On Friday morning, Tennessee star forward Grant Williams announced that he will be keeping his name in the NBA Draft pool and will forgo his senior season at UT. His teammate at Tennessee, junior point guard Jordan Bone, will have a similar decision to make soon. And now he’s reportedly decided when he’ll announce his choice.
According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Jordan Bone will announce on May 29th whether or not he will remain in the NBA Draft. That’s the deadline for all underclassmen to decide whether or not they’ll return to school or stay in the draft.
“Still a little hope, Vols fans,” Goodman added in his tweet.
Jordan Bone on whether he has decided to stay in the NBA Draft:
“I’m making my decision on May 29th.”
Still a little hope, Vols fans.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 16, 2019
Bone, who declared for the draft shortly after Tennessee’s loss to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament, is currently participating in the NBA Combine in Chicago. On Thursday, he turned multiple heads in different testing drills.
Through the first of two days at the combine, Bone had the quickest shuttle run (2.78 seconds), lane agility (9.97 seconds), three-quarter sprint (3.03 seconds) and standing vertical leap (36.00 inches). among all participants. Bone checked in at 73.5 inches without shoes and 74.75 inches with shoes. He weighed in at 179 pounds and had the second-best vertical leap (42.50 inches) of the 66 participants at the combine.
? @Vol_Hoops’ @JordanBone23 gets it going at the Pro Lane Drill at the #NBACombine Powered by Under Armour! pic.twitter.com/8duPsrOOIP
— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) May 16, 2019
For perspective, according to WBIR’s Louis Fernandez, Bone’s numbers rank better than Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Minnesota’s Derrick Rose in both the three quarter sprint and max vertical. Westbrook is an eight-time All-Star and was the 2017 NBA MVP. Rose has been an All-Star three times and was the 2011 NBA MVP.
3/4 court sprint:
-Jordan Bone: 3.03 seconds
-Derrick Rose: 3.05 seconds
-Russell Westbrook: 3.08 secondsMax Vert:
-Jordan Bone: 42.5 inches
-Derrick Rose: 40 inches
-Russell Westbrook: 36.5 inches— Louis Fernandez Jr (@LouisWBIR) May 16, 2019
Bone was also the starting point guard in the first 5-on-5 session of the day. He opened up the scrimmage with a couple of made baskets and displayed his athleticism on multiple occasions.
Jordan Bone with a couple buckets running point guard at the NBA Draft Combine scrimmage. pic.twitter.com/6BR9F0Yqje
— Marc Whiteman (@MarcWhiteman) May 16, 2019
This past season, Bone took a step forward in terms of production as he led Tennessee to a 31-6 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance. The Nashville native averaged 13.5 points, 5.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 32.9 minutes, all career-highs. His 215 assists this season were the third-most in a single season in Tennessee history, and his 2.91 assist-to-turnover ratio was the best ratio in a single season in program history.
Bone was named one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, the annual award honoring the best point guard in college basketball. Bone was also chosen as a Second-Team All-SEC selection.
The NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 20.
One Response
Sigh…another building year now I suppose. Although Turner & Bowden are ?