12:58pm: The decision was no open-and-shut case, as Portis came quite close to remaining at school for another year, according to Givony (Twitter link).
12:24pm: Arkansas sophomore power forward Bobby Portis has decided to enter this year’s draft, as he revealed on his Twitter account (hat tip to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com). Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him as the 16th-best prospect, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress puts him at No. 18.
The Consensus Second-Team All-American shouldered a greater offensive load for the Razorbacks this season, and he delivered, averaging 17.5 points while grabbing 8.9 rebounds in 29.9 minutes per game. Portis, who stands 6’10”, showed a measure of three-point range, nailing 14 of his 30 attempts this year. Still, the 20-year-old remains raw and is a candidate for D-League assignments, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he ranked him 15th in the latest Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
Portis pulled down 10 or more rebounds in five of his last six college games, including his 18-point, 14-rebound performance in a loss to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament round of 32. His only single-digit rebounding game in that stretch came against Kentucky and its wealth of NBA-bound frontcourt talent, against whom Portis had only two boards.