The NBA draft early entry list is pretty much set at this point with the Kentucky starting five making a joint announcement that they'd all be coming back next season.  Just kidding.  They surely haven't attended a class since Thanksgiving, and all five will play in the NBA the next time they take the court.  Due to a quirk in the rules, we may still see some outward movement.  While anyone currently in the draft has already lost their collegiate eligibility as of April 11th, the NBA's deadline is not until next Sunday meaning that we could see a last minute change of heart or two from guys who are returning.  As most of the guys who haven't declared have affirmed they're coming back, any additional entries would be very surprising indeed.

This season there were 8 freshman, 13 sophomores and 15 juniors (counting only DI players) that have declared.  Those numbers are on the low side.  Only once since the "one and done" rule came into effect have fewer than eight freshman left for the NBA, and only once in those six years has fewer than 36 players jumped early.  In fact while the number of sophomores leaving is the second highest, due in large part to the returns last year of Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, Terrence Jones, and Perry Jones, the number of juniors is also tied for its lowest level ever.

YR	FR	SO	JR	TOTAL
2012	8	13	15	36
2011	8	9	22	39
2010	12	15	22	49
2009	4	11	21	36
2008	13	9	15	37
2007	8	5	17	30

As always there were a few curious departures:

*Justin Hamilton of Louisiana State may well be 6-11 or 7-0 which makes for an intriguing prospect, but a guy that size who is still unproductive in general needs that last year of seasoning.

*Villanova's Dominic Cheek was once one of the best SG recruits in the country.  After taking two years to crack the Cats' starting five, he'll take his sub 40% from the field to the pros somewhere.

*Khris Middleton had an outstanding sophomore season which put him on the map at Texas A&M, but a coaching change and injuries led to a disappointing junior season.  He has first round pick potential, but he needed another year in college to re-establish himself.

The rest went about as expected.  James McAdoo and Cody Zeller stuck around to prevent the one and done number from cracking double digits again.  Among upperclassmen, JRs Mason Plumlee, Kenny Boynton, and surprisingly, SO CJ Leslie were among the those who will return to college next season.