Auburn star Isaac Okoro has confirmed, in an interview with Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated, that he will remain in the NBA draft.
“I’ll be officially in the draft,” Okoro said. “I haven’t posted it on social media, but I feel like it will be the best move for me. It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to have a chance to make it to the NBA. It feels so surreal right now, but I also know once draft day comes, I’m just gonna be ready for the moment.”
Okoro is projected as a high lottery pick after averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Tigers as a freshman. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him rated fourth overall and as the No. 1 small forward on the board in his list of the top 100 prospects. Early entrants have until June 3 to withdraw, but Okoro has already signed with an agency and said his decision is final.
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- Potential top 10 pick Killian Hayes will skip a three-week tournament that the German league is planning for June, according to Givony. Some teams are permitting players to decide whether they want to participate in the proposed 10-team, 36-game event, which will determine the league champion and an automatic berth in the EuroLeague next season.
- Jordyn Adams has withdrawn from the draft and will return to Austin Peay, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Adams averaged 17.4 points per game this year as a freshman.
- Chance Hunter will return to Long Beach State after withdrawing from the draft, Rothstein adds (via Twitter).
Issac Okoro is either going to be a lock down 3 that can do much else or is going to be a flop.
I’m think he’s the next Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist but not as good
Good comp, except I recall that MKG played with a lot of heat at Kentucky, and Okoro seems cool despite playing for Bruce Pearl, he from below both NZ & US, like the Tasmanian devil.
Okoro has an NBA body now. He is a team player. Is a playmaker who shares the ball. He is ready to step in and start now. His offense will come around. He has good mechanics. I take him over Avdija. Avdija has size and could be a nice SF. But he’s at least 3 yrs away. Okoro is ready now and is solid pick.
Okoro over Avdija?????
No way.
You said he a playmaker, he only averaged 2 assists per game in college which is the same amount of turnovers he averaged.
He’s defiantly not a playmaker.
You said he has the right mechanics on his shot, yet he only shot 67% on FTs and less than 30% from the 3 point arc.
Usually if you struggle at the line it means you have a bad shot and will struggle at the next level. I understand he’s going to be good defensively but he doesn’t have anything else.
I see him averaging 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. With major offensive struggles and being good defensively