Deadline Decisions: Who were the losers?

Yesterday was the (ridiculously early) end to the testing the waters period for players with college eligibility remaining. Here is the full list of players that have decided to keep their names in or pull their names out of draft contention.

Who were this year's deadline losers?

Texas: The Longhorns were as brutalized as anyone in the past decade by early entry. Jordan Hamilton announced his intentions to remain in the NBA Draft a while back. Speculation about Tristan Thompson having hired an agent as gone on for nearly a month. And now, it is official that Cory Joseph will be headed to the NBA as well. That means that the Longhorns return ... J'Covan Brown and Alexis Wangmene? Texas went from a top five team to potentially missing out on the NCAA Tournament.


Tennessee: Over the weekend, both Tobias Harris and Scotty Hopson confirmed their intentions of remaining in the NBA Draft. For Harris, it wasn't much of a surprise. Most believed he was destined to be a one-and-done player since the time that he was in high school. It was a bit different for Hopson. He has the talent and the potential to be a lottery pick, but he was simply never able to put it (or keep it) all together while at Tennessee. Even with Bruce Pearl gone, Tennessee had a chance to be good with Cuonzo Martin coaching those two. With Harris and Hopson gone, things will be interesting in Knoxville. There are some interesting players -- Renaldo Wooldridge, Jeronne Maymon, Trae Golden, Cam Tatum, etc.

Michigan: The Wolverines suffered a pretty big blow when Darius Morris decided to keep his name in the draft. It looks like a good decision for now; Morris should sneak into the back end of the first round. That said, with Morris back, Michigan had a chance to be a top 10-15 team next season. With the amount of youth on that roster, John Beilein should still have a pretty good team in Ann Arbor. But Morris was one of those players that made everyone around him better. It will be interesting to see just how good players like Jordan Morgan and Tim Hardaway Jr are without him.

Butler: Its tough to say anything negative about Butler in this situation. Shelvin Mack was instrumental in getting the Bulldogs into back to back national title games. Keeping him around for three seasons is a win in this day and age. That said, losing him for next season will hurt. Matt Howard, Shawn Vanzant, and Zack Hahn are also gone, which means that the Bulldogs will be left with a lot of young players. It will be interesting to see how guys like Chase Stigall and Chrishawn Hopkins develop in the back court. If Khyle Marshall lives up to his potential next season, Butler should once again compete for the Horizon league title.

Maryland: Jordan Williams decision to enter the NBA Draft not only left the Terps devoid of any kind of experience (or talent) along their front line, it is also feasible to think that it caused Gary Williams to retire and could cost them a couple of talented recruits in Sterling Gibbs and Nick Faust. This story is far from complete, but its not to think that, when all is said and done, Williams' departure may have the most damaging long-term effects.

Pac-10:

• The decision by Jeremy Green to remain in the NBA Draft seems, on the surface, to be about more than just his draft prospects, because those don't appear to be all that good. Green was put on academic suspension for this summer, and while it didn't effect his eligibility as a player, it may have on his decision to remain in the draft -- he was back home in Austin, TX, the last few weeks. This may actually be a win for Stanford. Led by Dwight Powell and Anthony Brown, they have a talented sophomore class. They weren't going to be a tournament team this season anyway, and Green is a volume shooter that didn't make those around him better. Could this speed up the development of Johnny Dawkins' young talent?


• Washington State had the potential to be a major player in the Pac-10 race next season, but with Klay Thompson finally deciding to follow DeAngelo Casto out the door, the Cougars are left with Faisal Aden and Reggie Moore ... and not much else.

• It is well known what UCLA lost -- Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee both are gone -- but this is not new news.

Terrence Jennings: Louisville should be fine without Jennings. They are solidly stocked with back court talent, and Gorgui Dieng proved to be a more than capable shot blocker and rebounder in his time as a freshman. Throw in the returns of Rakeem Buckles and Jared Swopshire, and Louisville is going to be a top 10-15 team. Jennings, however, has a ways to go before he is an NBA player. He's got the size, the strength, and the athleticism, but NBA big men needs post moves. Jennings doesn't have a move -- singluar -- let alone moves -- plural.

Boston College: BC was going to be a loser this off-season regardless of what happened with Reggie Jackson. They lost eight seniors to graduation. But with Jackson gone, BC's leading returning scorer is not Danny Rubin, also known as walk-on Danny Rubin.

Minnesota: Minnesota is an interesting case for next season. They've had as much roster turnover as anyone in the country the last two years -- Colton Iverson, Trevor Mbakwe, Royce White, Devoe Joseph, Al Nolen. With Ralph Sampson keeping his name in the draft, they lose a front-court scoring threat and now two-thirds of their massive front line from a year ago. But with Mbakwe, Nolen (whoops, he graduted), Rodney Williams, and Austin Hollins all returning, there is still quite a bit of ability at Tubby Smith's disposal. (UPDATE: He may be returning.)

Notre Dame: The Irish could be in trouble next season. Yes, Mike Brey is staying in South Bend, but with Ben Hansbrough and Ty Nash graduating and now Carleton Scott remaining in the draft, the Irish are going to be left with a very thin roster. Eric Atkins looked promising as a point guard as a freshman, and Tim Abromaitis and Scott Martin return, but there is not much beyond that. Scott's versatility as a shooter, rebounder, and shot blocker will truly be missed.