By SEAN BOCK
St. John’s sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds will go through the NBA Draft process but won’t hire an agent, he announced on his Instagram page Saturday.
“My plan is to get as much NBA experience and knowledge as possible,” Ponds said in his post. “In addition, I do not want to close any doors. I’ll like to keep all my options open.”
Ponds was the leading scorer for the Red Storm this year as he averaged 21.6 points and dished out 4.6 assists per game.
NBA personnel have started to take notice of Ponds, but there are still numerous question marks around whether his size or game translates to the next level.
“I think he has a chance but needs to stay in school at least another year,” one NBA executive told ZAGSBLOG. “If he were to come out this year, he will be headed to the G League to start his professional career.”
The latest 2019 ESPN Mock Draft has Ponds going 34th overall to the Atlanta Hawks.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla thinks Ponds has a shot at the NBA down the road.
“He’s unique, he’s interesting because in a league now that there were 18 players 6-feet and under last year in the NBA,” Fraschilla said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “He’s got an NBA game because he can get anywhere he wants on the court. He’s a very creative player at the college level.“The only thing missing when I saw him was a consistent deadly jump shot, but when he’s on he’s as tough to guard as really any player in the country one-on-one.
“He’s that old-school, New York schoolyard kind of guy, kind of reminds of Nick Van Exel, maybe because he’s lefty.“I don’t know if it’s this year or down the road a few years, but I think he’s got a chance to play in the NBA because he’s a quick player already but the ball-handling skills at the college level for sure make him unguard-able. And that quickness and ball skills will translate to the NBA as long as he can consistently make a jump shot and keep defenses honest. But he’s proving to people that at the college level he’s somewhat unguard-able.”
