FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas forward Jordan Walsh may or may not be leaving for professional basketball.
The freshman from Link Academy in Branson, Mo., and DeSoto, Texas, announced Wednesday he is putting his name into the hat for the NBA Draft in June and is keeping his eligibility to return to the Razorbacks or enter the transfer portal.
These days nobody really knows what direction he could go other than not being eligible to go back to high school. But everything sounds like he’s heading out somewhere.
As the basketball season comes to a close, I want to take a moment to thank all of my amazing NIL partners and sponsors for their support and commitment to my journey. pic.twitter.com/2BVuxFkQAp
— Jordan Walsh (@jordanwalshlife) April 7, 2023
All of this will depend on whether the NBA wants him. Hogs guard Davonte Davis is doing the same thing. About the only thing we know for certain is there are still some announcements coming one way or the other over the next few weeks and we’ll have something to talk about in May.
Walsh appeared in all 36 games for Arkansas during the 2022-23 season, making 22 starts and averaging 24.4 minutes per contest. The versatile talent spent time at the small forward and power forward positions, averaging 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game on 43.3 percent shooting from the field, including 20 made three-pointers, and a 71.2 percent clip from the free-throw line.
Players who have elected to declare for the draft will have until the NCAA deadline of 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on May 31 to withdraw and maintain their college eligibility, which gives Walsh ample time to prepare and potentially secure an invite to compete in the NBA Draft Combine that will be held May 15-21 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The 2023 NBA Draft will take place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (N.Y.) on June 22.
Some of the projections have him anywhere from mid-second round in the NBA to not even being picked. Not much is guaranteed if you’re not in that first round, where Nick Smith Jr., and Anthony Black are projected.
