Joel Embiid Unsure If He’ll Enter Draft

Joel Embiid’s entry into the 2014 draft isn’t a certainty, according to a report by ESPN’s Dana O’Neil.  The 7-foot center has been a consensus top-five pick all year, and recently rose to the number one overall spot on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Big Board [subscription only]. Despite performing at a high level and gaining momentum with scouts, the Cameroonian says he isn’t sure this will be his last season with Kansas.

“I don’t know if I feel like I’m ready for all of this,” Embiid is quoted as saying, acknowledging his inability to drive a car, eat well, and other elements that go along with the pro game. His hesitancy is not just based on life practicalities, either. He has studied other skilled big men that have thrived in the league, concluding: “All of the great big men went to college at least two or three years. I think it’s a big factor. I don’t know if it will always work, but I think it’s the best choice.”

Embiid is averaging 11 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in his freshman year. The report of his uncertainty comes on the heals of the news that NBA executives are increasingly expecting fellow top-5 projected prospect Jabari Parker to stay at Duke another year as well.

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