North Carolina's Caleb Wilson, Illinois Keaton Wagler declare for NBA draft

With the college basketball season over and the NBA Draft Combine a month away, players are making their choices now about whether to turn pro or stay in college another season. That includes some very likely top-10 picks. Here is the latest on a series of announcements.

UNC’s Caleb Wilson declares for draft

He may have flown under fans' radar the last month because he missed the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament with a fractured thumb, but scouts have not forgotten — North Carolina's Caleb Wilson is a projected top four pick and he is going pro.

Wilson is a 6'10" wing who lived up to the hype in Chapel Hill, averaging 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds a game on 57.8% shooting. He showed up with big games in big moments (24 points against Kansas and 23 facing Duke, outplaying Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer in those games). Wilson is athletic and powerful, and while he needs to develop his shot, the potential is there. There are some teams that have him ranked ahead of Boozer, but he's not falling past four in the June draft.

Illinois Keaton Wagler declares for draft

Two years ago, Wagler was not on the NBA radar. Now, he's a lock to be a top-10 pick, and with that the 6'6" guard that led his team to the Final Four is going pro.

Wagler thrived as the primary ball handler and playmaker for Illinois, averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game, while shooting 41% from 3-point range. He's just 19, he needs to get stronger and prove he can defend at the NBA level, but teams are high on him. There are a number of guards expected to be taken between 5-9 in this draft, and Wagler is solidly in that group.

Louisville’s Mikel Brown entering draft

Mikel Brown, like Wagler, is expected to go in a group of guards taken between 5-9 in the June draft, and with that, the Louisville freshman is going pro, something he told Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s Andscape.

Brown (like Wilson) missed the ACC and NCAA tournaments due to a back strain.

"(My back) really was messed up, but I just kept trying to play through it. And then eventually it just led me to the decision that I wasn't going to play in both tournaments — the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament — just because I'm not trained to go half speed at all."

Brown is a quick, shifty point guard who is going to look better in the NBA, with a more spaced-out floor and shooting all around him. Brown is very skilled as a scorer and shot creator off the ball-screen, and he averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists per game for the Cardinals. The question with Brown has been consistency and defense, but he is a dynamic playmaker that teams love.

Other NBA Draft notes

• Houston center Chris Cenac Jr. confirmed the expected, that he is entering the NBA Draft. The 6'11" big man averaged 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds a game as a starter, shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc. Cenac is a polarizing figure among scouts — many think he could use another year of college development — but is almost certainly a first-round pick (some teams have him up near the end of the lottery, others are thinking more like mid-20s). His individual workouts will have a lot to do with where he is taken.

• Freshman Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou announced on social media he is entering the 2026 NBA Draft. One of the most explosive athletes in the draft, the 6'5" Yessoufou averaged 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He plays a power game that is harder to pull off against the men in the NBA, and his jump shot is holding him back (29.3% from beyond the arc), but his athleticism makes him worth the risk to the right team. He is likely a late first or early second-round pick (assuming he stays in the draft).

• Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears said he will test the waters of the NBA draft, although a return to college seems more likely. Fears averaged 15.2 points and 9.4 assists per game — he led the NCAA in assists — but he is projected as a mid-to-late second-round pick (if selected at all), which means making good college NIL money as a senior may be the smarter play.