Highlights
- Mark Sears chose to return to Alabama, a big loss for teams seeking to pick him this year.
- Hunter Sallis withdrew from the NBA Draft, showcasing strong shooting skills.
- Caleb Love decided to stay with Arizona to refine his game.
On a yearly basis, NBA teams look to the future as they attempt to draft potential players to amplify their rosters. The deadlines for both declaring for the Draft and withdrawing from the Draft have passed, and therefore the stage is set for the 2024 NBA Draft, set to commence on June 26 and 27.
While plenty of talented players have declared for the Draft and can expect to be drafted at some point, there have also been plenty of players to withdraw from the draft.
Reasons for this could vary from the player committing to their university for another year to them simply not yet feeling they are NBA ready and want to use another year to build their skills, to personal issues, and more.
With the 2024 NBA Draft just weeks away, here are the five best players to withdraw from this year’s iteration of the Draft, saving their craft for next year.
1 Mark Sears
Sears averaged 21.5 points per game with Alabama
Arguably the most notable of players to withdraw from the 2024 NBA Draft and return to college for another year is Mark Sears. It was announced on May 29 that Sears would rescind from the Draft and return to the school for his senior year as he attempts to lead the Crimson Tides to a national title.
The 22-year-old senior at Alabama is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. This past season saw the point guard put up career numbers, averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.
|
Mark Sears – 2023-24 Stats |
|
|---|---|
|
PTS |
21.5 |
|
REB |
4.2 |
|
AST |
4.0 |
|
FG% |
50.8 |
|
3PT% |
43.6 |
Sears shot 50.8 from the field, which was in the 99th percentile, and 43.6 percent from three-point range in that span. His decision to withdraw from the upcoming Draft means that a potential needle-moving piece is now off the board, at least for this year, and teams will be left to scramble.
2 Hunter Sallis
Sallis shot nearly 50 percent from the field with Wake Forest
With Sears off the board, another potential pick to replace him was lining up to be Hunter Sallis. Sallis displayed his talent at Wake Forest this past season, which saw the 6-foot-5, 180-pound junior average 18 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
|
Hunter Sallis – 2023-24 Stats |
|
|---|---|
|
PTS |
18.0 |
|
REB |
4.1 |
|
AST |
2.5 |
|
FG% |
48.5 |
|
3PT% |
40.5 |
What makes Sallis evermore impressive is his shooting ability, especially at his age. He shot 48.5 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range this past season. Now that he is committing to Wake Forest for one more year, he will have a chance to sharpen those stats further.
3 Caleb Love
Love tore up the court with Arizona, averaging 18 points per game
Another player who has been making waves and headlines throughout the college basketball world is Caleb Love. He was expected to be another high pick in this year’s Draft but has announced that he will commit to another year with Arizona.
|
Caleb Love – 2023-24 Stats |
|
|---|---|
|
PTS |
18.0 |
|
REB |
4.8 |
|
AST |
3.8 |
|
FG% |
41.3 |
|
3PT% |
33.2 |
Love tore up the court last season, averaging 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He shot 41.3 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from three-point range. Love, who is a senior with the Wildcats, will return to Arizona for one final year before (likely) declaring for next year’s draft.
4 Jarin Stevenson
For any basketball fan who has kept a close eye on the NCAA, Jarin Stevenson is a name that has popped up often. Expected to be another high pick in this year’s upcoming Draft, Stevenson recently announced that he would be withdrawing from the Draft, committing to Alabama for another year.
|
Jarin Stevenson – 2023-24 Stats |
|
|---|---|
|
PTS |
5.3 |
|
REB |
2.7 |
|
AST |
0.4 |
|
FG% |
41.8 |
|
3PT% |
31.7 |
The Alabama freshman is one-inch shy of seven feet tall (listed at 6-foot-11) and 210 pounds. He averaged just 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game but has demonstrated the ability to go off.
Stevenson played a crucial role in Alabama’s Final Four run this past season, in which he scored 19 points in the Elite Eight game versus Clemson.
5 Adama Bal
Bal earned First Team All-WCC honors last season
Another prominent name in the young basketball world is Adama Bal. The 6-foot-7, 190-pound French phenom lit up the court with the Santa Clara Broncos last season as a junior, in which he earned First Team All-WCC honors. He averaged a career-high 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.
|
Adama Bal – 2023-24 Stats |
|
|---|---|
|
PTS |
14.4 |
|
REB |
3.2 |
|
AST |
3.3 |
|
FG% |
39.2 |
|
3PT% |
35.3 |
Bal did shoot just 39.2 percent from the field, however, but most of those were three-pointers, as he shot 35.3 percent from that range
It is clear that Bal is a little ways away, but has plenty of potential as he grows his game, and therefore becomes another talent to withdraw from the upcoming Draft.
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