13 AAC players, including 2 from SMU, part of early-entry draft list
The NBA officially released its early-entry list for the 2020 NBA Draft, and two Mustangs (and 13 AAC players) are on the list of 205 players overall.
The deadline to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft has passed, and 205 total players made the list of early-entry candidates, according to a Tuesday release by the NBA. Of those 205, 13 represent the American Athletic Conference.
SMU is one of five AAC schools with two players who have declared. Sophomore forward Feron Hunt announced his declaration on March 24. Six days later, junior forward Isiaha Mike publicly declared his name for the draft.
Also declared from the AAC are guards Nate Hinton and DeJon Jarreau of Houston; bigs Precious Achiuwa and James Wiseman of Memphis; center Chris Vogt and guard Keith Williams of Cincinnati; guard Darin Green and center Collin Smith of UCF; Temple guard Nate Pierre-Louis; South Florida guard David Collins; and Wichita State guard Dexter Dennis.
Hunt played in all 30 games this past season and started 17 for the Mustangs. The athletic 6-8 forward averaged 11.0 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds for an SMU team that went 19-11 on the season. He also was on the receiving end of several highlight-reel alley-oop dunks from guard Kendric Davis.
Mike averaged 14.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for SMU and was named a third-team all-AAC selection this past season. The 6-8 forward started all 30 games and shot 48% from the field and 38% from the 3-point line. He also shot 81% from the free throw line.
In order to maintain NCAA eligibility, all of the players must withdraw from the draft by June 3. Players are now allowed to sign with NCAA-approved agents and can still return to school.