Seth Davis' Winners and Losers from the NBA Draft Deadline

It was a good day for Alabama and Arkansas, among others. Illinois, not so much.

Wednesday was Decision Day in college basketball, with dozens of players scrambling to finalize their plans in advance of the 11:59 p.m. deadline to declare their intentions regarding the 2024 NBA draft. That deadline is set by the NCAA, not the NBA, so there were a lot of players who were understandably seeking to maximize every possible second in order to secure themselves a possible spot in the pros.

Practically speaking, the deadline applied largely to borderline prospects. If it was so obvious they were going to stay in the draft, they wouldn’t be as likely to maintain their collegiate eligibility, or take their decisions down to the wire. Thus, as the day unfurled, the sport was gifted one announcement after another that promised even greater things to come during the 2024-25. The mood of the day was neatly summed up thusly:

Much of this, to be sure, is the result of the new Name, Image and Likeness rules that allow athletes to make as much, if not more, money than they would as journeyman rookies. That sets the table for a lot of very talented and recognizable players to dominate the landscape come November. The sport as a whole was the big winner on Wednesday, but as far as individual programs are concerned, the list of top winners and losers goes like this:

WINNERS

Alabama. The most anticipated announcement of Decision Day came from Mark Sears, who was arguably the best player in the SEC last season. His decision to return to Tuscaloosa for a super senior should vault the Tide into consideration to be the