Maybe not surprising news, but particularly important news relative to their draft prospects.
With the NBA Draft Combine set for May 12-19 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, it made sense that the league office needed to get moving on the list of players invited to the combine after the early entry deadline passed. That came through on Friday evening…. which seems like a weird time, but oh well. In any case, we’re here because yes, Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek are both on the 78 player list for the Combine.
The NBA announced today that 78 players have been invited to the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, which will take place from May 12-19 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the 2024 NBA G League Elite Camp, which… pic.twitter.com/M8FUY529ul
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 3, 2024
While it’s not a surprise that either man is invited to the Combine given their inclusion on various early mock drafts and big boards, it is a very positive sign for their draft prospects. The Combine invites go out to the players that the front offices around the league agree on as the top prospects for the draft. With just 58 picks in the draft this year because Philadelphia and Phoenix have to forfeit draft picks because of shenanigans, it’s always a good thing to find out that the league’s brain trusts have you as one of the top 78 prospects in the draft pool.
This year is particularly important in that regard, as the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ association now requires invitees to attend and participate in Combine activities or else be disqualified from the draft. Also: We should point out that it’s actually only 77 players now, as for some reason, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner entered his name into the early entry process juuuuuuuuuust long enough for the general managers to vote him into the Combine, but then announced his return to the Bluejays before the Combine list was released. Weird choice, bro, but whatever.
Here’s a weird thing that got released into the public by Shams Charania: Not only is there a vote by the teams, but there’s only some specific teams that will have access to certain medical information about the tippy top players. As such, we now know who the ten most wanted players for the Combine are…… and the only college basketball players in the top six played for UConn.
NBA released a 78-player list for the 2024 Draft Combine in Chicago this month. Teams vote on participants, which include Bronny James.
New “Top 10 Players” ranked for which teams are able to access Combine information: pic.twitter.com/AoRpaSnCFw
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 3, 2024
Ighodaro led Marquette in rebounding at 6.9 caroms per game in 2023-24 as the Golden Eagles reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in over a decade. He also contributed 13.4 points, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game, and widely earned himself a reputation as one of if not the most talented college big men in the country. Kolek ended up leading the country in assists per game at 7.7, edging out Purdue’s Braden Smith and Minnesota’s Elijah Hawkins at 7.5 per night. Kolek also contributed 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game on his way to becoming just the third multi-time All-American in program history.
In case you’re curious, here’s the other Big East names on the Combine list:
Trey Alexander, Creighton
Devin Carter, Providence
Stephon Castle, UConn
Donovan Clingan, UConn
Alex Karaban, UConn
Tristen Newton, UConn
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Cam Spencer, UConn
I don’t know about you, but I’m really pulling for Alex Karaban at the Combine. Go forth and set the world on fire, my guy, make those NBA teams need to draft you.