Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Rebels quick hits:

Vaughn, father deny UNLV freshman has decided to enter NBA Draft

UNLV loses to Colorado State

AP / Erin Hull

UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn yells after a play in an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado State on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.

UNLV freshman Rashad Vaughn and his father are refuting a report this morning that Vaughn has decided to enter the NBA Draft.

“At this time we have not made a decision,” Troy Vaughn said. “I don’t know who is saying that.”

The report came from Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, who cited unnamed NBA sources. It stated a “formal announcement is expected in the near future.”

Shortly after noon, Rashad Vaughn tweeted, “False information. Haven’t decided yet.”

Troy Vaughn said the only thing the family is focused on is Rashad’s rehab from the torn meniscus, which forced him to miss UNLV's final nine games, while they wait for feedback from the NBA’s Undergrad Advisory Committee.

It’s entirely possible that Rashad Vaughn, who led the team with 17.8 points plus 4.8 rebounds per game, will end up declaring for the draft. But Troy Vaughn said it’s too early to decide anything.

Information is due back by mid-April, and undergraduates have until April 27 to meet the NBA’s early entry deadline. The NCAA also has a mostly meaningless withdrawal deadline on April 15 for players who have declared to preserve their eligibility. But gathering info doesn’t equate to declaring and most players who do officially declare early hire agents, which ends their collegiate careers anyway. The NBA Draft combine is May 12-17, and the draft is June 25.

Those decisions are still in the future, Troy Vaughn insists.

“As a parent and a decision-maker here, I’m focusing on rehab,” he said.

Mountain West coaches voted Vaughn the Freshman of the Year after he ranked third in the country in freshman scoring. As a high-volume shooter, Vaughn hit 38.3 percent on 3s.

If Vaughn does end up leaving for the draft, he would be the fourth Rebel in the last three seasons to declare early. Two years ago, freshman Anthony Bennett was the No. 1 overall pick, while last season, juniors Khem Birch and Roscoe Smith went undrafted before they both caught on with the NBA Developmental League.

The Rebels are also awaiting a decision from sophomore Christian Wood, who projects as the No. 23 pick on DraftExpress.com. Vaughn is slotted at No. 48. NBADraft.net has them at No. 27 and No. 40, respectively.

If both were to jump, that would make 15 Rebels leaving the program with eligibility remaining, either by transfer or to early entry, in coach Dave Rice’s four seasons. If they open, the scholarships could potentially be filled by Findlay Prep forward Justin Jackson, a class of 2016 commit who’s considering reclassifying to 2015, and UNLV’s top target, Bishop Gorman senior Stephen Zimmerman.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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