Washington Freshmen Declare for Draft; Chriss Projected First-Rounder | Zagsblog
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Friday / November 22.
  • Washington Freshmen Declare for Draft; Chriss Projected First-Rounder

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    Washington freshman Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray declared for the NBA Draft on Wednesday and Chriss immediately became a projected first-round pick in the latest Draft Express Mock Draft released Wednesday.

    The 6-foot-9 Chriss appears as the No. 15 on the mock, while the 6-5 Murray ranks at No. 34.

    Chriss averaged 13.7 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Huskies (16-14), while the 6-5 Murray averaged 16.1 points, 6.0 reboundsa and 4.4 assists.

    A source said both players planned to hire agents and remain in the draft.

    Among other players who recently declared, Florida State freshman guard Malik Beasley is slotted at No. 29, while Providence sophomore Ben Bentil is at No. 52.

    Meantime, Kentucky coach John Calipari said on Twitter that all of his eligible players — including walk-ons — would test the NBA Draft waters. At this point, Jamal Murray (No. 7), Skal Labissiere (No. 10) and Tyler Ulis (No. 20) are projected first-round picks.

    Mississippi State freshman guard Malik Newman, who declared earlier this week, fell to No. 42.

    The top 10 in 2016 looks like this: No. 1 Brandon Ingram of Duke, No. 2 Ben Simmons of LSU, No. 3 Dragan Bender of Maccabi Tel Aviv, No. 4 Jaylen Brown of Cal, No. 5 Kris Dunn of Providence, No. 6 Jakob Poeltl of Utah, No. 7 Murray, No. 8 Henry Ellenson of Marquette, No. 9 Buddy Hield of Oklahoma and No. 10 Skal Labissiere of Kentucky.

    Five of the Top 10 projected picks are college freshmen.

    As far as schools with multiple players in 2016 it looks like this:

    Maryland – 4

    Kentucky – 3

    Kansas – 3

    Duke – 2

    Cal – 2

    Providence – 2

    Vanderbilt – 2

    Washington – 2

    Louisville – 2

    Michigan State – 2

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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