It wasn’t quite Selection Sunday, but it sure felt like Christmas. The NCAA’s deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA Draft struck midnight on Thursday morning, and this time, college basketball was the winner. Yaxel Lendeborg. Alex Condon. Labaron Philon. Tahaad Pettiford. Nick Byrd. Nick Martinelli. These were some of the best players in the country last season, yet all were among the many names of those who decided to give this sport one more college try.

It’s no mystery what’s happening here. The sudden and dramatic shift to a pay-for-play model has made staying in school a very good financial proposition. A handful of players this season will be making more than guys who will be playing in the NBA. The math is about to change dramatically with the implementation of the new revenue sharing cap and Name, Image and Likeness governance this summer, but for this cycle at least, the math works out in college basketball’s favor. This sport is really, really ready to run it back.

This is a dramatic shift from the past couple of decades, during which players bolted for the pros at any semblance of daylight. That included not only the NBA (and its minor league partner, the G League) but also international leagues. Those scripts have now flipped. The NBA G League tried to gain traction by establishing an Ignite program for players coming out of high school, but that program has since disbanded. And over the last year, and especially the last couple of months, we are seeing an unprecedented influx of international players eager to cash in on the American college game. (It feels like half of them are going to Illinois.) For all the hand wringing and pearl clutching over the changes that have come to college sports, make no mistake: NIL and pay-for-play has been a huge boon for college basketball.

When undergraduates started leaving in droves, the complaint among fans was that there were too many unfamiliar names left. That won’t be the case next season, which as far as I’m concerned can’t get here soon enough. Of course, here at Hoops HQ there is no off-season so we’ll continue to cover all the recruiting, roster movement and NBA Draft happenings in the weeks and months ahead.

Have a great Saturday and thanks as always for your support of Hoops HQ.—Seth

Which NBA Draft Prospects Are Returning to College Basketball?

The decision as to whether to stay in college or move on to the NBA has never been harder. Most players projected to be drafted in the late first round or second round stand to make more money in NIL than they would in the NBA next season. Rookie contracts are predetermined, based on the spot where the player is drafted; the higher the pick, the greater the salary.

This year, there was the lowest number of early entry candidates for the NBA Draft (106) in a decade and several prominent prospects chose to withdraw their names from the draft pool ahead of the May 28 deadline.

Over the past few days, the outlook for many of the nation’s top schools has changed dramatically, as players previously thought to be turning pro have opted to remain in college. Stars such as Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), who was slotted at No. 1 in Hoops HQ's ranking of the best transfers, and consensus All-American PJ Haggerty (Kansas State) will be transitioning to new programs, while Houston and Auburn are getting back their point guards (Milos Uzan and Tahaad Pettiford, respectively). Now that the dust has settled, one thing is perfectly clear: The talent level in college basketball will be higher than ever...

With Byrd in Hand, San Diego State Is Ready to Run It Back

In this era of huge roster turnover and bonanza power conference payrolls, it is nearly impossible for a mid-major program to build retention. Somehow, that is what San Diego State has done — again.

The Aztecs fielded one of their youngest teams in years last season and it showed. The team finished 21-10 (14-6 Mountain West) and was blitzed 95-68 by North Carolina in the First Four. Given the current environment, where power conference teams have near bottomless budgets to procure talent, coach Brian Dutcher braced himself. When the season ended, however, just one rotational player transferred out. Two starters graduated, but the rest of the top guys are all returning. That includes 6-foot-7 sophomore guard Miles Byrd, who on Wednesday withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and will be San Diego State’s top returning scorer next season.

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