2024 NBA Draft Early Entry Decisions
(ACC Players/Signees)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(Last updated May 30, 2024)
Leading up to the April 27 early entry deadline for the 2024 NBA draft, the ACC’s top-ranked professional prospects mostly fell in line with their projected draft positions. Leading up to the NCAA’s May 29 withdrawal deadline, that trend continued.
The six ACC players most likely to be selected in the draft’s first round all opted to turn pro with college eligibility remaining: freshman Duke guard Jared McCain, sophomore Duke forward Kyle Filipowski, freshman Pitt guard Bub Carrington, freshman Miami guard Kyshawn George, sophomore Virginia forward Ryan Dunn, and junior North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram.
California forward Jaylon Tyson, who would have been a senior for the Bears as they enter the ACC in 2024-25, also opted to turn pro early.
The ACC prospects less likely to be first-round selections were a mixed bag of those turning pro early, those “testing the waters” (visiting NBA teams, competing at the invitation-only NBA Combine and/or getting feedback from NBA executives while maintaining the option of remaining in college), those transferring to other colleges, and those staying at their current school.
In some cases, players chose to both enter the NCAA’s transfer portal and test the NBA draft waters. Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami and Virginia Tech all received commitments from such incoming transfers for 2024-25.
Meanwhile, two Louisville transfer commitments, James Madison forward Terrence Edwards Jr. (the 2024 Sun Belt Player of the Year) and Long Beach State swingman Aboubacar Traoré (a 2024 All-Big West first-team selection), apparently have decided to play for the Cardinals in 2024-25, after initially announcing their intentions to go through the NBA draft process this spring while maintaining their college eligibility.
The NBA released its official list of early entry candidates on April 30. Because of clerical errors, the names of former North Carolina guard Caleb Love (now with Arizona) and current Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis were inadvertently omitted from the NBA’s original release. Both players confirmed their desire to go through the “testing the waters” process, though, and their names ultimately were added to the NBA’s official list.
Under NCAA rules, players who filed as 2024 early NBA entries have until May 29 to withdraw from the draft without penalty. This year’s draft will be held June 26-27 at the Barclays Center in New York City.
Under NBA rules, only first-round draft picks automatically receive guaranteed contracts, although sometimes second-round selections negotiate for guaranteed money.
The #1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, for example, will receive a total of more than $24 million (guaranteed) over his first two NBA seasons. The selecting team then has third- and fourth-year options for similarly large (i.e., more than $11 million per season) amounts.
The #30 (and final) first-round selection in this year’s draft will receive a total of more than $4 million (guaranteed) over his first two NBA seasons. The selecting team then has third- and fourth-year options for similar (i.e., more than $2 million per season) amounts.
The NBA’s minimum salary is now slightly more than $1 million, an amount some elite players now can earn in Name-Image-Likeness money at the college level. NBA players on two-way contracts (i.e., those who may split time between the NBA and the one-level-down G League) earned as much as $559,782 or as “little” as $167,291 during the 2023-24 season.
Below is a quick snapshot of ACC players’ ultimate 2024 NBA draft decisions, including those from incoming/outgoing transfers.
Player, Class, School, NBA Draft Projection — Decision
G Jared McCain, Fr., Duke, 1st round — turning pro
F Kyle Filipowski, So., Duke, 1st round — turning pro
G Bub Carrington, Fr., Pitt, probable 1st round — turning pro
G Kyshawn George, Fr., Miami, probable 1st round — turning pro
F Ryan Dunn, So., Virginia, probable 1st round — turning pro
F Jaylon Tyson, Jr., California, possible 1st round — turning pro
F Harrison Ingram, Jr., UNC, possible 1st round — turning pro
G Hunter Sallis, Jr., Wake Forest, possible 1st round — tested/withdrew
F Jamir Watkins, Jr., Florida State, probable 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
F PJ Hall, Sr., Clemson, probable 2nd round — turning pro
G Wooga Poplar, Jr., Miami, probable 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
G Judah Mintz, So., Syracuse, possible 2nd round — turning pro
G Reece Beekman, Sr., Virginia, possible 2nd round — turning pro
F Norchad Omier, Sr., Miami, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
F Mohamed Diarra, Sr., NC State, possible 2nd round — turning pro
F Matthew Cleveland, Jr., Miami, possible 2nd round — staying in school
F Andrew Carr, Sr., Wake Forest, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
F Baye Ndongo, Fr., Georgia Tech, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
F Baba Miller, So., Florida State, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
G Tyrese Proctor, So., Duke, possible 2nd round — staying in school
G RJ Davis, Sr., UNC, possible 2nd round — staying in school
G Nijel Pack, Sr., Miami, possible 2nd round — staying in school
G Sion James*, Sr., Duke, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
G Markus Burton, Fr., Notre Dame, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
G Jeremy Roach, Sr., Duke, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
G Javian McCollum*, Jr., Georgia Tech, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
G Jalen Blackmon*, Jr., Miami, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
G Dion Brown*, So., Boston College, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
G Chase Hunter, Sr., Clemson, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
G Miles Kelly, Jr., Georgia Tech, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew^
F Kasean Pryor*, Jr., Louisville, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
F Tobi Lawal*, So., Virginia Tech, possible 2nd round — tested/withdrew
^—also has entered (outgoing) NCAA transfer portal
*—recent signee/commitment (hasn’t yet played in ACC)
NOTE: Any senior (Sr.) listed here had/has the option, under COVID-related NCAA rules, of playing a fifth college season in 2024-25.
Wake Forest’s Carr (Kentucky), Georgia Tech’s Kelly (Auburn), Florida State’s Miller (Florida Atlantic), Miami’s Omier (Baylor) and Duke’s Roach (Baylor) were among the 2023-24 ACC players who withdrew from the NBA draft in May and confirmed their intent to complete their college careers elsewhere.
Upon their draft withdrawals very close to the May 29 NCAA deadline, FSU’s Watkins and Miami’s Poplar became two of the most sought-after players in the transfer portal. Watkins has been pursued by Michigan, St. John’s and many other schools. Poplar has spoken with Kentucky, Oregon and Villanova, among others.
All players who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility, of course, also are eligible (automatically) for the NBA draft.
ACC players fitting that description this year include UNC center Armando Bacot (a second-team All-ACC selection), Pittsburgh forward Blake Hinson (first-team All-ACC), Boston College forward Quinten Post (second-team All-ACC), NC State guard DJ Horne (third-team All-ACC), Clemson guard Joe Girard (honorable mention All-ACC), NC State forward DJ Burns and Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor, although it’s possible none of them will be selected in the two-round draft.
In other ACC-related news, former Wake Forest power forward Bobi Klintmann and former Louisville signee Trentyn Flowers also are entering the 2024 NBA draft. Klintmann (Cairns) and Flowers (Adelaide) both played the 2023-24 season in the National Basketball League, Australia’s top professional league.
Two more former ACC players — the aforementioned Love (Arizona) and former Wake Forest guard Robert McCray V (Jacksonville) — also were among those testing the NBA waters while maintaining their college eligibility. Neither was among the 78 players invited to the recent NBA Combine (May 12-19), though, and each withdrew his name from the draft pool before the May 29 deadline.
