An important NBA draft deadline saw two more college basketball stars announce they will be returning to their schools.
Caleb Love will be back for national runner-up North Carolina, and Hunter Dickinson again will forgo a shot at entering the professional ranks in favor of another season at Michigan. They join an impressive group of returning players set to give the 2022-23 men’s college basketball season some marquee names while they work on refining their skills.
Love and Dickinson made their intentions known Sunday, hours before a deadline for college players with remaining eligibility to declare for the draft. Such players who do so can still withdraw from the draft by June 1 and go back to college, assuming they don’t violate any other NCAA guidelines on maintaining eligibility through the testing-the-NBA-waters process.
For Love and Dickinson — as well as the likes of Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, Alabama’s Jahvon Quinerly and UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell — the NBA can wait. Their decisions to stay in the college ranks come at a time when the NCAA’s opening last year of name, image and likeness opportunities for athletes has changed the basketball landscape in ways that continue to emerge.
Dickinson, for example, said in October that he had signed more than a half-dozen NIL deals, and in February he became a pitchman for Outback Steakhouse. A 7-foot-1 center who starred in high school at DeMatha, Dickinson has been one of the best players in the Big Ten for two seasons. He announced his return for a junior campaign with the Wolverines by sharing an image Sunday with the pithy caption, “I ain’t done yet.”
Love had more to say, and the comments he shared centered on the thrill of performing in Chapel Hill. “The opportunity to play at North Carolina is something I’ll never take for granted,” the 6-4 rising junior guard said in a video. “To play for the greatest fan base in the world, to play with the most amazing teammates I could ever imagine, and to play for coaches who support and challenge me in every way, are all blessings that make me feel so fortunate.
“I’m back,” Love added.
Also back for the Tar Heels are other key cogs in their surprising run to the doorstep of a national title as a No. 8 seed, including big man Armando Bacot, guard RJ Davis and versatile wing Leaky Black. Love didn’t solve all of his issues with consistency during the tournament, but he notched some of his biggest games of the season and elevated his national profile as one of the major figures of March Madness this year.
“Caleb’s passion for this team and program are what motivates and drives him to win a national championship and eventually have a long, successful career in the NBA,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said in a statement. “Nobody is better at taking and making big shots in pressure situations. He’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever been around and I’m extremely excited to coach him another season.”
Tshiebwe, a 6-9 forward who won a number of player of the year awards as a double-double machine for the Wildcats, also pointed to factors other than NIL compensation for his decision to return.
“The feedback from the NBA was like, ‘Oscar, you can expand your game from outside, make one or two threes a game,’ “ he told reporters Friday. Scouts also advised him to “fake, attack the rim, make your passes and get better [at] dribbling,” he said. All that would help him “be good at the position next year.”
Quinerly, a talented guard who was expected to declare for the draft this year, tore a knee ligament during the Crimson Tide’s NCAA tournament loss to Notre Dame. Alabama Coach Nate Oats said at the time that the injury was likely to “put a big kink in those plans.”
On Saturday, Quinerly tweeted: “I’ll keep it short and simple. I’m coming back.”
Of course, a number of notable college players are going ahead with their draft plans, and Duke’s AJ Griffin and Kansas’s Ochai Agbaji added their names to that list Sunday.
After making his mark as a freshman, Griffin became the fifth Blue Devil to depart early for the NBA draft. Previously declaring were freshman forward Paolo Banchero, sophomore center Mark Williams, junior wing Wendell Moore Jr. and freshman guard Trevor Keels.
A 6-5 guard who was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player after his Jayhawks won the national title, Agbaji said Sunday it was a season he would “remember forever” and “never take for granted.”
“No matter where basketball takes me — I’ll always be a Jayhawk,” he wrote in a note shared on social media. “With that said, I would like to declare for the 2022 NBA draft. Rock Chalk forever.”
"love" - Google News
April 25, 2022 at 05:01PM
https://ift.tt/8XOk3UT
Michigan's Hunter Dickinson, UNC's Caleb Love announce returns - The Washington Post
"love" - Google News
https://ift.tt/19nDCxs
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Michigan's Hunter Dickinson, UNC's Caleb Love announce returns - The Washington Post"
Post a Comment