Kansas eliminated from NCAA Tournament: Who’s going to the NBA Draft?
The Kansas Jayhawks were ousted from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, but now who’s heading into the 2017 NBA Draft from Lawrence?
Entering the NCAA Tournament, most folks filling out their brackets had the Kansas Jayhawks pegged as potentially one of the favorites to win the National Championship. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks weren’t the so-called team of destiny. Instead, they were the team that met up with the Oregon Ducks in the Elite Eight and got thoroughly man-handled short of the Final Four.
Despite the immense talent of Kansas, they didn’t have an answer for anything that the Ducks were doing. Jordan Bell dominated them and Tyler Dorsey added to that. Subsequently, it’s onto the next chapter for Bill Self and the good people of Lawrence, KS. The big question, though, is who’s going to remain in Lawrence to stick around with Kansas for another year.
Simply, the question is which players from Kansas will now enter the 2017 NBA Draft?
RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket
One player who will certainly be leaving—because he doesn’t have a choice—will be Frank Mason III. The diminutive guard just wrapped up his senior season with the loss and will look to make it in the NBA now. He’s projected to be a late-second round pick, if he’s selected at all.
The biggest question marks are like junior guards Devonte’ Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhaliuk. If Graham were to leave, he’d most surely be drafted. However, it would likely be in the second round, which makes it seem as if he might ultimately return for another year. Mykhaliuk on the other hand definitely could use another year in the system at Kansas and is likely a lock to return.
Next: 2017 NBA Mock Draft: Week 20
That, however, is all leading to the main event, which is of course star freshman Josh Jackson. Though Jayhawks fans would lover for him to Rock Chalk for another year, don’t hold your breath—even for a second. It would be a tremendous shock if he sticks around as he’s set to be picked near the top of the lottery.