Louisville forward Jordan Nwora has declared for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-7 junior is coming off a shortened season in which he led the Cardinals in both points and minutes while acting as the unquestioned leader of the team. Over his last two seasons, he averaged 17.5 points per game. Nwora tested the draft waters after his sophomore season, however, a knee injury and resulting limited draft combine paved the way for a return to the ACC. His decision increased his draft stock twofold, as he went on to earn 3rd team All-American honors and his second All-ACC player award. Additionally, Nwora was named to the Academic All-American team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Academic All-America program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. Nwora had previously earned 2020 First-team Academic All-District 2 honors and had advanced to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. He held an impressive 3.40 overall GPA in exercise science at UofL and is on target to graduate this summer in just over three years. With that, Nwora has become an enticing target for sports agencies and NBA teams.
According to a source, Nwora signed with Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports. Bartelstein currently represents Bradley Beal, Kyle Lowry, Gordon Hayward, and others in the NBA. One client on the roster, Taj Gibson, said, “Mark and Priority Sports got me to where I’m at today. They’re going to keep it real with you. They’re not going to ever lie to you.” Nwora and Bartelstein will now work together to prepare for and improve the draft stock of the Buffalo, New York native. Nwora seems to be a polarizing prospect among draft boards, with some projections pinning him as a mid-first-round pick and others relegating him to the second-round. According to Adam Zagoria, Louisville has ramped up its effort to replace Nwora and remain competitive. “Louisville added 6-foot Radford grad transfer Carlik Jones, the Big South Player of the Year. They also added shooting guard D’Andre Davis and power forward Jayden Traynor to their recruiting class.”
Nwora reflected, “I’ve been thinking a lot about how the season ended. It was heartbreaking and awful – we wanted the championship and I think we were ready.” “I will proudly represent Louisville wherever I go.” His Cardinals finished 24-7 overall and 15-5 in conference play, good for third in the ACC.
