Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year highlights latest draft withdrawals

Wednesday night at 10:59 pm ET was the deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility. Players only had to submit the paperwork necessary to return to school before that deadline and were under no obligation to make a formal announcement, which means we’re still getting news of players who withdrew from the draft.

That list includes former BYU wing Jaxson Robinson, who will be following head coach Mark Pope to Kentucky, reports Jeff Borzello of ESPN.

Robinson averaged 14.2 PPG on .426/.354/.908 shooting in 33 games (26.4 MPG) last season for the Cougars, earning the Big 12’s Sixth Man of the Year award in the process. He was ranked No. 66 on ESPN’s big board.

Colorado State guard Nique Clifford, who — like Robinson — attended the draft combine and was ranked No. 89 on ESPN’s list, has also withdrawn from the draft, per Justin Michael of DNVR Sports. A native of Colorado Springs, Clifford will return to the Rams for his “super-senior” season in 2024/25.

According to Jon Chepkevich of Draft Express, Zarique Nutter and Yacine Toumi also withdrew from the draft before last night’s deadline. Nutter will transfer from Northern Illinois to Georgia State, while former Evansville forward Toumi is weighing his options in the transfer portal.