Good Morning, Illini Nation: Let's talk draft

Apr. 26—Massive NIL deals of a generally dubious nature might turn the NBA draft back into a previous version of itself where players stuck around for more than one year — maybe even all four — before heading to the league.

At least the second round.

While the first round will still be loaded with one-and-done prospects, seniors are having a draft renaissance with more players returning to college basketball for one simple reason. The money is better.

The backs the assertion that fourth-year players have better stock as draft picks. The players ranked 31st through 60th — and beyond — skews older than their draft counterparts. There are some exceptions like Baylor freshman Tounde Yessoufou, who might yet return to college, and Italian center and one-time Illinois target Luigi Suigo, but that range of potential draft picks is loaded with experience.

It's a group that includes Illinois guard Kylan Boswell. While he's on the younger end considering his 136 games played for the Illini and Arizona, having turned just 21 last weekend, he is a four-year college player. ESPN ranks the 6-foot-2 guard at No. 52 overall. Perhaps not a lock to be a second-round pick, but certainly in the mix for those last 10 picks.

Especially if some of the players ranked ahead of him do, in fact, return to college basketball. Yessoufou is just one example. Other players who might eschew the draft for bigger money in college include Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner (), Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris and Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic among several others currently positioned ahead of Boswell on ESPN's draft board.

There's still a month of uncertainty, though, about Boswell's draft status with the deadline to withdraw from the draft and retain NCAA eligibility set for May 27 at 10:59 p.m. A good indicator of his draft stock will come in the form of a G League Elite Camp or NBA draft combine invitation, but that May 27 decision date will also provide some clarity.

One thing is certain, Boswell's draft stock is higher now than it was when Illinois' season ended, and other than a strong showing at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament he hasn't had to do much else to get a boost.