The NBA Draft withdrawal deadline helped boost Otega Oweh's stock

The NBA Draft withdrawal deadline saw dozens of potential professional hoopers return to college. NIL and revenue sharing have made it easier for the top talents to delay their NBA dreams, trading them in for millions upon millions of dollars from the school of their choosing. But for those without any college eligibility remaining, the only option is to turn pro.

What NIL has also done — to this point, at least — is shrink the pool of draftable players. 38 total players notified the NBA ahead of Wednesday night’s withdrawal deadline that they would return to college. For Kentucky, none were more notable than Malachi Moreno and Milan Momcilovic. Moreno will be back in Lexington for another season, while Momcilovic is trending toward choosing the ‘Cats. A few years ago, both players likely stay in the draft. Now, the financial incentive of returning to college is too much to pass up.

Moreno and Momcilovic were projected as potential late first-round, early second-round picks. They were far from alone in being the only projected draft picks to pull their names out, too. 38 players returning to college is a lot — a full round (and then some) worth of picks. That might just be the reason Otega Oweh hears his name called on draft night, though.

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In the wake of the passing of the withdrawal deadline, Oweh is now ranked as the 57th-best draft prospect by ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. This year’s draft features the full 60 picks. Oweh put together an impressive run at the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month in Chicago, and now his stock is trending in the right direction with the draft less than a month away (June 23-24).

On3’s James Flecther III has Oweh landing with the Brooklyn Nets with the 43rd overall pick. Tankathon has him going to the Houston Rockets with the 39th overall pick. Oweh is scheduled to work out with the Sacramento Kings (picks No. 34 and 45) sometime on Friday. Don’t be surprised if Oweh’s name continues to pop up as more and more two-round mocks are released between now and the actual draft.