Duke PG Tyus Jones Still Undecided on NBA Draft Status

Now that March Madness is over and Duke is fresh off of winning it’s 5th NCAA National Championship, college basketball has begun to look ahead to the upcoming NBA Draft and which players will decide to stay in school or declare to pursue a professional basketball career.

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For the Blue Devils, we know for sure that guard Quinn Cook will be leaving after graduating in May, Grayson Allen will be returning to Duke next year- after breakout performances in the Final Four caused some experts to believe that Allen could be a first round pick if he does leave, and center Sean Obi will be eligible next season after transferring from Rice. It’s also safe to say Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, and Marshall Plumlee will be back.

That leaves Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, and Justise Winslow, all which are widely considered to be first round picks with Okafor and Winslow going in the top 5 of the 2015 NBA Draft. None of these players have officially made the decision to go pro, but Tyus Jones recently announced that his decision will depend on fellow freshmen Okafor and Winslow.

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Tyus Jones will be an interesting prospect if he does declare because, although he is undersized for a typical NBA guard, he possess the ability to take care of the ball and make big plays when he needed, which earned him the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

If Jones does decide to leave for the NBA, Duke won’t have a single point guard on the roster for next season. There aren’t many PG recruits available for next year’s class, so Coach K will either have to add a last-minute prospect or possibly move Grayson Allen or incoming freshman Luke Kennard to point guard from their natural shooting guard roles (which has worked before for the Blue Devils with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith).

Current college players must decide to declare for the NBA before the NCAA’s spring signing period on April 26th, and the actual draft will take place on June 25th after the NBA season is over. We’ll be sure to keep you updated here with what happens with Jones, OKafor, and Winslow as their decisions are made.