GMC cadets participate as the underclassmen while the POC cadets participate as the upperclassmen. Varsity can be compared with the junior varsity level, which is typically for less-experienced underclassmen. The seniors were all housed in a building separate from the underclassmen called Molloy Hall. Each group of seniors designs a "stack" to be solved by a handful of underclassmen. This draft marked the first time that the first three selections were college underclassmen. This was the first draft where college underclassmen were allowed to enter. Before the draft, five college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. Siena was one of the youngest teams in the conference with five underclassmen. No other underclassmen declared for the draft. Barber was the third underclassmen selected in 1997 and was the tenth cornerback. For this year's draft, the total underclassmen left in this year's draft involve 96 players. He was one of 10 LSU Tiger underclassmen to declare for the draft that year. That left the overall number of underclassmen entering the draft as 72. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft was January 18, 2016. As a result, 73 total underclassmen entered the 2017 NBA Draft.