The deadline for college basketball players to remove their name from the NBA Draft and return to school for next season was Wednesday night. It was a quiet deadline for Tennessee with Nate Ament already announcing his intentions to remain in the draft.
But there was plenty of action in the rest of the SEC with key players at Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Vanderbilt making draft decisions over the last week. Here’s who is staying in the draft and who is returning to college.
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Alabama
- Returning: Amari Allen
- Allen projected as a fringe first round draft pick after averaging 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a freshman. The forward has the chance to be one of the best wings in the SEC if he takes a step forward.
Arkansas
- Leaving: Meleek Thomas
- Returning: Billy Richmond
- Thomas was Arkansas’ second option behind SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff, averaging 15.6 points per game on 41.6% shooting from three-point range. Thomas will almost certainly be a first round pick. Richmond averaged 11.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in his sophomore season. He will almost certainly start on the wing along with five-star Jordan Smith and Georgia transfer Jeremiah Wilkinson.
Florida
- Returning: Reuben Chinyelu
- Chinyelu was one of the SEC’s best big men a season ago, averaging 10.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and one block per game. With Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon also returning, Florida should again have a great front line and be a preseason top five team.
Kentucky
- Returning: Malachi Moreno
- Moreno projected as an early second round pick after averaging 7.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as a freshman last season. The Wildcats are also reportedly the leader to land Iowa State sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic according to On3’s Joe Tipton.
Texas
- Leaving: Daily Swain
- Much like Nate Ament staying in the draft, this was the expectation. A 6-foot-8 wing, Swain earned All-SEC honors last season after averaging 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in his junior season. The Longhorns will replace Swain with Tennessee transfer Amari Evans, Auburn transfer Elyjah Freeman and TCU transfer David Punch.
Vanderbilt
- Returning: Tyler Tanner
- Tanner is returning to Vanderbilt for his junior season after averaging 19.5 points, 5.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game for the Commodores in his sophomore season. With Tanner back, Vanderbilt projects to be a SEC title contender next season.
