Sunday was the deadline for underclassmen who hadn’t signed with an agent to reconsider and pull their names out of the 2011 NBA draft. While Jordan Hamilton was all in, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph had not committed themselves fully until letting that deadline pass.
All expectations were that Thompson would stay in the draft. Most mock drafts project him as a lottery caliber prospect. Joseph, on the other hand, is less of a sure thing as a first round pick, as a combo guard leaving after his freshman year. He follows the path of Avery Bradley, a combo guard who left Texas after his freshman season in 2010. Bradley was drafted in the first round – No. 19 by the Celtics – but spent much of the year in the NBA Developmental league and averaged just 5:12 minutes in his 31 games with Boston.
Another mass departure leaves the Longhorns weakened. They do have a strong recruiting class, led by guard Myck Kobango, but they will sorely miss the talent and leadership lost in their three top underclassmen.