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The NCAA announced today that the June 3 deadline for students to withdraw from the NBA Draft and retain eligibility will be pushed back. A new date has not been determined. The NCAA’s full statement is below.
“The NCAA’s deadline for men’s basketball student-athletes to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their eligibility will be pushed back from the current June 3 date. This modification is being made with the health and well-being of our student-athletes in mind, along with their ability to make the most informed decisions during this uncertain time, and is based on the recent announcement by the NBA to postpone the 2020 NBA Draft Combine. Out of respect to the NBA’s process, the decision on a new withdrawal date will be made once the league has determined a timeline for the 2020 pre-draft process. Working in collaboration with National Association of Basketball Coaches Executive Director Jim Haney and the rest of the coaches’ leadership, the NCAA membership will ensure that any change supports a player’s decision-making process related to professional opportunities while also protecting their academic pursuits and the opportunity to play college basketball.”
None of this is much of a surprise. Once the first domino of the combines/lottery fell, it was only a matter of time that the NCAA would have to respond. Although the NBA Draft hasn’t officially been delayed just yet, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which it still takes place on its scheduled date of June 25.
For Gonzaga fans, that means we will have to wait even longer to learn the fates of Joel Ayayi, Corey Kispert, and Filip Petrusev, who each declared their intentions of testing the waters without hiring agents.
I’m not a gambling man, but with so much in flux right now, it seems hard to envision a scenario in which all three players leave, let alone one of them. Crazier things have happened in the world, however. Assuming all three players return, they will rejoin one of the top projected teams in the country for the 2020-21 season, assuming there is a season at all.