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Wednesday, June 20
Ely fighting for fifth season at Fresno State
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Fresno State's Melvin Ely might have to fight the NCAA and the NBA for his amateur status if his name appears on the official draft eligible list put out by the NBA Thursday.
Ely, a 6-foot-11 center, sent a letter to the NBA by the deadline Wednesday, requesting that his name be taken off the draft list, according to Bulldogs' coach Jerry Tarkanian. Tarkanian said Ely is one class short of earning his eligibility back, his fourth season, because of a learning disability. Under NCAA rules, ineligible freshman who graduate before the start of the fall semester of what would be their fifth year in college, can earn back a fourth season of eligibility.
Ely also plans on participating with the U.S. World University Games team in China, assuming he makes the final cut from 16 to 12 later this summer.
But, in the eyes of the NBA, Ely is considered a senior whose class is graduating -- until he earns back the final year. That makes him eligible to be drafted regardless of what he says, unlike Austin Peay's Trenton Hassell. He had already earned his degree in May, making him eligible in the fall and subsequently a senior again for next season. That meant he was an underclassmen and had to declare for the draft. He did and announced Wednesday that he was staying in the draft. Hassell's name was on a list of 58 underclassmen that declared for the draft on May 18 while Ely's name was on a separate list of players who were eligible for the draft.
NBA officials wouldn't comment on Ely's status but let it be known that a resolution on the matter would be done before Wednesday's draft. The consensus is that the NBA will put out a release telling teams not to draft Ely. But, a team could technically draft Ely in the second round and hold his rights for a year until next year's draft when he's expected to be in the first round.
"If a team like Dallas drafted him, then Melvin would have the right to negotiate with the team for a year," Tarkanian said. "I would think it could help Melvin if that happens. But he is coming back to school."
The NCAA said it would be unusual if Ely's name appears on the draft board Wednesday night and then graduates and intends on playing at Fresno State in the fall.
"I can't tell you what would happen," NCAA spokesperson Jane Jankowski said. "It would probably go through the student-athlete reinstatement committee. Then they would make a determination on his eligibility. But we'll deal with it once it comes out. It's definitely an unusual circumstance."
A number of NBA scouts told ESPN.com that it would be unethical if a team still drafted Ely, even though they were told he's going back to school.
Meanwhile, a number of players made their intentions known in time for Wednesday's deadline.
DePaul's Bobby Simmons, Houston's Alton Ford and Hassell all said they would stay in the draft. No word came down from UC Irvine's Jerry Green. N.C. State's Damien Wilkins told a school official that he would go back to school, but didn't know where and planned on transferring. N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said he didn't want Wilkins back with the program after his family made public demands on playing conditions dealing with his return. Scholarships are renewable on an annual basis, but the NCAA is trying to discourage coaches from taking away scholarships by instituting a limit of five new scholarship players in a given season and no more than eight new scholarship players in two seasons.
Real Madrid's Raul Lopez also will remain in the draft, according to his agent David Bauman of SFX. But he probably won't be in the NBA for the next four to five seasons.
"Raul will either be a second round pick which would be difficult to bring him here, be picked in the first round so we'll look like geniuses or be a free agent," Bauman said. "Raul has a $5 million buyout after each year which can't be reduced. Our best guess is he'll stay two more years in Madrid before a negotiated buyout could be reached."
Still, in the final hours leading up to the deadline, the word "staying" was attached to most of those who waited until the final day to decide their professional futures.
On Tuesday, Keith Bogans officially announced he would return to Kentucky along with Tayshaun Prince. Sam Clancy, Jason Gardner and Tito Maddox all chose to stay in school earlier this month rather than test their NBA worth next week in New York.
Hassell, the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Player of the Year and the league's Male Athlete of the Year, averaged 21.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and
4.5 assists per game in 2000-01. For the second straight season, the Clarksville native was the only player in the country to be ranked in his
conference's top five in scoring (third), rebounding (fourth) and assists (fourth). The 6-5 forward/guard also was a 2000-01 preseason All-American.
After Wilkins went through a pre-draft workout for the Hornets on Tuesday, coach Paul Silas said he should return to school. Silas
said he would not consider using a first-round pick on Wilkins this year.
As for those who will stay in the draft, Simmons, a 6-foot-7 forward/guard, was a three-year starter and the only player in DePaul history to amass 1,000 points, 700 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 3-point field goals. Last season, Simmons led the Blue Demons in scoring (16.7 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg) and 3-point field goals made (61). He was also the only player in Conference USA to rank in the league's top 10 in scoring, rebounding and three-point field goals made.
"I want to thank everyone at DePaul for their support over the past three years," Simmons said. "While I am very excited about the opportunity that lies ahead, I will always consider DePaul home and it will always be a big part of my life."
"Everyone at DePaul supports Bobby and we wish him nothing but success in the future," DePaul head coach Pat Kennedy said. "Bobby has made major contributions to DePaul both on and off the court and was on track to graduate next season. Personally, I can't thank him enough for everything he has done for our program."
A third-team All-C-USA pick, Simmons finished his collegiate career ranked among DePaul's all-time leaders in 3-point field goals (third), free throws (ninth), free throw percentage (11th), minutes played (11th), rebounds (14th), scoring (17th), steals (17th) and assists (24th).
Andy Katz's is a senior writer at ESPN.com
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