KNOXVILLE – Tennessee junior Jordan Bone has declared for the NBA draft and does not expect to return for his final season of college eligibility “barring a change in plans,” he told 247Sports.com on Wednesday.
Bone has until May 29 to withdraw his name from consideration for the draft. The draft combine is May 14-19 in Chicago, and the draft is June 20 in Brooklyn, New York.
The 6-foot-3 point guard from Nashville averaged 13.5 points and 5.8 assists while shooting 47 percent from the field in 2018-19 for the Volunteers, who finished 31-6 in coach Rick Barnes’ fourth season in Knoxville. They advanced to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 before falling 99-94 in overtime to Purdue last week.
“Vol Nation, I want to begin by saying thank you,” Bone said in a video posted to his Twitter account Wednesday. “Your incredible support this season meant the absolute world to me and my teammates. It was a very special year, and you played a major role in making it so much fun. Wearing the Tennessee uniform is an incredible honor for me and something I honestly cherish. I’ve grown so much, personally and athletically, these last three years.
“I’m now blessed to have the opportunity to enter the 2019 NBA draft, showcase my abilities for NBA personnel and receive valuable feedback that will help me to continue to develop. I plan to make the most of this opportunity and use the experience and feedback to make the most informed decision possible about my basketball future. I’m going to lean on my family as well as Coach Barnes and the staff here at Tennessee through these next steps. We’re all in this together. I know I’ll have the support of Tennessee fans everywhere as we work through this process.
“Go Vols, and God bless.”
Bone nearly doubled his scoring average from his sophomore season and averaged more than two assists more per game. He also set a program record with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.91, and he posted 27 games with five or more assists.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.