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Miles Bridges of the Michigan State Spartans will return to East Lansing for a shot at the title in 2018. Rob Carr/Getty Images

NBA Draft early entries winners and losers

By Shiloh Carder | Last updated 6/5/17

The deadline has passed for any college basketball player who declared for the draft but didn't hire an agent to return to school and continue his amateur career. Some players or teams knew they would be losing guys whether they were one-and-dones or felt they've done all they can do at the college level. Others were surprising and left teams scrambling to get their rosters corrected. Some decisions were the difference from a team being a title contender or just another team.

Below we will look at who the winners and losers were after all the NBA Draft early entry decisions.

Winners

Michigan State

No one really expected Miles Bridges to stay after his freshman season in East Lansing, but he is. Bridges, a likely lottery pick, will headline a team that suffered a lot of growing pains last season but will be experienced and deep in the upcoming season. Four of the team's top five scorers will be back with another solid recruiting class coming in, and Vegas has the Spartans pegged as the favorite to win the 2018 NCAA National Championship.

Arizona

The Wildcats knew they would lose their one-and-done candidates (and they did), but they are thrilled that Allonzo Trier and Rawle Alkins will be back in Tuscon. They will bring experience while incoming freshmen DeAndre Ayton and Emmanuel Akot infuse new talent in a frontcourt that will keep Arizona among the elite in college basketball.

While two moves won't help the program this season, the additions of Duke transfer Chase Jeter and Shaquille O'Neal's son Shareef for the 2018 season mean there are all kinds of good feelings around Sean Miller's program.

Texas

Sometimes a guy leaving early opens up a spot for a better player. The Longhorns lost Jarrett Allen after his freshman season in Austin but gained stud big man recruit Mo Bamba to fill the slot. A bit of a coup (Bamba was sought after by everyone), the freshman decided to head to a program that didn't make the NCAA Tournament last year instead of places like Kentucky and Duke. His decision, along with guard Andrew Jones taking his name out of the draft, catapults the Horns to a must-see team in 2017-18.

USC

USC had four prime candidates to bolt for the NBA: Chimezie Metu, Bennie Boatwright, Elijah Stewart and Shaqquan Aaron. All came back to school, which means the Trojans' top six scorers from a team that won two NCAA Tournament games in March return. The Trojans will also have Duke transfer Derryck Thornton available. This team has a ton of talent but just didn't put it all together all the time. Tournament experience and continuity will be huge in a league where there was a ton of turnover. Of all the teams that won a tourney game last year, only USC and Wichita State will be returning all five starters.

Texas A&M

The 2016-2017 season may have been disappointing in College Station, but things looked up quickly for next season. Forward Robert Williams surprisingly stayed in school and didn't even test the NBA waters, marking a team that has virtually everyone returning. Williams may be a top five pick in 2018, and the Aggies surround him with Tyler Davis and DJ Hogg. A&M could have the horses to make some noise in a buzz-worthy SEC next year.

Kentucky

Yes, the Wildcats lose a lot of guys every year. Yes, they lost more than they figured this spring. But their big win was Hamidou Diallo leaving the draft and coming back to school. "Coming back" is a bit misleading, since Diallo didn't play one second for the Wildcats last year. Still, he's been around the program and at least has some experience and a whole lot of game. I have found that guys who go to the NBA workouts and truly accept the feedback from the teams go on to have much improved college seasons. That can only mean big things for Kentucky next year.

Losers

North Carolina Tar Heels forward Luke Maye will return as the lone big man with experience on the team. Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina

The defending champs figured to lose All-American and ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson to the draft, but the Tar Heels didn't expect freshman Tony Bradley to bolt. Bradley came off the bench to play limited minutes but was so effective when he was on the court. He put his name in the draft, and most figured he'd come back to school to be the featured big after seniors Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks graduated. He got enough solid feedback to make the leap, making the Heels only the third school to win a National Championship with a one-and-done player during the one-and-done era.

Now the Tar Heels, who have famously bucked the trend by winning with bigs instead of shooters, will be razor thin in the paint. Former walk-on Luke Maye is the lone big man with any experience, and he's a stretch four. Two freshmen walk in having to play major minutes, and Roy Williams will likely go with a guard-oriented lineup.

Oregon

It's one thing to lose guys to the draft who are surefire first-round picks; it is another when those guys aren't expected to be taken there. Oregon got to its first Final Four in forever and then watched Jordan Bell, Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey bolt for the NBA Draft. Sharpshooter Payton Pritchard is the only Duck coming back who played major minutes last season. Sure, there's a solid incoming class, but the promise of another Final Four shot may have left when the best Ducks flew away.

Louisville

As the nets were being cut down in Phoenix, many were looking at Louisville to be the baddest team on the block for 2018. While there was certainly NBA talent in Louisville, most expected no one to declare early. Well, it didn't happen like that. Donovan Mitchell jumped ship as did a surprise in Jaylen Johnson. Luckily Deng Adel decided to return at the last moment, which gives the Cardinals one of the more athletic players in the ACC.

Purdue

Simply put, Caleb Swanigan's decision to stay or go greatly swayed the Boilermakers' fortunes. With Swanigan, they'd be in the hunt for another Big Ten title and Swanigan would be one of the front-runners for Player of the Year. Without him, Purdue will be OK, just not with the high expectations. The Boilermakers have four starters returning — all seniors — with Isaac Haas as the headliner. Still, no Swanigan lowers their ceiling.

Duke

The Blue Devils are mildly a loser, just because they lost so much talent than they usually do. While Jayson Tatum and Luke Kennard were expected departures and the Harry Giles (despite doing next to nothing in Durham) NBA jump wasn't a shocker, losing Frank Jackson was a surprise. Yes, super-stud point guard Trevon Duval will dry away those Dookies' tears, but Mike Krzyzewski likes having veteran ball handlers.

Duke also loses Chase Jeter and Sean Obi to transfers, which may not seem like a huge deal, but these were big-time recruits once upon a time. Yes, Grayson Allen will be back for his senior season, but will he bounce back from a subpar junior campaign? He could be a star or could keep having his issues.

Duke is seemingly turning into a revolving door of elite recruits and will bring in another awesome recruiting class this fall. Still, this is a program that has relied on upperclassmen to set the tone, and it may not have that next season.

BYU

The Cougars were best known for being the lone team to beat Gonzaga during the regular season. They were hoping center Eric Mika would stick around to challenge for a Tournament bid in 2018. Mika decided to stay in the draft even though he is a likely second-round pick. That's a huge blow to a team that was on the verge of being a dangerous team come March.

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