NBA Draft Decision Deadline Passes

So the 5 pm deadline has come and gone, and the NBA Draft class and 2008-2009 college basketball rosters are now finally official. So who is going and who is staying.

Returning to School:

The UNC trio of Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington all decided to return to school. Everyone expected Green and Ellington to come back, but Budinger's return is a bit of a surprise.

The only other real surprise was Chase Budinger's decision to return to Arizona, who was projected as a mid-first rounder. Many reports over the last week or so said that Budinger was leaning towards staying in the draft.

The other players returning to school are Cal St. Fullerton's Josh Akognon, Texas's AJ Abrams, Alabama's Ronald Steele, Memphis's Robert Dozier, UAB's Robert Vaden, and Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo.


Staying in the Draft:

The biggest surprise was Bill Walker, who decided to stay in the draft despite injuring his knee this weekend. Since Walker was unable to complete the workout at Golden State, the only teams that Walker worked out for were Toronto (17th) and Detroit (29th). Did he get a guarantee from one of them?

Another surprise was the decision by UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to remain in the draft. Mbah a Moute is 6'6" defensive stopper that played power forward for the Bruins but projects as a three in the league. Right now he looks borderline to be drafted, but could have worked his way into a first round pick in 2009.

West Virginia's Joe Alexander, Kansas's Mario Chalmers, and Florida's Marreese Speights are all expected to be first rounders, and all three decided to remain in the draft. Alabama's Richard Hendrix, NC State's JJ Hickson, and Cal's Ryan Anderson are borderline first-round picks, but decided not to return. This was probably a good decision for Hendrix and Anderson, who both had great performances on the season and probably would not help themselves much by returning. Hickson, on the other hand, probably would have been a lottery pick in 2009, but decided to take his chances this year.

Mississippi State's Jamont Gordon was all but gone when he declared, but IUPUI's George Hill was up in the air. He is projected all over the board, even at the end of the first found by some. He signed with an agent on Saturday, which means he likely got a guarantee from someone that he wouldn't drop too far into the second round.