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Joe Apu
Nigerian and Louisville forward Jordan Nwora has been invited to participate in the 2019 NBA Draft Combine, his school announced at the weekend.
The combine comes up May 14-19 in Chicago. Underclassmen have until May 29 to remove their name and return to school.
During the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Lagos, Nwora scored 36 points against Mali to be the highest scoring player for Nigeria in history, breaking Ike Diogu’s record of 31 points.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore announced his intention to test the NBA waters on March 28. He has not hired an agent and is taking the needed precautions to maintain his college eligibility.
“Because of the ability to test the waters without losing eligibility, it seems like the perfect opportunity for me to try out with NBA teams and get feedback from them directly regarding my strengths and weaknesses,” said Nwora last month.
“If the feedback is positive, I would stay in the draft. If the feedback indicates I should return to school for continued development, then that’s what I will do. Either way, it is a positive experience that will allow me to find out what specifically NBA teams want me to improve to enhance my draft stock, whether it is for this year or next year.”
The 6-foot-8 Nwora was selected as the 2019 ACC Most Improved Player after finishing sixth in the league in scoring with an average of 17.0 scoring average. His 11.3 points per game improvement from his freshman average was the second-highest improvement this season.
A third-team All-ACC choice, Nwora scored in double figures in 31 of 34 games and produced nine double-doubles this season. He also topped UofL and was ninth in the ACC in rebounding, pulling down 7.7 boards per game. He was also among the ACC leaders in field goal percentage (.446, 12th), three-point field goal percentage (.374, ninth), three-pointers made per game (2.3, 11th), defensive rebounds (6.44 per game, fourth) and minutes played (31.9 per game, 21st).
