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Liddell, Washington could earn NBA combine invites at G League Elite Camp

The two All-Big Ten performers declared for the NBA draft following this past college basketball season.
The two All-Big Ten performers declared for the NBA draft following this past college basketball season. (USA Today Sports)

The two Buckeyes that declared for the 2021 NBA Draft following this past college basketball season did not appear on the official participant list for the NBA Draft Combine on Tuesday.

However, that doesn't mean Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell and guard Duane Washington won't get an invite for the combine, which takes place from June 21-27.

Both players, who were All-Big Ten performers in 2020-21, were invited to participate in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago this weekend, where NBA and G League scouts will have the chance to evaluate a select group of players. The top players at the G League camp will earn invites to the NBA combine.

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With last year's combine being canceled due to COVID-19, 2019 is the most recent frame of reference for how many players from the G League Elite Camp received the call-up to the combine. That year, 11 players from the camp were invited to the official NBA combine.

“I’m trying to give them the absolute truth from what I hear from NBA personnel. That’s really what I’m trying to do,” Holtmann said about the pair back in May. “And separate any kind of personal feeling one way or the other. I really am. I’m really trying as much as possible to look through what is best for both of those young men right now.”

RELATED: Holtmann giving Liddell, Washington ‘absolute truth’ to aid draft decisions

Liddell, a sophomore last season, was a first-team All-Big Ten selection after averaging a Buckeye second-best 16.2 points per game, and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per contest.

Washington, who would enter his senior season should he return to Ohio State, led the Buckeyes with an average of 16.4 points per game in 2020-21, and his 2.9 assists per game were second best on the team. Washington was a third-team all-conference selection this past season.

The Buckeyes are a preseason top-five team in a number of "way-too-early" rankings ahead of 2021-22, but that status is largely dependent on Liddell and Washington's return.

“Obviously I’m also very aware of how it could affect our team in general and thinking about that regularly,” Holtmann said in May.

With the NBA draft quickly approaching on July 29 though, and pre-draft evaluations taking place over the next week, decisions for both players could be imminent.

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