Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe has declared for the 2020 NBA draft as an early entrant for the second time, announcing his decision today (via Twitter).
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA’s deadline for early entrants to declare for the draft (August 17) falls after the NCAA’s early entrant withdrawal deadline (August 3) this year. Joe, who entered the draft pool in April, withdrew before the NCAA’s withdrawal date earlier this month, but has had a change of heart and re-entered, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
“My announcement on Aug. 1 to return to school for another season as a Razorback was made with whole-hearted excitement and sincerity, but a lot has happened in a short period of time since then to increase the uncertainty that college sports will be played this season,” Joe said in today’s statement.
Joe is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 26 games (36.1 MPG) for the Razorbacks. Although his .390 FG% over two college seasons isn’t particularly impressive, it’s largely a result of his reliance on the three-point shot — 548 of his 718 total shot attempts came from beyond the arc, where he shot 37.8%.
Joe is a viable candidate to be drafted this fall. When he first declared for the draft back in April, Joe was the No. 61 prospect on ESPN’s 2020 big board. After withdrawing early in August, he was the No. 42 player on Jonathan Givony’s new mock draft for 2021.