Colorado junior Spencer Dinwiddie announced in a press conference today that he’s entering the NBA draft. The shooting guard had been leaning heavily toward doing so, but the news is still somewhat surprising, since he tore his left ACL in January and missed the rest of the season. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him as the 40th-best prospect for this year, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress rates him 49th.
Dinwiddie was a potential first-round pick before the injury, and Givony ranked him 22nd going into the season. He scored 14.7 points in 31.1 minutes per contest in 17 games this year and shot 41.3% from behind the arc. It was something of a bounceback from three-point range for the 21-year-old, who made just 33.8% of his treys as a sophomore after nailing 43.8% his freshman year.
He traveled to Houston for a medical evaluation this past weekend before making his decision just three days before the deadline for underclassmen to enter the draft. It’s too late for him to withdraw and keep his NCAA eligibility, but providing he returns to full health, there seems to be a decent chance he’ll become a second-round steal for an NBA team.