Arkansas junior forward/center Moses Kingsley will enter the draft but won’t hire an agent, the school announced. The 6’9″ 21-year-old will likely have to impress in predraft workouts and, if invited, the NBA combine, if he’s to end up getting drafted in June, since he’s just 123rd in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress doesn’t give players an overall ranking beyond the top 100, but he does list Kingsley as the 27th-best junior. Kingsley can retain his college eligibility if he withdraws by May 25th and doesn’t hire an agent.
He entered college in 2013 at No. 47 in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, two spots below Christian Wood, who re-signed with the Sixers last week, and two spots above Zach LaVine, whose stock surged before he became the 13th pick in the 2014 draft. Kingsley didn’t have any such fast rise, averaging just 11.1 minutes per game his first two years in college before becoming a starter this season.
His performance proved worth the wait, as he finished second in the SEC with 2.4 blocks per game and third with 9.3 rebounds per outing. Ford calls him an excellent defender, and Kingsley also averaged 15.9 points, eclipsing 20 points eight times. His offensive skill has been a question mark, according to Ford, so the big man will seemingly have to prove to NBA types that his production can translate to the next level.