Published initially on May 19.

The deadline for college basketball players to stay in or pull out of the NBA Draft came and went at midnight on May 8, and a slew of schools were impacted positively and negatively. Let’s start our conversation with the…

WINNERS:

Purdue: With JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore electing to return to school, the Boilermakers are a given to be a preseason top-five team. Had both players left early, they might have been closer to a bubble-type team. Matt Painter is optimistic that Robbie Hummel can be completely recovered from the torn ACL he sustained in February and if he is, this squad is a good bet to get to the Final Four.

Virginia Tech: Malcolm Delaney waited until the last 24 hours before making the correct decision to return to school. With Delaney back in the fold, Seth Greenberg has his entire team back. And that makes Va. Tech a serious ACC contender in 2010-2011.

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BYU: Jimmer Fredette is coming back to school and he could lead the nation in scoring. Unfortunately for the Cougars, Michael Loyd Jr. decided to transfer after his explosive performance against Florida in the NCAA Tournament. Still, BYU will be dancing again next season.

Florida: Alex Tyus isn’t an All-SEC type player and he wouldn’t have been drafted. Nevertheless, his return gives the Gators all five starters back from a team that lost in double overtime to BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This will also be the first time Billy Donovan hasn’t lost a player early to the draft since the Oh Fours (Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green and Corey Brewer) decided to come back and defend the national title. With the addition of McDonald’s All-American Patric Young, UF should be back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.

Tennessee: Bruce Pearl lost a lot of talent, but at least Scotty Hopson wisely decided to stay in Knoxville. His return and the arrival of McDonald’s All-American Tobias Harris most likely means UT will go to the NCAA Tournament for a school-record sixth straight season.

LOSERS:

Kentucky: The Big Blue Nation is getting exactly what it signed up for with John Calipari. That’s to say the ‘Cats will get the nation’s top recruits, but most of them will be in and out of Lexington in one-and-done fashion. And that’s ok if those recruits “pull a Carmelo Anthony” and lead UK to a national title. However, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins couldn’t get the ‘Cats any further than the Elite Eight. Therefore, the school’s longest Final Four drought (’98 was last national-semifinals appearance) continues, while Wall, Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton are gone. Translation: Cal and Co. are basically starting from ground zero with freshmen galore in 2010-2011. Assuming Cal doesn’t bolt to the NBA, Big Blue Nation should get used to this.

Butler: Gordon Hayward, who would’ve been a junior in 2010-2011 and a likely preseason All-American, decided to stay in the draft. In doing so, the Bulldogs go from a preseason top-five squad to a fringe Top-25 team. Defensive stopper Willie Veasley is also gone along with Avery Jukes, who was in double figures at halftime of the national-title game. On the bright side, Shelvin Mack, Ronald Nored and Matt Howard are back. The Bulldogs are still the best team in the Horizon and will be back in the NCAA Tournament, but a chance to win it all went out the window with Hayward’s departure.

Ole Miss: At this time last year, I was hyping the future of Ole Miss basketball. The Rebels were returning Chris Warren, Terrico White and a plethora of youngsters that showed a bunch of promise late in an injury-riddled 2008-2009 campaign. But Andy Kennedy’s bunch fell apart in February and missed out on the NCAA Tourney, settling for the NIT Final Four. Although Warren is coming back for his senior season, White stayed in the draft, Murphy Holloway has transferred and Eniel Polynice has also left the program. Ouch! Kennedy has yet to take the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament, where they haven’t been since 2002 when Rod Barnes was still roaming the sidelines at the Tad Pad.

Xavier: Jordan Crawford stayed in the draft and that's a huge loss for the Muskateers. If Crawford had stayed, Xavier would've had everyone back with the exception of center Jason Love. Chris Mack's team will still go to a sixth straight NCAA Tourney, but it'll be tough getting back to the Sweet 16.

Mississippi State: Leading scorer Ravern Johnson is coming back and Rick Stansbury spurned Clemson’s overtures, but Dee Bost bolted out of Starkville. Bost won’t be drafted and will have to play overseas, and that’s too bad. The kid is extremely talented and started every game as a freshman and sophomore for the Bulldogs. What was he thinking? Update on 6/8/10: Bost has had a change of heart and is appealing his case to the NCAA with hopes of playing for Mississippi St. next season.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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