To the surprise of virtually no one, Indiana freshman forward Noah Vonleh will be one-and-done.
“It’s going to suck leaving college without an NCAA Tournament,” the 6-foot-10 Vonleh told CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish. “But I have to do what’s best for me.”
Vonleh is projected as the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, and the fifth freshmen behind Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker and Julius Randle.
“I’ve heard the fourth pick to the 12th pick is wide open,” Vonleh told Parrish “[I think I’ll be selected] anywhere in that range.”
Vonleh averaged 11.3 points and 9.0 rebounds for Indiana, which failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
“He has great upside,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “Great young man. He’s got a prototypical NBA body. He was a year young for the grade. He’s going to have to be trained in the NBA. He’s a couple of years away from real production. He’s so young, so gifted physically. He can really run the floor. He’s piece of clay to be molded.
“He’s going to be drafted very high because right after the premier guys, he’s probably next. It’s imperative for an NBA team to have a good development program because he has all the ability in the world.”
