The NCAA Tournament is coming up and for some teams that means roster changes and players leaving the program. Arkansas Razorback’s forward Daniel Gafford has officially declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. The projected first-round draft pick has also announced he will not be playing in the 2019 NIT Tournament.
WATCH: Mike Anderson’s full comments on Daniel Gafford declaring for the #NBADraft and skipping the NIT. pic.twitter.com/n9uDW8x7eu
— Andrew Scaglione (@5NEWSAndrew) March 18, 2019
The Razorbacks will be without their star forward Gafford against Providence in the first round of the NIT Tournament. The Sophmore forward had a great year playing in the SEC and has likely helped his draft stock in doing so. Gafford averaged 16.9 points per game along with 8.7 rebounds per game. The 6’11” forward also chipped in two blocks to go with his other stats.
There was speculation after Gafford’s freshman year that he would go to the NBA, but he decided to come back for his sophomore season with the Razorbacks. The forward can provide an NBA team real height and rebounding. Gafford is also a more than capable defender at the NBA level.
Daniel Gafford dunks will never ever ever get old, man. pic.twitter.com/PwfyNhMYQ7
— Razorback Basketball (@RazorbackMBB) March 10, 2019
There are still areas that the former Razorback will need to work on and its why he will not hear his name called until the end of the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Arkansas now has a chance to analysis their talent that will be coming back next year and perhaps still compete for an NIT Championship.
Gafford was hoping to play in the NCAA Tournament in his sophomore season, but the Razorbacks couldn’t quite put enough together to get a bid out of the SEC this year. The forward is now moving on and ready to start his NBA career.
