NBA Early Entry Withdrawals

Take a look at the final list of early entry candidates for the NBA Draft and then check out some of the ramifications. There were a few interesting subplots that came following the passing withdrawal deadline. Let’s take a peek at them.

North Carolina will be ridiculous next year

The biggest news is the return of Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green to North Carolina. At this point not only is North Carolina the favorite to win the national title next year but it doesn’t seem particularly close. The biggest surprise of those three was definitely the return of Lawson as it seemed he was in decent shape to get taken in the first round.

Will Rick Pitino allow Derrick Caracter back on his squad?

Caracter is going back to Louisville despite the fact that Pitino has already discussed Caracter’s Louisville career in the past tense and he hasn’t seemed too anxious to get him back. Caracter has said he’s taking summer classes, he’s currently eligible and wants to talk to Pitino about getting back on the team this month. Caracter has been saying all the right things so far and it’s possible that he’s turned things around, but considering that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, I wouldn’t count on it.

Will UCLA have enough coming back (and coming in) to compete for a national title?

Surprisingly Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is not going back to Westwood but UCLA will be getting back Josh Shipp. Shipp, combined with Darren Collison and arguably the nations best recruiting class, should keep UCLA towards the top of the Pac 10. What that means on the national landscape is less clear. Considering UCLA is losing a couple of lottery picks early to the NBA makes this more impressive.

How will Memphis do in the post-Rose/Douglas-Roberts era?

The decisions of Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson to return to school certainly don’t hurt that cause. Neither does their recruiting class. They’ll have to figure out where the offense is coming from without Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts. I doubt they are national title contenders again next year but they should still have enough to overcome Robert Vaden and UAB.

Is Marquette a darkhorse Final Four candidate?

Tom Crean’s old team would beat Tom Crean’s new team by about 40 points if they played next year. What does that mean for the Golden Eagles? Well, with the return of Jerel McNeal they return the country’s best backcourt. (Am I right there? Whose is better?) Although I’m not sure what they’ll have available in the post, with those guards they can get by without much. It figures to hurt that they lost Ousmane Barro but that backcourt figures to make Marquette a terrifying match-up.

Can Jeremy Pargo take Gonzaga to the next level?

The return of Pargo to Spokane has to have Gonzaga excited. Pargo gives Gonzaga a potential All-American at guard on what figures to be a real nice, deep roster. What is the next level for Gonzaga? It’s probably a Final Four run. That seems unlikely for Gonzaga but if they get some of their guys to improve their game and stay away from the shrooms they have a shot in a year that might be short on upper echelon teams outside of Chapel Hill city limits.

What is with Chase Budinger?

Budinger was pretty much a lock for the first round. He’s a good bet to go higher next year but without Bayless and Brandon Jennings’ eligibility not yet a certainty there are a lot of questions in Arizona this off-season. I have no idea what the floor or ceiling are at this point at Arizona but it should be a fun story to watch next season.

Do you want to come back to www.bizarrojoelunardi.com next Thursday night to participate in a liveblog of the NBA Draft?

Yes, you do. We did this on Selection Sunday and had some good conversation and debate and I’m looking forward to doing it again for the NBA Draft. So, come back next week and join us for a chat during the draft!