Shortly after being announced as this year’s winner of the Julius Erving award – given annually to the nation’s top small forward – Villanova sophomore Saddiq Bey confirmed that he’ll be entering the 2020 NBA draft, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link).
“I will be definitely testing the waters and going through that process whenever I’ll be able to, and keeping my options open,” Bey said, per Zagoria.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright said last month that he expected both Bey and freshman forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to test the 2020 draft waters, but Bey hadn’t announced that decision himself until today. Wright also confirmed today that Robinson-Earl will indeed go through the draft process (Twitter link via Zagoria).
The No. 21 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, Bey averaged a team-high 16.1 PPG in 31 games (33.9 MPG) in 2019/20. He also contributed 4.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, and an eye-popping .451 3PT% on 5.6 three-point attempts per game. After earning Big East All-Freshman honors a year ago, the forward – who turns 21 on Thursday – was a unanimous All-Big East First Team pick this year.
Robinson-Earl, meanwhile, recorded 10.5 PPG with a team-best 9.4 RPG in 31 games (32.7 MPG). He was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year and comes in at No. 66 on ESPN’s board.
Bey and Robinson-Earl are the latest additions to our list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, which has now surpassed 100 total names.