[LitlBuck]

Underclassmen must withdraw from draft earlier (Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog)

Underclassmen must withdraw from draft earlier

Early entrants in the NBA draft will have to withdraw by May 8 starting next year, according to a rule approved today by the NCAA board of directors. The current rule allows players to wait until June 15.

The NBA also agreed to move individual tryouts up to April 30. Those do not begin now until early June.
Next year, the NBA still will not release the list of withdrawals until mid-June, but players still must notify the NCAA by the new deadline that they plan to return to school, said David Berst, NCAA Division I vice president.

NCAA coaches lobbied for the earlier withdrawal date so they could begin planning for the next season sooner. The board approved the rule because it puts more emphasis on helping returning players, especially those at schools on the quarter system like Ohio State, academically eligible.

Also today, the NBA released the list of 74 college underclassmen who have entered the June 25 draft. Ohio State freshman B.J. Mullens was the only Big Ten player to put his name in.

Posted by Bob Baptist on April 30, 2009