RJ Davis, D.J. Wagner not listed among early entry NBA Draft candidates

The NBA released its list of early entry NBA Draft candidates Tuesday, featuring 195 players from the college basketball and international ranks — but notably, several high-profile college stars and former top recruits were not included.

Among the notable players not included on the NBA’s list — which signifies those players are returning to college basketball next season — are North Carolina guard RJ Davis, Arizona guard Caleb Love, Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis and former Kentucky guard D.J. Wagner.

Davis won ACC Player of the Year and the Jerry West Award (given annually to the best shooting guard in the nation), in addition to being named a First-Team All-American. Love — who previously played three seasons alongside Davis at North Carolina — won Pac-12 Player of the Year in his first season at Arizona. Sallis is a former five-star recruit who put in an All-ACC season in his first year at Wake Forest; he was considered a likely first-round pick and appeared at No. 28 on The Athletic’s latest Big Board. Lastly, Wagner — the No. 6 overall recruit in the 2023 recruiting class — is in the transfer portal after an up-and-down freshman season at Kentucky.

Other significant omissions include Aaron Bradshaw — another former five-star recruit who transferred from Kentucky to Ohio State this offseason — and Walter Clayton Jr., Florida’s leading scorer and a second-team all-SEC selection.

Players had until April 27 to file for the NBA’s early entry deadline. Those who did while maintaining their college eligibility have until May 29th to decide whether they’re heading back to college or remaining in the draft. All other early entrants have until 5 p.m. on June 16 to withdraw their names from consideration.

It is worth noting that in past years, there have been errors on the league’s initial early entry list, which the NBA has later corrected. As soon as this year’s list was released, for example, Sallis and Love’s representatives shared on social media that their clients are indeed going through the draft process; that does not mean they are definitely turning professional, but it does give them until the May 29th deadline to decide.

Caleb Love "is definitely declaring" and will be fully "going through the draft process," sources tell @CBSSports. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, is talking to the league office now to rectify the oversight. Love has been in Chicago and is training in the lead-up to the combine. https://t.co/cxAjyuzhgY

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 30, 2024

Have been told it's a clerical error and Hunter Sallis *is* going through the NBA draft process.

That NBA early entry list seems to have some other discrepancies, too.

You may now return to regularly scheduled portal tracking.

— Conor O'Neill (@ConorONeill_DI) April 30, 2024

What does this list mean?

There appear to be discrepancies with Love and Sallis already, and those are worth monitoring. Sallis has a real case as a first-round selection, although he’d obviously be one of the best returning guards in college basketball if he does opt to return to Wake Forest. As for Love, he appeared at No. 95 on The Athletic’s latest Big Board, and seems unlikely to be selected if he remains in the draft. On the contrary, if he returned to Arizona, it would make the Wildcats one of the early favorites to win next season’s national championship.

The real takeaways here, though, are with Davis and Wagner. Davis has about as sterling a season as any college guard could hope for, and his jersey will be honored in the Smith Center rafters at UNC regardless of his decision. But given his lackluster size, Davis — who has yet to announce his intentions for next season — is also unlikely to be drafted, had he declared. The Athletic and other outlets have reported since the season ended that the expected outcome is Davis returning to UNC next season; he has one season of eligibility remaining, and would be in line for a seven-figure NIL payday back in Chapel Hill.

As for Wagner, the five-star recruit had a rocky introduction to college basketball, including a lingering ankle injury that cost him four games. He averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.9 rebounds per game this season for the Wildcats while shooting just 29.2 percent from 3. Wagner announced he was entering the transfer portal earlier this offseason, before John Calipari left Kentucky to coach at Arkansas. Wagner is expected to choose between Arkansas or USC, where former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman left for this offseason.

Required reading

(Photo: C. Morgan Engel / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)