A pair of longshot European prospects are heading to the NBA draft. Greek shooting guard Lefteris Bochoridis has officially declared for the draft, as his agents at Lotsos & Associates tweet, while a source tells Eurobasket.com that Czech power forward Martin Peterka will declare, too. Neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com list either of them in their top 100 prospects, but Bochoridis is No. 19 among international prospects born in 1994, according to Givony, who has Peterka at No. 44 among those born in 1995.
The 6’5″ Bochoridis has averaged 5.2 points in 19.4 minutes per game for Aris BC in Greece this season, and his three-point shooting has been anemic, as he’s hit just 23.5% on 2.1 attempts per contest. Peterka has put up 9.1 PPG in 20.8 MPG to go along with 5.0 rebounds per game this year for BK JIP Pardubice in the Czech Republic. Peterka has stretched the floor at 6’8″, nailing 41.0% of his three-pointers.
College was a consideration for Peterka, but he’s ultimately decided to turn pro. He won’t be able to play NCAA ball after officially declaring for the draft at this point, but he and Bochoridis could still withdraw from the draft anytime between now and June 16th. Bochoridis won’t be automatically draft-eligible until 2016, and Peterka can wait until 2017.