Neemias Queta: “Aggie Nation, I’m back”
Utah State men’s basketball center Neemias Queta will return for his sophomore season and delay his dream of playing in the NBA for at least one year.
Queta announced the news himself via his Twitter account, posting a video where halfway through he states “Aggie Nation, I’m back.”
— Quetão 🔥🤷🏿♂️ (@nemi1599) May 28, 2019
For the past month since announcing he would enter the pre-draft process, Queta has been in workouts with the Utah Jazz as well as participating in the 2019 NBA draft combine.
Queta had until May 29 to make the decision to remain in the June 20 draft field and spurn his college eligibility or return to Logan to try and increase his draft stock. The NBA has a deadline that extends until June 10, but the NCAA has its own set of rules in place which only allows up until May 29 to meet with teams and scouts to get an idea of where a player might be selected.
Queta has shown a lot of upside and potential throughout the draft process, including a shooting touch that surprised some executives.
“I think the one thing that impressed me a little bit, because I hadn’t seen him play a lot is, he’s got a bit of a shooting touch,” Utah Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin told the media following Queta’s workout on May 11. “He’s not strictly a back-to-the-basket player. So that will help him, hopefully at Utah State and in the future.”
Utah State’s Neemias Queta is participating in the #NBACombine in Chicago, but also completed his first predraft workout with the Utah Jazz last week. He describes that experience as one that helped him grow. “It’s gonna help me in the future,” he said. pic.twitter.com/cGJsqoMglD
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) May 17, 2019
However, even though the reigning Mountain West defensive player of the year shows great ability on that end, he struggled during pre-draft workouts due to his small frame (225.8 pounds according to NBA Combine measurements). That limited Queta’s ability to utilize his borderline elite length, which was among the best of the 66 athletes at the combine.
Neemias Queta’s combine measurements
Height (w/shoes) – 7’0.25″
Height (w/o shoes) – 6’10.75″
Wingspan – 7’4.25″
Standing Reach – 9’3.5″
Hand Width – 11.0″
Weight – 225 lbs— Jason Walker (@thejwalk67) May 16, 2019
Another year to add bulk will likely boost Queta’s draft stock by making him more able wrestle under the basket with the more bulky NBA bigs.
“His ability to naturally impact the game at this level on defense was evident, frustrating opponents into misses on a number of occasions,” Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo wrote. “He will need to add some weight and polish his game offensively, ideally harnessing some of his jump shooting potential in a more game applicable setting. But there aren’t many mobile bigs built like Queta, and he’s worth a hard look as a long-term project who could help a team’s rotation down the road.”
CBS sports draft expert Kyle Boone shared similar opinions.
“Friday he really got a chance to show some stuff, recording three points, six rebounds and displaying fervor on the defensive end of the floor,” he wrote. “Queta might be a year away from being really good; if he comes back to Utah State next season I expect he’ll be dominant and enter next year’s draft as a center to keep tabs on. For now, he’s an interesting prospect with physical tools that will have teams asking to see more.”
With Queta coming back to Utah State, the Aggies look like the front-runners to repeat as Mountain West champs. With conference player of the year Sam Merrill returning as well, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team return to the NCAA tournament, possibly as a higher seed than this past season.
Utah Statesman senior sports writer Jason Walker contributed to this report.
Twitter: @dren_sports