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Writer's pictureWill Tondo

Some of College Basketball's brightest and best big men went undrafted last night. What gives?



Last night, we witnessed a display a potential of poor drafting amongst teams, as a trio of star college bigs in UConn's Adama Sanogo, Gonzaga's Drew Timme and Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe failed to get drafted in the NBA. 58 players heard their name called during Thursday’s draft, and these three top tier players were not selected. What gives?


Going undrafted is a big deal, especially contractually. Those players aren't guaranteed a spot on the roster past Summer League and even then, still have to prove themselves in preseason to be placed on the G League roster. Obviously these players can carve out incredible careers as undrafted players, but missing out on the milestone of being called up on the draft stage, especially after their decorated college careers, is a tough pill to swallow.


Drew Timme was a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year and three-time All-American, and he finished his collegiate career as the Bulldogs' all-time leading scorer. He ended up signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. Adama Sanogo, a 2x First Team All Big East and NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Champion, signed a two-way contact with the Chicago Bulls. Oscar Tshiebwe, one of the more prolific bigs in recent history, hasn't signed a pro-deal yet, and now becomes the first Naismith Award winner in history to not be selected in the NBA Draft.


Was it because of their lack of size or three point ability? Has the landscape for traditional bigs really changed in the modern day NBA? Nobody was willing to toss a second round picks on these generational college players? I hope these guys get the right opportunity in the league to shine.

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