Mike DeCourcy on Farmar, Afflalo, Washington Jr., Gray and Roby

DeCourcy's SportingBlog
These five players should head back to campus
June 13, 2006

They all know the date, whether they admit it or not.

The deadline for early entry candidates to withdraw from the NBA draft is ...

Oh, come, you remember.

Of course, June 18.

That is when every player who wants to be a part of the draft but probably isn't quite there yet -- or, perhaps, never will be -- needs to get his name off the list or risk winding up as this year's Kennedy Winston.

Some have wisely removed their names already, including Nevada center Nick Fazekas and Maryland forward Ekene Ibekwe. But others haven't yet pulled the plug.

These are some of the guys who need to get on the fax machine, pronto.

Jordan Farmar, UCLA. There's somebody out there perpetuating the notion he played well at the NBA pre-draft camp. Sorry, but that's a stretch. He wasn't bad; he wasn't good. He didn't help himself. He's still looking at a best-case scenario of being selected at No. 22 or No. 23 by the New Jersey Nets and backing up Jason Kidd. Farmar is a lottery talent. And the money is in starting early, not caddying.

Arron Afflalo, UCLA. I knew all along he was here a year too soon. Afflalo had hoped the Final Four run would increase interest in his talents, but now he's going to have to be 100 percent sure if he wants to file for early entry as a junior. If he stays on the list now, there's a decent chance he wouldn't be picked.

Darius Washington, Memphis. He played just fine at the pre-draft camp, but the scouts still weren't dazzled. He's too good to be a forgotten second-round pick. If he returns to the Tigers, he'll average 16 to 18 points and will improve his perception among the pro scouts. Don't think so? How'd it work out for Brandon Roy?

Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh. If he were serious about being in the draft, why'd he show up for his workout in Orlando in no better shape than during last season?

Richard Roby, Colorado. He turned down a pre-draft camp invitation. Seriously. To do what, exactly? Isn't skiing season over? He has the classic look of a guy who gets taken in the second round, gets cut in camp and scrapes around the NBDL for several years.