Florida freshman shooting guard Scottie Lewis had been considered a strong candidate to be drafted this spring, ranking 38th overall on ESPN’s big board. However, Lewis has opted not to declare for the draft, as he confirms to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
“I was so stuck on going to the NBA when I got home, but then I thought long and hard about it and with all the uncertainty about the draft process, and if there will even be a combine and team workouts, I felt like it was the right move to go back to school,” Lewis told Stadium.
As Goodman details, Lewis got feedback from the NBA’s advisory committee, and while he was confident he’d be selected if he entered, he received a wide range of opinions on when exactly he might come off the board. With few opportunities during this year’s pre-draft process to boost his stock, Lewis has opted to play at least one more college season in the hopes of showing individual improvement and enjoying more team success.
“There’s so much more I think I can show, that we can show as a team,” Lewis said. “I want to leave a legacy at Florida. … I’m an optimistic person and no matter where I get drafted, I’m going to work my butt off. But with all this uncertainty, it was best for me to play it safe and put myself in a better position a year from now.”
Although Lewis isn’t entering his name in the 2020 NBA draft pool, several NCAA underclassmen are doing so. In addition to Kentucky guards Tyrese Maxey and Ashton Hagans, whose decisions we covered earlier today, here are some of the recent prospects who will at least test the draft waters:
- Terry Armstrong, G, Australia (born 2000) (Twitter link)
- Manny Camper, G/F, Siena (junior) (press release)
- Joel Ekamba, G, France (born 2001) (link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando)
- Mason Faulkner, G, Western Carolina (junior) (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Stadium)
- Blake Francis, G, Richmond (junior) (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Stadium)
- Javon Freeman-Liberty, G, Valparaiso (sophomore) (Twitter link)
- Jacob Gilyard, G, Richmond (junior) (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Stadium)
- Grant Golden, F, Richmond (junior) (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Stadium)
- Nate Hinton, G/F, Houston (sophomore) (Twitter link)
- Darius Quisenberry, G, Youngstown State (sophomore) (Twitter link)
- Marcus Santos-Silva, F, VCU (junior) (Instagram link)