Ohio State basketball: Malaki Branham stays in the NBA Draft

The Ohio State basketball team was expecting to lose Malaki Branham once he initially put his name into the NBA Draft to test the waters. He didn’t hire an agent yet because he wanted to see the type of feedback that he was going to get before he made that final decision to forego his college eligibility.

Well, that decision has now been made. Branham announced today at a press conference with coach Chris Holtmann that he will be hiring an agent and staying in the NBA Draft. This doesn’t really come as a surprise, but now it’s officially official.

Branham finished the season really strongly and started to get on NBA teams’ radar after the Big Ten regular season was done. He had established himself as a great scorer and someone who has real potential on the defensive side of the ball thanks to his length.

When asked what kind of feedback Branham had gotten from NBA teams, he said that they told him he was going to be a first-round pick. That was clearly something that was very important for him if he was going to come out. He didn’t want to slide into the second round.

It’s telling that Branham said “first-round pick” and not “lottery pick”. That tells me that he thinks that going later in the first round could potentially be good for his career because he’ll be playing for a team that isn’t hot garbage. He can come on more slowly and help a good team improve over time.

Of course, there is still a chance that Branham ends up being a lottery pick once the NBA Draft rolls around. He’s that good of a player. As far as the Ohio State basketball team is concerned, they now have to find a plan for their final roster spot.

We wish Branham nothing but the best in the NBA and we’ll be watching him every step of the way!