Updates on Valpo's Brandon Wood and Butler's Shelvin Mack and their declarations for the NBA draft. I had not previously heard that Wood is likely to transfer to grad school in the Big Ten if he doesn't stay in the draft.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/6443622/reaction-new-names-nba-draft-list• Valparaiso leading scorer Brandon Wood declared for the draft. But according to Valpo assistant coach Bryce Drew, Wood wanted to see the process and get a sense of where he stood. If he doesn't hear anything positive, then he will withdraw from the draft. But there is another curveball. Wood is a fourth-year junior at Valpo and is graduating. He started his career at Southern Illinois and went to a junior college for a year. The Crusaders aren't expecting Wood to return, even if he were to withdraw with the option that Wood would transfer to a Big Ten school for graduate school and a fifth year. One option for him might be Michigan State, according to a source. If Wood were to join the Spartans, it would be a huge pickup because of his ability to score from the perimeter.
• A number of NBA personnel said they wouldn't be surprised if Maryland's Jordan Williams, Butler's Shelvin Mack, Washington's Isaiah Thomas, Boston College's Reggie Jackson or Fresno State's Greg Smith all stayed in the draft. But there is a consensus already that Michigan's Darius Morris, Xavier's Tu Holloway, Georgetown's Hollis Thompson, Miami's Reggie Johnson, Pitt's Ashton Gibbs and Northwestern's John Shurna should go back to school before they make a mistake of leaving too soon, and in the case of those who can't make an NBA roster, a major error in giving up their eligibility.
