Villanova sophomore Donte DiVincenzo, the star of last month’s NCAA championship game, will keep his name in the 2018 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Charania initially reported last week that DiVincenzo was likely to remain in the draft.
DiVincenzo, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, racked up 31 points in this year’s title game against Michigan, knocking down five three-pointers to help Villanova secure its second championship in three years. For the season, DiVincenzo averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.5 APG with a .481/.401/.710 shooting line.
The 6’5″ shooting guard raised his stock substantially during the Wildcats’ NCAA tournament run, and impressed NBA evaluators again at this month’s draft combine in Chicago. DiVincenzo, currently ranked No. 33 on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, suggested at the combine that the prospect of being a first-round pick made it likely he’d go pro.
“I think I have a really good chance to being a late first-round pick,” DiVincenzo told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski at the time. “Obviously, things can change, other people can fall in the draft. I’m aware of that. But my confidence level is that I can be a first-round pick.”
Villanova is also losing Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson to the NBA draft this offseason, with Omari Spellman‘s decision due on Wednesday.
Hoping he falls to the Celts
Doubt he falls to the Celtics. But that’s probably his floor. I could c 17 to the Bucks, 18 to the Spurs, 19 to Atlanta, 21 to the Jazz, 23 to the Pacers, 25 to the Lakers, or 26 to the 76ers. That’s a lot of teams in need of guards for him to fall to the Celtics at 27…