Indiana Basketball: Justin Smith enters name into NBA draft

The Indiana basketball team could be losing another player as junior Justin Smith put his name into the early entrant list for the 2020 draft.

According to the NBA, Indiana Hoosiers junior Justin Smith put his name in the early entrant list for the 2020 draft.

It hasn’t been reported yet if he hired an agent, but more than likely he is going through the process to judge his draft stock and will return to Indiana. If a player doesn’t hire an agent they can go through the process without losing their eligibility. The player must withdraw their name from the draft up until 10 days before the draft.

There is no date for the draft yet, because of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of when and if the season will continue.

Smith was the third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for the Hoosiers last year. He averaged 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He trailed freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis in both categories and senior Devonte Green in scoring also.

It is possible that Smith leaves, but it would be a surprise if he actually left. There are currently 205 players on the early-entry list. Just in case you didn’t know, there are only 60 picks in the NBA draft. That leaves a lot of players that wouldn’t be drafted from this list.

But with the new rules of being able to come back to school, a lot of players use this process as a chance to legally talk with NBA executives and gain information on their draft stock and things they must work on.

If you are serious about going to the NBA, this isn’t the worst thing to do. It grants you access that you would not be able to have if you hadn’t declared. Plus you have the chance to still come back to school without any penalties.

It will a surprise to most Hoosier fans that he put his name on the list, but as long as he doesn’t hire an agent it isn’t a horrible move.

Is Smith ready for the NBA, probably not yet, but it doesn’t hurt to judge interest and go through the process for the future.