The NBA released its official count of early entrants into the 2001 NBA draft Friday and a record 58 college underclassmen and high school seniors names where on the list.
The list, which includes 17 international players for a total of 75 entries, had very few surprises after players from programs over the past few weeks made official declarations. It included the record six high school seniors, but did not include Duke sophomore Jason Williams or Memphis recruit Dajuan Wagner. Both players said they wouldn't declare for the draft and they proved to be telling the truth.
Last year, 56 American and international players filed but 19 withdrew their names, leaving 37 available. Of that group, 25 were
chosen. The draft, set for June 27 in New York, lasts two rounds with a total of 57 players chosen by the league's 29 teams.
NBA scouts must now believe Williams won't be on the list, but there was growing speculation from Sunday's deadline for players to declare to Friday's official release that Wagner would be on the list. Instead, Memphis survived a potential blow to its Conference USA title hopes with Wagner honoring his commitment to play for the Tigers.
Fresno State sophomore Tito Maddox was still on the list, even though he publicly said he was withdrawing from the draft. Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian said Friday Maddox would send in a letter to remove his name. Fresno State senior Melvin Ely, who is expected to earn back a fourth season of eligibility, was also made available to the draft. But Tarkanian said Ely plans on sending in a letter to withdraw his name by the June 20 deadline. Ely was invited to the U.S. trials for the Young Men World Championships June 1-3 and plans on attending.
Also on the list was Arizona's four underclassmen starters who played in this year's national title game. Florida signee Kwame Brown, DePaul signee Eddy Curry and unsigned seniors Tyson Chandler and DeSagna Diop were on the list as expected. Compton (Calif.) Centennial High center Tony Key was the sixth high school senior to declare.
Okaloosa-Walton CC (Fla.) forward and LSU signee Kedrick Brown was one of eight junior college players on the list. High school seniors and junior college players can't attend a Division I school if they apply for the draft. The deadline for filing was last Sunday. Players who have not hired agents can withdraw their names from the list as late as the June 20 deadline.
On the list are 12 freshmen, including Zach Randolph of Michigan State, Eddie Griffin of Seton Hall and Omar Cook of St. John's. A few familiar college basketball names were on the list but probably won't get drafted. Players like Rhode Island's Tavorris Bell and Zach Marbury, New Mexico's Malcolm Battles, TCU's Greedy Daniels, Iowa's Rob Griffin and American's Patrick Doctor were all either ineligible or suspended at one point during the past season.
The most interesting name on the list not reported recently was College of Southern Idaho forward Ben Eze. Eze came over from Nigeria with Uche Okafor and Muhammed Lasege. Lasege went through a bitter court fight with the NCAA to gain eligibility during the season at Louisville. Okafor, who signed with Missouri, could be headed for a similar battle. Eze was expected to be the most ready to compete at the professional level of the three Nigerians.
Chinese center Yao Ming wasn't on the foreign list of applicants, as expected.
Foreigners who are under 21 have to declare for the draft. Yao will turn 21 in September and would be eligible in 2002. Among the 17 foreigners who applied are potential first-round picks Pau Gasol of FC Barcelona and Raul Lopez from Real Madrid and Luis Scola of Tau Ceramica (Spain); Antonsis Fotsis of Panathinalkos (Greece); Carlos Delfino of Reggio Calabria (Italy); Lazaros Papadopoulos of Iraklis (Greece); Tony Parker of Paris Basket Racing (France) and Vladimir Radmanovic of FMP Zeleznik (Yugoslavia).
Next up for underclassmen are workouts, which can begin this weekend. The Chicago pre-draft camp is set for June 5-9.
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