It’s finally official. Duke University big man Jahlil Okafor has officially entered his name in the 2015 NBA Draft. The projected top 3 pick made his announcement the same day that a few Kentucky Wildcats stars announced they would enter the draft as well.
Following from GoDuke.com
Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor will enter the 2015 NBA Draft, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Thursday. Okafor, a consensus first team All-America selection, joins Corey Maggette (1999), Luol Deng (2004), Kyrie Irving (2011), Austin Rivers (2012) and Jabari Parker (2014) as Blue Devil freshmen to enter the NBA Draft after just one season of college basketball. The five previous freshmen early entrees were each selected among the first 13 players in their respective drafts, including Irving, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2011.
“What a great decision!” said Krzyzewski. “This is a tremendous opportunity for Jahlil and he has earned it. Obviously, he has done an incredible job here at Duke and he will always be a part of our Duke basketball family. We could not be happier for he and his family.”
Okafor was the 17th first team All-America selection under Coach K. He helped lead Duke to a 35-4 record and the program’s fifth NCAA Championship with their win over the Wisconsin Badgers, despite not playing too well in the championship game.
He averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocks per game while collecting a laundry list of awards. He was named National Freshman of the Year along with ACC Player & Freshman of the Year, being the first freshman in league history to be named ACC Player of the Year.
Okafor’s game has been compared to Al Jefferson of the Charlotte Hornets by NBADraft.net. He’s also been listed as the second best prospect in this summers upcoming draft, right behind Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, by DraftExpress.
Okafor has an NBA ready interior game, with fantastic foot work a talent to score on the interior. He’s a good rebounder and very strong as well with his 6’11”, 270 pound frame. His knock include that he isn’t a fantastic defender by any means, he’s not insanely athletic and his conditioning could use some work. Most of his rough edges can be smoothed out though by the right NBA team and coach.
