NBA Draft: Deciding Between Making the Jump and Returning to School

Checking in on the draft stock of notable college returners and looking ahead as well.

Around this time every year, NBA prospects are faced with the decision between declaring for the draft or returning to college to improve their stock. Essentially, they must decide whether or not they want to prolong their entrance into the league to bet on themselves.

As with any bet, it comes with a risk and a reward. Players can disappoint in their additional year in the NCAA and hurt their draft stock or simply lose hype in the process. Alternatively, they can take advantage of their opportunity to shoot up big boards. We see both cases on an annual basis, such as through the last two cycles. Let’s check in on some notable prospects who decided to return for the 2022-23 college basketball season:

Jordan Hawkins, UConn

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

After a quiet freshman season, Hawkins decided to return to UConn. He had displayed flashes of brilliant shooting, earning some draft hype, but nothing substantial. Fast forward a year later, and he’s a national champion and in lottery discussions.

Maxwell Lewis, Pepperdine

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Lewis initially gained some traction as a prospect after an intriguing freshman season, but decided to return for his sophomore season to solidify himself and it surely paid off. He made the most of his newfound opportunity, and earned the right to be a potential lottery pick come June.

Terquavion Smith, North Carolina State

Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

Last cycle, Smith stayed in the process for quite a while, not deciding to return until May. He was projected to be a late first round pick back then, so bet on himself to get his stock into lottery range in a deeper draft class. However, he didn’t exactly make the most of his sophomore year. His counting stats went up after the departure of Dereon Seabron, but his stock didn’t rise with it. This season, he’s still projected in the same range as a late first rounder.

Harrison Ingram, Stanford

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports

About a year ago, Ingram had legitimate first-round hype. Like many others, though, he put his chips on the table to return to school and build upon his hype. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in doing so. He didn’t make any major strides at all, and his stock plummeted in the process. Now, he has less buzz in draft discussions, and has entered the transfer portal to salvage his candidacy for future cycles.

Notable Returners For The 2024 Draft:

Donovan Clingan, UConn

Kel’el Ware, Indiana

Kyle Flipowski, Duke

Jaden Bradley, Alabama

J.J. Starling, Syracuse

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