Jalen Moore declares for NBA Draft
Utah State junior wing Jalen Moore has declared for the NBA Draft as an underclassmen.
“It is always a lifelong goal of somebody who has played basketball as a kid to want to play in the NBA, it’s everyone’s dream,” Moore said. “I have been working at it my whole life and I feel like this summer I have a decent shot.”
According to a press release from Utah State on Friday, Moore does not plan to hire an agent. If he doesn’t he can withdraw by May 25 and return to college for his final season. In accordance with the new draft declaration rules, Moore can come back to school as long as he doesn’t hire an agent for the draft.
“We are supportive of Jalen exploring his options at the next level,” said USU head coach Tim Duryea. “We will use our NBA contacts to try and help him gather information regarding his draft status. Our goal is to help all of our players succeed at every level.”
Moore is a 6-foot-9 player who has played small forward, power forward and center at Utah State. He has led the Aggies in both scoring and rebounding in back-to-back seasons, averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore and 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a junior. The performances led to a pair of all-Mountain West honors, earning second-team accolades as a sophomore and third-team honors this past season.
“With the new rule, if it doesn’t work out then I can pull out and attend my senior year at Utah State,” Moore said. “This process will really help me get my name out there and will help people get to know me and get my game out there. It will be a great experience for me and will expand my game and help me to get better and will help the team if I end up returning.”
Moore is already No. 27 on the all-time scorers list at Utah State with 1,119 points. If he returns, he will be one of three returning starters from the 2015-16 squad.
The first time underclassmen can have contact with NBA teams will be at the NBA Draft Combine, May 11-15, in Chicago, Illinois. After that date, underclassmen can work out for teams at their own expense in order to maintain their collegiate eligibility.
The timeline for early-entry into the NBA Draft is as follows:
April 24 — NBA early entry eligibility deadline.
May 11-15 — NBA Draft combine in Chicago.
May 25 — Deadline for underclassmen to remove entry to maintain intercollegiate eligibility.
June 23 — NBA Draft.
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor