Admiral Schofield made one of the biggest leaps in improvement from last season to this year on Tennessee’s basketball roster. And he wants to see if that improvement was enough to help him make it to the NBA.
Per his Twitter, Schofield plans to test the NBA waters and see what feedback he gets from NBA personnel. He claims that he hasn’t hired an agent, which means he can return to UT for the 2018-19 season if he withdraws his name before the deadline. Schofield also notes in his tweet that Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes encouraged him to go through the process.
— ♠ACE BOOGIE ++? (@admiralelite15) March 29, 2018
Thanks to a rule passed back in 2016, Schofield can receive feedback from NBA personnel on his draft stock and where scouts and others think he could be drafted by submitting his name for consideration for the draft. As long as he doesn’t hire an agent and rescinds his name from consideration in time, he can return for his senior season next year.
The deadline to remove your name from consideration is 10 days after the NBA draft combine. The combine begins on May 16th and runs through the 20th this year.
Schofield went from averaging 8.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and .8 assists in 19 minutes per game as a sophomore to 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 28.1 minutes as a junior this season. He led the team in rebounding and was second on the team in points per game.
The Vols rode Schofield’s hot hand down the stretch this season. Over the last eight games of Tennessee’s season, Schofield averaged 20.3 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. The Vols went 6-2 in those eight games.
Time will tell if Schofield ultimately decides to declare for the NBA or not. Most believe he will come back, especially with a rather strong draft class this year. But if he believes he can get drafted high enough to risk it, Schofield may bolt for the NBA after all.
