How the NCAA Extending Withdrawal Deadline for 2020 Draft Affects LSU, College Basketball

Four LSU underclassmen will likely have to wait a bit longer for their NCAA feedback

On Wednesday, the NCAA elected to extend the deadline for collegiate NBA draft prospects to retain their eligibility in college. This move comes nearly two weeks after the NBA decided to postpone the draft lottery and combine to an undetermined date. 

While the draft is slated to take place on June 25 as of this time, it's widely expected that the NBA will push it back as well, particularly after the postponement of the lottery and combine. The NCAA's initial timeline for college athletes to remove their name from the draft and still keep their eligibility was June 3 but will now be determined based on the NBA's draft timeline.

“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,” NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement.

So what does this mean for LSU and its four underclassmen that have declared for the draft? Freshman forward Trendon Watford and sophomores Javonte Smart, Darius Days and Emmitt Williams have all entered their names to test the draft waters.

Watford is the only player that has popped up on many draft boards, appearing in the Athletic's top-100 board at No. 56 alongside senior Skylar Mays. 

It's believed that three of the four LSU underclassmen could potentially return with Williams being the only player that plans to hire a non-approved NCAA agent. One of those three prospects is closer to 50/50 according to Wade and the Tigers are preparing for any and all scenarios in regards to that player, including pursuing another big man.

"We're not sure exactly what's going to happen with him but we'll be at 13 scholarships by the time classes start, which is where we need to be," Wade said.

The challenge that comes with the NCAA pushing back its eligibility return date comes squarely on the college programs and coaches like Wade. If the draft process is pushed into late summer or early fall, roster management will become all the more difficult.

For teams looking to make contingency plans like LSU should players like Watford, Days or Smart ultimately elect to stay in the draft, they'll likely want to hear from the players before making decisions.

However with the pre draft process being postponed as well, there's a chance the draft eligible players won't receive the feedback they want in the coming weeks or even months.

If LSU is eventually able to retain a combination of Smart, Days and Watford or possibly all three, it would have the makings for the deepest most talented roster Wade has produced while the head coach of the Tigers. 

"It'd look like a major contender on a national scale," Wade said. "That's what we're after and that's what we're very, very close to doing. I think we'll have a team that competes at the top of the SEC and in the top-10 to 15 nationally. I think if things break like we hope, we could have three double digit SEC starters and scorers back and if you add [our recruiting class] you're in real business now."