Following Oregon’s 80-68 loss to Oklahoma in the Elite Eight Saturday, graduate transfer Dylan Ennis told reporters he hoped the success this team experienced would create momentum heading into next year’s campaign.
But in this era of college basketball, in which it seems the majority of freshmen and sophomores with NBA potential leave for the pros as soon as the opportunity presents itself, momentum is difficult to build.
Oregon will lose seniors Elgin Cook and Dwayne Benjamin. But a core of the group that won a Pac-12 regular season and tournament championship – Tyler Dorsey (freshman), Chris Boucher (junior) and Dillon Brooks (sophomore) – have six years of eligibility left combined. Which means that their decisions over the next month will be extremely consequential for next year’s outlook.
None have given any direct indication about what their respective futures will look like, but a new NBA Draft rule implemented in January may give them reason to at least test the professional waters.
The rule allows for underclassmen to go through the entire pre-draft process and still be eligible to return to school. A player like Dorsey, so long as he didn’t sign with an agent, could participate in the 2016 NBA Draft combine, appear in one private team workout and receive a thorough assessment about his professional prospects.
He’d then have up to 10 days after the combine to decide on withdrawing his name from the draft — whereas in 2015, players had to withdraw their names just a week after the Final Four, which ends in early April.
It’s been called a rule that will help student-athletes, and coaches such as North Carolina’s Roy Williams have stated their support. Kentucky head coach John Calipari even shined a spotlight on the new bill, after announcing that all of his players eligible for the draft, including walk-ons, would declare.
With that being said, every player who is eligible for the draft, including our walk-ons, will submit their names for the NBA Draft …
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
The new rule states they can submit their name a total of three times. If they choose to withdraw, they have until 10 days after the combine
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
It’s a true win-win for the student-athlete.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) March 23, 2016
The option for a player with pro potential to declare isn’t just possible, but completely rational now. So, despite the fact that Brooks may not even be rated as one of the 100 best draft prospects, according to ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford, the Ducks’ top scorer could still decide to partake in the process.
The same obviously holds true for Dorsey, who is considered Oregon’s best pro prospect, and Boucher, whose versatility has garnered plenty of intrigue. If neither is invited to the pre-draft combine, they can then withdraw their names. And if they are invited, they can partake in the process and gather as much material as possible about their potential, before making an informed decision.
It appears that all of the Ducks’ underclassmen would benefit largely from another year at the college level. Oregon head coach Dana Altman certainly wants them back. But this new rule makes declaring for the draft all the more appealing.
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise