Why would he play further? Surely if he's stopped, it means he's satisfied with his rep at this stage and wants to avoid injury. In some cases post-lottery, it can be because the player's had draft assurances from a particular team they fancy. e.g., "We won't let you fall past 5th".

Bit of a PR disaster for the NCAA.

Going to do it the hardaway

I would have thought nothing replicates the intensity of a game, why risk losing fitness and that game like intensity body/feel for the game?

4 months of training before the try outs won't be as effective.

Yes there's risk of injury, but if you're in the business of Basketball, there's a risk of injury no matter what, even at training.

The tryouts are agent managed drills.
So he can just practice to look great in those anyway .
He must have decided playing half a season in the NCAA wasn't going to improve his stock.
Just more chance for scouts to pick apart his game.

From what I have read he shows all the potential of a top pick but with little feel for the game.
Don’t think taking a year off will help but at this stage he probably won’t drop out of the top 5 unless a few players ball out in the NCAA tournament or Europe.

If he stayed at college, wouldn't that mean he'd have to keep attending bogus classes and achieve passing grades?
Why bother wasting time on some stoner degree he's never going to finish?

"I would have thought nothing replicates the intensity of a game, why risk losing fitness and that game like intensity body/feel for the game?"

I always thought this; and always wondered how players got so good and were so ready for NBA with playing so few games (Darius Garland looks good, you saw what Kyrie did despite only playing 11 games for Duke etc).

But, I've concluded that I think its a simple case of the training over there been different (to what we'd expect here); the quality, the attention to detail etc. is on another level; professional trainers and the lot;

Guys over there can make leaps and bounds in 6 months - 12 months (without playing in an organised competition necessarily) that players can't normally make here or elsewhere;

""I would have thought nothing replicates the intensity of a game, why risk losing fitness and that game like intensity body/feel for the game?"

I always thought this; and always wondered how players got so good and were so ready for NBA with playing so few games (Darius Garland looks good, you saw what Kyrie did despite only playing 11 games for Duke etc)."

There's no doubt that Training and playing in the NBL will greatly benefit Ball, Hampton, and Didi. And yes, more so than the G-League (in Didi's case.) And I also think NBA recruiters are smart enough to see that.

But its also about showcasing.
And in the case of College, especially for a 1 & Done star, I suspect that College is little more than confirming he's as good as everyone thought.
College-ball, for someone like him, is basically one big highlight real, playing against a bunch of kids.

Besides, I would imagine that once he leaves College, he's free to start signing endorsement deals, or at the very least he can keep accepting freebies without worrying about his status.

Zero chance of a stint in the nbl ?.