Larsson, Hall, Sears among latest early entrants for NBA Draft

Arizona guard Pelle Larsson, who is ranked No. 45 on ESPN’s big board, is forgoing his final season of college eligibility and entering the 2024 draft, agent Daniel Poneman told Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

A native of Sweden, Larsson averaged 12.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 3.7 APG with an impressive .519/.426/.750 shooting line in 36 games as a senior for the Wildcats in 2023-24 (30.1 MPG). Arizona made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where it lost to Clemson.

Speaking of Clemson, big man PJ Hall, another potential second-round pick who is No. 59 on ESPN’s board, was on a list of college senior early entrants that was sent to NBA teams a couple of days ago, according to Givony. 

As far as we’re aware, Hall did not announce whether he intends to test the draft waters or forgo his final year of eligibility.

Alabama’s Mark Sears was on that early entrant list as well, and he recently announced that he’ll be testing the draft waters. The No. 90-ranked prospect on ESPN’s board, Sears helped lead the Crimson Tide to the Final Four before losing to eventual champion UConn.

Here are a few other players who appeared on the senior early entrant list that Givony provided and are not on our own early entrants list:

• Joe Bamisile, VCU
• Koby Brea, Dayton (also in the transfer portal)
• Jack Brestel, Roanoke College
• CJ Huntley, Appalachian State

As with Hall, we haven’t seen announcements from these four players, so we’re not sure if they’re testing the draft waters or intend to stay in the draft. May 29 is the deadline for college early entrants to withdraw from the draft and return to school, Givony notes.