Arkansas’ Isaiah Joe enters NBA Draft

Today is the deadline to enter the 2020 NBA Draft, and one big name just made his final decision.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Isaiah Joe has announced he will forego his remaining eligibility and enter the draft. He previously announced he was returning to Arkansas prior to the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline on Aug. 3rd.

This past season, Joe averaged 16.9 points and 4.1 rebounds as a sophomore. However, he missed six games in January and February due to a knee injury. Without Joe in the lineup, Arkansas went 1-5. With a healthy Joe, the Razorbacks were 19-7. He had 10 games of 20+ points, including a pair of 30+ point outings.

Joe would have been my pick for Preseason SEC player of the Year. Arkansas also lost All-SEC guard Mason Jones to the NBA Draft this offseason, so the Razorbacks went from being a strong SEC contender and top-25 team to now likely being projected in the middle-to-bottom half of the conference standings for next season.

So far, Joe is the only college player to declare for the draft today, but don’t be surprised if more guys follow suit, especially now the upcoming college hoops season is in question due to the coronavirus. The Pac-12 has already announced it won’t have basketball games for the rest of 2020, and it’s looking like other leagues will also eventually push back the starts of their respective regular seasons.