Although Mamadi Diakite didn't receive an invite to the 2019 NBA Draft Combine, the Virginia Cavaliers' standout did receive an invite to the G League Elite Camp. The NBA announced the list of attendees on Monday, including Diakite. Battle, Tyus (Syracuse) Jeffries, DaQuan (Tulsa) Boatwright, Bennie (USC) Konate, Sagaba (West Virginia) Booth, Phil (Villanova) Maker, Matur (Mississauga Prep (Canada)/Zlatorog (Slovenia)) Brissett, Oshae (Syracuse) Mann, Terance (Florida State) Brown, Bryce (Auburn) Martin, Caleb (Nevada) Cheatham, Zylan (Arizona State) Martin, Cody (Nevada) Clemons, Chris (Campbell) Maye, Luke (North Carolina) Coffey, Amir (Minnesota) Mourning, Trey (Georgetown) Cook, Tyler (Iowa) Nembhard, Andrew (Florida) Cumberland, Jarron (Cincinnati) Palmer Jr., James (Nebraska) Dawkins, Aubrey (Central Florida) Perkins, Josh (Gonzaga) DeLaurier, Javin (Duke) Perry, Reggie (Mississippi State) Diakite, Mamadi (Virginia) Pickett, Jalen (Siena) Elleby, CJ (Washington State) Powell, Myles (Seton Hall) Fall, Tacko (Central Florida) Robinson, Justin (Virginia Tech) Franks, Robert (Washington State) Shayok, Marial (Iowa State) Harper, Jared (Auburn) Strus, Max (DePaul) Happ, Ethan (Wisconsin) Wigginton, Lindell (Iowa State) Hernandez, Dewan (Miami) Wooten, Kenny (Oregon) Hinton, Amir (Shaw (NC)) Wright-Foreman, Justin (Hofstra) This year the NBA Draft Combine will have the G League Elite Camp help with evaluating prospects. In the past, the G League elite camp was for G League players to showcase their talents to NBA scouts/teams but this year it’s been changed to accommodate the higher volume of underclassmen declaring. The G League Elite Camp will take 40 players who weren’t invited to the NBA Draft Combine and allow them to participate. The G League Elite Camp runs from May 12-14 at Quest Multisport in Chicago. The camp, however, could open the door for Diakite to get an invite to the NBA Draft Combine, according to the NBA's press release: "A select number of players from the draft-eligible group will be invited to participate in the 2019 NBA Draft Combine based on their performance in the NBA G League Elite Camp. The NBA Draft Combine will be held May 14-19 in Chicago." An important note when it comes to Diakite, the NBA Draft Combine and the G League Elite Camp is that in 2018, no underclassmen that weren’t invited to the NBA Draft Combine were drafted in the 2018 NBA Draft. And of further interest, last year, 185 underclassmen declared for the NBA. This year, there are 175 underclassmen that have declared for early entry. Last year of the 69 NBA Draft Combine attendees, 56 were underclassmen. While Kyle Guy, De'Andre Hunter, and Ty Jerome have said they are staying in the NBA Draft pool, Diakite has left the door open to return. Without an invite to the NBA Draft Combine, the odds are raised considerably of his return to UVA. May 29th is the deadline for Diakite to withdraw his name from the early entrant pool as discussed by Brandon Osborne last week: College underclassmen who wish to retain their eligibility and return to their school will need to withdraw their name by May 29 and terminate their agent if they signed one. This day is key for UVA as it would be the last day for Diakite to announce he is returning to UVA. It’s likely that Diakite would announce his intentions before this day. June 20th is the day of the 2019 NBA Draft.<doc-sep>Draft-testing Arizona wing Brandon Randolph was not invited to the either the NBA combine or the G League Elite Camp, indicating his chances of being taken in the June NBA draft could be slim. The NBA announced Wednesday a list of 66 participants for its combine, while some additional players who do well in the G League camp will also be invited. The G League Elite Camp list announced Monday had 40 college draft hopefuls, meaning a total of over 100 college prospects have been invited to one of the camps to prepare for a draft that has only 60 spots (there are also international prospects, of course). However, Randolph was invited to a workout for the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Utah Jazz Announce Pre-Draft Workouts pic.twitter.com/nSHf6qg87y — Utah Jazz PR (@UtahJazzPR) May 7, 2019<doc-sep>The NBA G League revealed its Elite Camp invitees on Monday, and that included former Wisconsin Badgers center—and current Wisconsin Badgers legend—Ethan Happ. The NBA G League Elite Camp runs for three days this month (May 12-14) in Chicago leading up to the NBA Draft. Happ will need to stand out amongst a crowded a field of 39 other draft-eligible players in the hopes of getting one of the handful of leftover invites to the NBA Draft Combine, which runs from May 14-19 and also takes place in Chicago. Happ will see a few familiar faces at the G-League Elite Camp as former Big Ten rivals Amir Coffey (Minnesota), Tyler Cook (Iowa) and James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska) will be in attendance. Kenny Wooten (Oregon) will be there as well, and Happ should try his hardest not to do any drills with him and risk having flashbacks to the NCAA Tournament. Ethan Happ invited to G League Elite Camp. Show ‘em what you got, E! ➡️ first step on road to the NBA pic.twitter.com/6SOcGDPgNr — Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) May 7, 2019 While some may scoff at a former All-America center starting in the G League, it is probably the right way to go for Happ. His inability to score outside of the paint, let alone make a respectable number of threes, was going to leave him undrafted in the NBA regardless of how many college accolades he collected. If Happ can catch on with a team in the G League, continue to play solid defense, rebound well, and pass better than most his height ALL WHILE IMPROVING HIS J ... well, then we can talk about an NBA team taking a look at him. Until then, though, it’s time for him to get acquainted with the three-time champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers and, uh, you know ... the other teams in the league. The NBA officially announces the 66 players invited to the NBA Combine in Chicago pic.twitter.com/1o2U0XShtk — Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 8, 2019 In other Big Ten-related news at the next level, a few familiar names were invited to the NBA Combine. Ignas Brazdeikis, Charles Matthews and Jordan Poole (Michigan), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Bruno Fernando (Maryland), Romeo Langford (Indiana) and Isaiah Roby (Nebraska) all have the opportunity to showcase their talents. I don’t know if any of you remember this name, but a Tyler Herro (Kentucky) will also be participating. ::ducks::<doc-sep>
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The list of players invited to the newly configured 2019 NBA G League Elite Camp is circulating online and Oshae Brissett’s name is on it. Tyus Battle, as previously reported, has also received an invitation to that showcase, which precedes the NBA draft combine. Both of those events take place in Chicago. The best performers from the G League Elite Camp can play their way into the main combine which takes place at the same venue later that week. Attached find the list of draft-eligible players expected at the G League Elite Camp. pic.twitter.com/0uUCv9E8N3 — Jeremy Woo (@JeremyWoo) May 6, 2019 Brissett is one of 40 NBA draft-eligible players to be invited to the G League Elite Camp, scheduled for May 12-14. The NBA combine runs from May 15-19; both take place at Chicago’s Quest Multisport. NBA combine invitations are generated by votes of NBA teams, who turn in names they want to inspect. Those names are compiled, then invitations are extended to the top vote-getters. Historically, about 60 players have participated in the NBA combine. (Last year, there were 69.) The G League camp/combine has traditionally included only G League players, but this year, it will also feature college players who have declared for the draft, thus expanding the pool of prospects NBA people can scrutinize. On the first two days of the G League Elite Camp, G League players -- including former Syracuse guards Andrew White and John Gillon -- will play before NBA and G League executives and scouts. On the second two days, college players -- Brissett and Battle -- will play before that same personnel. A “select" few college players from the G League camp will be invited to stay in Chicago and participate in the NBA Combine. Brissett has kept a fairly low profile and has been unavailable to reporters since he announced he would test the waters for this year’s draft. He has been working out in various locations in preparation for the combine and for individual workouts with NBA teams. The Philadelphia 76ers reportedly brought him in today for a workout. (People keep insisting on that apostrophe in his first name.) #Sixers to host predraft workout on Monday pic.twitter.com/gnaG64MAtA — Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) May 6, 2019 The G League Elite Camp invite is an indication NBA people want to see more from Brissett, a 6-foot-8 wing who can rebound and potentially score at all three levels. He is coming off a down year statistically, but NBA people were curious about him after his freshman season and want to get a closer look at him outside the Syracuse system. Brissett is, at this point, exploring his professional basketball options. He has until May 29 to decide if he wants to return to Syracuse or stay in the draft. Battle, a 3-year starter at Syracuse, participated in last year’s NBA draft combine then returned to the Orange. He is staying in the draft this year.