The NCAA deadline for players to declare for the NBA Draft or return to college has come and gone and many players on the Hawks radar made decisions that may have affected the team’s drafting process going forward.
Some are more surprising than others, but now the Atlanta Hawks know exactly who will be available when they make their franchise-altering decisions on the night of June 21.
None of the major players in the Top 8 returned to college, as they are all guaranteed to be immediate millionaires once the draft hits, but plenty of movement occurred beyond the lottery – where the Hawks will have 3 selections in picks number 19, 30 and 34.
We’ve outlined the most important players on the Hawks radar who returned for another year of college after the NCAA’s May 30 deadline.
Michael Porter Jr.‘s younger brother Jontay Porter reclassified his senior year of high school in order to join his brother at Missouri, but, of course, MPJ suffered a back injury and was out for almost the entire season.
In his absence, the younger Porter made a name for himself as a multi-talented big man for the team and had gotten himself into the late lottery conversation.
However, he was invited the NBA Draft Combine and showed up out-of-shape with the highest body fat ratio of any player invited – a definite concern for NBA executives. Because of this misstep, Jontay decided to return to school for his sophomore season in order to get in shape and hone his still-raw skill set even further.
This seems like the right decision, as Porter was one of this year’s youngest prospects, and he will still be under 20 years old next season when he tests the waters again. Also, next year’s draft class in purportedly not as deep as this year’s, so he will have a chance to be selected even higher than he was slated to go this year.
Porter’s skill set is interesting and very modern, as he has shown a solid shooting stroke, the ability to handle and pass the ball, good defensive instincts and a strong rebounding slant for a slightly undersized big man.
The Hawks will likely select in the lottery next year as well, as the team is hunkered down and ready to continue this rebuild for as long as it takes to be competitive. In that case, the Hawks might be able to select an in-shape and more skilled Jontay Porter in next year’s draft.
The leading scorer from Syracuse’s Sweet 16 team last season, Tyus Battle will be returning to play for the Orange in his junior year next season.
Battle’s valued varied wildly from outlet to outlet regarding where he would be selecting in the 2018 NBA Draft. Now that he’s returning, along with the five other leading scorers from the team including O’Shae Brissett, Battle should be able to cultivate his value on a likely preseason Top 25 team in the NCAA.
Battle is a 6-foot-6 combo guard who put up 19.2 points per game on a 45/32/84 slash line in his sophomore year as the Orange’s leading scorer. His usage climbed nearly ten percentage points during his second college season all the way to 28.1%, meaning he is comfortable with the ball in his hands as his team’s primary offensive creator.
From Atlanta’s viewpoint, if Kent Bazemore is shipped out to a contender at the deadline or during next offseason, Battle should definitely be in the team’s wheelhouse in the 2019 draft as a bench scorer/ballhandler, as he showed some promise in that role with similar physical tools to Baze as well.
A 6-foot-4 power forward, Admiral Schofield out of Tennessee decided to bring his anomalous skill set back to school for senior season as a Volunteer.
When Schofield started his college career, an undersized frontcourt player would not have been touched by executives with a ten-foot pole, but now that the league has gotten smaller and smaller – with these playoffs being an excellent example – Schofield would have likely been taken in the mid-to-late first round.
An excellent shooter with a ripped physique, Schofield has an interesting skill set that would’ve made him switchable across five positions on defense as well as a solid spot up and post up option on offense.
Though he’s returning for one final college season, he should remain on the Hawks radar for next year’s draft – if only because he has one of the best names in basketball history, one that sounds like it belongs to a WWII officer rather than a power forward.
With rumors swirling all around Hawks starting point guard Dennis Schröder regarding his future with the team, nabbing a solid replacement would be beneficial for the Hawks going forward.
Shamorie Ponds out of St. John’s University would fit that descriptions perfectly. Many times during the 2017-18 season, exciting rookie John Collins would have a free lane to the basket via the pick-and-roll, but Schröd was far too focused on getting to the rim himself for his own scoring instead of tossing an easy lob to the extremely bouncy Second Team All-Rookie member Collins.
Ponds would not suffer from that same problem, as his pick-and-roll aptitude and exemplary passing vision should help Atlanta distribute the ball to open players from the point of attack. During his two college years, Ponds showed a knack for making the right pass at the right time, and he rarely forced a difficult pass – only taking advantage of what the defense provided and nothing else.
Next: Hawks Mock Draft After the NBA Draft Lottery
Though Ponds is clearly undersized (6’1” with a 6’3” wingspan) and his three-point stroke evaporated during his sophomore year, Ponds will only be 20 years old on draft day and could make for an interesting high-risk, high-reward selection for the Hawks in next year’s draft.