St. Joseph’s junior small forward DeAndre’ Bembry has declared for the draft and hired an agent, as he said in a statement to Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News. It’s unclear which representative the 21-year-old has chosen, but signing with any agent disqualifies him from returning to college ball. Bembry is a strong NBA prospect, coming in 23rd in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings and 35th with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Bembry had a decorated career at St. Joseph’s, as Jerardi details, coming away with Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors this season. He scored a season-high 30 points in the A-10 championship game and had 16 points and 12 rebounds in a five-point loss to West Region top seed Oregon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ford praises his defense and passing in addition to his scoring, but his outside shooting raises a red flag. He nailed just 26.6% of his 3-point looks this season, a disconcerting black mark in a year in which he averaged 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The 6’6″ Bembry also shot just 65.7% from the free-throw line. He nonetheless improved his stock markedly while at St. Joe’s, as he wasn’t among the top 100 in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school in 2013.