Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., a potential lottery pick this June, has announced (via Twitter) that he’s declaring for the 2023 NBA draft.
It sounds like Smith is committing to going pro, since his statement doesn’t include any mention of maintaining his college eligibility and he projects to be selected in the first half of the first round. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him ranked at this year’s No. 14 prospect.
Smith had an up-and-down freshman season that was marred by a knee injury which limited him to 17 games. In those 17 appearances, he averaged 12.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, and 1.6 RPG on .376/.338/.740 shooting in 25.8 minutes per contest.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) doesn’t expect NBA teams to be too put off by those modest shooting numbers, observing that Smith has shown shooting versatility and the potential to continue improving his jumper, as well as the ability to create his own shot.
Within the last 24 hours, the following college players have also declared for the draft or announced plans to do so:
Expected to remain in draft:
- RayJ Dennis, G, Toledo (senior) (Twitter link)
- Tosan Evbuomwan, F, Princeton (senior) (Twitter link via Jonathan Givony of ESPN)
- Note: Evbuomwan is No. 86 on ESPN’s big board.
- Justice Sueing, F, Ohio State (senior) (Twitter link)
Testing the draft waters while maintaining NCAA eligibility:
- Marcus Domask, F, Southern Illinois (senior) (Twitter link)
- Jaylen Forbes, G, Tulane (senior) (Twitter link)
- Tyrese Samuel, F, Seton Hall (senior) (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
- Note: Samuel is also entering the transfer portal.