College and pro basketball fans, coaches and analysts stayed up to track who would be in or out of the 2024 NBA Draft. Almost right up to midnight Wednesday, May 29 was the deadline for draft entries to exit the field in order to be eligible to play college basketball in the 2024-25 season. The names of players were filtered into one bucket or the other throughout the day – college or the NBA.
Arkansas has Several Options Remaining for Final Spot in the Rotation After NBA Draft Withdrawals
The transfer portal entry deadline has already come and gone, but college rosters are not completely set, as the NBA Draft loomed large over the consideration of which marquee players would be available, and which to prioritize in the light of those possibilities. A major and perhaps the last major prospect for the Arkansas Razorbacks fell into the college bucket as Coleman Hawkins of the University of Illinois withdrew from the NBA draft on the very night of the deadline.
Players who enter the NBA draft can also enter the college basketball transfer portal, provided they have remaining eligibility. Many of the exits from the upcoming NBA Draft on June 26th and 27th also entered the transfer portal by the deadline of May 1. Having chosen to remain in college, they are now on the transfer market. College coaches now make the final recruiting push to complete their upcoming rosters, giving fans one last recruiting season of the late spring/early summer.
Hawkins falls into that bucket. Also in that category is Trevon Brazile, who played for Eric Musselman at Arkansas over the last two seasons. Another name that comes to mind is Kentucky center Ugonna Onyenso, who during his time in Lexington played for Arkansas coach John Calipari.
All three are big men of one sort or another, which is the last remaining position of need to complete the Hog rotation that Calipari has committed to keeping to 9 tops, maybe 10 where the 10th guy “knows he’s the 10th guy.” Hawkins is a 6’8″ forward who can score and rebound and has a special talent for a big man for stretching the defense with his shooting range. Brazile is a long, bouncy athlete who churns out highlight dunks and blocked shots, and finally Onyenso is a traditional center type who could add depth for Calipari.
With DJ Wagner’s recent public commitment, the backcourt is shored up, and the entire rotation has taken shape. The backcourt consists of Wagner, Johnell Davis (Davis also withdrew from the draft in a move widely seen as a formality), and Boogie Fland, while the wings are Karter Knox, Billy Richmond, and Adou Thiero, and finally the big men, Joanas Aidoo, Zvonimir Ivisic, and possibly Hawkins, Brazile, or Onyenso. Arhtur Kaluma of Kansas State and Jamir Watkins of Florida State also remained in college, are in the transfer portal, and are in the vicinity the 3-4 combo position.
Looking across the general landscape as the dust settles from May 29, Caleb Love pulled out of the draft and will remain at Arizona, and Mark Sears withdrew from the draft and will return to Alabama, a move that will significantly raise the hopes of their respective teams. Johnny Furphy of Kansas chose to stay in the NBA Draft, and always making headlines with every move, Bronny James also chose to remain in the draft and forego his remaining college eligibility.
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