Arizona Basketball’s Pelle Larsson, ASU’s Marcus Bagley Enter NBA Draft

The deadline for early entry candidates was Tuesday, and the NBA reported that 242 players had done so. Players have until June 12 to withdraw and enroll back in their respective institutions.

Pelle Larsson and Azuolas Tubelis from Arizona, as well as Frankie Collins and Marcus Bagley from Arizona State, were among the contenders.

The Wildcats’ 6-foot-5 wing Larsson finished his second season with them as a junior in 2022–23, making 18 starts and placing third on the team in both assists (3.1) and rebounds (4.3).

He transferred from Utah and won the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year award in 2021–2022.

In two years at Arizona, he made 36% of his deep shots and 83% of his free throws.

Given that he started 89 of the 97 games he played in over the course of three seasons with the Wildcats, Tubelis is anticipated to remain in the NBA Draft.

His 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in 2022–23 earned him a spot on the AP Second Team All–American.

This past season, the 6-foot-11 Lithuanian forward, who scored 19 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in the championship game, was named the Pac-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

The point guard for Arizona State, Collins, revealed in an Instagram post that he planned to declare for the draft because he wanted to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA while still maintaining his eligibility for college.

The guard joined the Sun Devils after transferring from Michigan to ASU before the 2022–23 season and started 33 games.

Collins played for 28.2 minutes on average per game, contributing 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.

Prior to his freshman year at ASU in 2020–2021, Bagley declared for the draft. In the end, he went back to Tempe despite also jumping into the transfer portal.

As injuries plagued his first two seasons, the grandson of ASU legend Joe Caldwell played 17 games in three seasons with ASU. He played in just two games last season after tweeting that he had spoken to head coach Bobby Hurley about something he later regretted after his final game.

Next season, both teams will deal with a changing roster as starters leave through the transfer window.

Kerr Kriisa, a point guard from Arizona, will represent Bob Huggins at West Virginia. Desmond Cambridge Jr., Devan Cambridge, and DJ Horne all left ASU for NC State, Oregon, and respectively. is out of eligibility.

Warren Washington of ASU, who declared he would enter the draft, was not included. He can still make a comeback for the Sun Devils.

Players can evaluate their draft potential before deciding whether to stay in the running or return to college basketball on May 31 when the combine officially kicks off.

On June 22, the draft will take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Reference: arizonasports.com