Having initially elected to test the waters without hiring an agent, Duke guard Frank Jackson has now decided to keep his name in the draft and go pro, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Jackson will forgo his remaining three years of NCAA eligibility.
Jackson, who turned 19 last week, is ranked as the 45th-best prospect in this year’s draft class by ESPN’s Chad Ford, while Jonathan Givony of Draft Express has him at No. 48 on his big board. Jackson averaged 10.9 points and 1.7 assists in 24.9 minutes per game during his lone season at Duke, with a shooting line of .473/.395/.755.
Ford wrote last month that Jackson has generated some “buzz” as a possible late first-round pick, though there’s some uncertainty about whether he’ll be an undersized two guard or a legit point guard at the NBA level. ESPN’s Jeff Goodman suggests that Jackson will likely be a second-round pick, citing sources who say that Grayson Allen return to Duke and the school’s probable addition of Trevon Duval were factors in Jackson’s decision to leave the Blue Devils.
According to Goodman (Twitter link), Jackson will sign with Bill Duffy of BDA Sports for representation.