NBA Draft 2019: Players who should withdrawal and return to school
3. Kansas – Silvio De Sousa
6-9 Silvio De Sousa sat out all of last season due to potentially receiving impermissible benefits. He currently is ineligible to play in the upcoming 2019-20 season, but Kansas has appealed the decision, and there is apparently confidence the ruling could go in their favor. It’s unclear where his head is at now, but De Sousa has said that he would return to the Jayhawks if he becomes eligible again, framing the NBA draft entry as a sort of back-up plan.
So why specifically am I “wishing” for De Sousa to return? I think it’d be a ton of fun to see Bill Self handle the “trio of towers” (quad towers if throw in Mitch Lightfoot) of Udoka Azubuike, David McCormack, and De Sousa. From a college basketball perspective, I think there’s an argument to be made that all three are underrated.
The 7-0 Azubuike was out most of last season due to injury. I think his projected lack of an NBA future, his propensity for foul trouble (averaged 5.7 fouls per 40 min per KenPom) and his poor free throw shooting (34% in 2018-19) have contributed to him being underrated. When healthy and on the floor, Azubuike can be a monstrous force in the college game. Once can expect him to shoot 70+% from the field; if he gets the ball close to the basket, expect a dunk.
As Kansas suffered injuries this past season and failed to keep it’s Big 12 championship streak alive, the Jayhawks fell quite under the radar towards the end of the season. I found this completely understandable, as I didn’t forecast much of an NCAA Tournament run for the Jayhawks, and as expected, Kansas lost to Auburn in the round of 32. But for anyone that actually watched the late-season Jayhawks, they likely noticed a bright spot: 6-10 freshman David McCormack.
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McCormack played >=10 minutes per game in 5 of the first 23 games, but played >=10 minutes in 11 of the last 13. In the last 13 games, he averaged 7.1 points per game on 69% shooting. More impressive than any of his stats were the flashes of athleticism that McCormack showed. As three-point shooting continues to take over college basketball, the value of having so many big men might not be what it once was. But I’d love to see Bill Self try to make it work.