program. In 2017-18, the Horned Frogs had a really strong season, earning a 6-seed and their first tournament appearance since 1998.
They were unable to notch the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 1987, however, falling to 11-seed Syracuse. In 2018-19, the Horned Frogs seemed poised to be comparable if not better than the prior year’s squad and in solid position to get that tournament victory. They only went 7-11 in a tough Big 12 conference, however, and just missed the NCAA tournament, earning the aforementioned NIT 1-seed.
Although the Horned Frogs graduate two starters in Alex Robinson and JD Miller, the fact they have four players putting their names in the NBA draft suggests they have a lot of potential returning talent, right? Wouldn’t it be great if this talent would return and finally get TCU that tournament victory?
Well first off, it’s not four, but actually two. Jaylen Fisher, who missed most of the season, with an injury, has made clear that he will not be returning to TCU, even if he does not end up pursuing an NBA career. Noi has expressed similar intentions and will not be returning either. That leaves Bane and Samuel as the core of the team, a core that isn’t outstanding but is one that maybe could get to the NCAA tournament and take another shot at that postseason victory? Maybe I’m overly hopeful and optimistic. Of the two, Bane is the only one that seems to have a shot at being drafted, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable at all for both to return.