The NBA Draft is still over two months away, but with the basketball season fully concluded and most players have declared their intentions for the NBA Draft, projections are beginning to roll out. The latest NBA Draft Big Board, featuring 100 players compiled by ESPN, has some good news and bad news situations involving John Blackwell. He's not listed at all. The bad news is that he will need one more year to prepare for his dream. Wait, that's also the good news. If those are the projections the NBA Draft scouts give him, he will likely return to Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's John Blackwell is currently unlisted in ESPN's NBA Draft Big Board Top 100
John Blackwell declared for the NBA Draft at the conclusion of the college season, but with the half-in entry, the NBA allows college players that still have eligibility. He retains the option to withdraw and return to Wisconsin. At the time, Greg Gard said, "This is a win-win opportunity for John to receive feedback from NBA personnel while retaining the ability to play for our program next fall."
In other words, Greg Gard fully expected this to happen for John Blackwell. To put his name in, see where he was projected and what to work on, and then pull back out. This is still the expectation, and the latest ESPN Big Board helps clarify it.
While ESPN isn't the authority on NBA Draft projections, Blackwell will conduct his due diligence and actually speak with the NBA about his current projections, areas for improvement, and how he can ensure he is listed among the top 60 next year. This was and still is the plan, which is great news that Wisconsin fans were hoping for. Having John Blackwell back next year with a reloaded offense and another run in the Big Ten and into the NCAA Tournament.