UConn center Adama Sanogo declares for 2023 NBA Draft

UConn center Adama Sanogo has put his name in the 2023 NBA Draft, according to college hoops insider Jeff Goodman, who also reports that he will keep the option open of returning to school as he goes through the process. Here was that report, which Goodman posted to Twitter on Thursday afternoon:

“UConn star Adama Sanogo is declaring for the NBA Draft and signing with Octagon, source told @Stadium. Hasn’t 100 prevent ruled out a return to college, but his focus and priority is going the pro route.”

Sanogo was a three-year starter for the Huskies, playing 90 games over the course of his career. He averaged 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds during the 2022-23 season and finishes his UConn career with 1,251 total points and 107 blocks.

Sanogo was a four-star recruit out of the 2020 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 73 player in his respective class and No. 12 power forward.

More on the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.

To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.

While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.