After three years as a Blue Devil, junior Mason Plumlee has decided to “test the waters” of the NBA draft and possibly skip his final year of college to pursue a career in the NBA. Both Draft Express and Chad Ford of ESPN rate Plumlee as the 29th-best prospect and project him to be drafted towards the end of the first round, should he choose to leave Duke.
Unfortunately for Plumlee, he will not be able to get all that much more information by testing the waters. Last summer the NCAA instituted an early-entry withdrawal deadline of April 10, meaning that a player must make his final decision by that date. Plumlee will have a chance to receive an evaluation report from the 20 executives who form the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee, but NBA rules prohibit teams from having any contact with players until April 29, the league’s deadline for early entry registration.
Plumlee has tantalized NBA scouts with his length and explosive athletic ability since his freshman year, but he has lacked consistency and questions remain about his NBA readiness. While he had several dominant games this year, he disappeared in several games against more physical opponents like Florida State. His situation is further complicated by the fact that his stock has dropped since his freshman year as NBA scouts have become less forgiving of inconsistency as he has gotten older.
The Blue Devils also face the possibility of losing ACC Rookie of the Year Austin Rivers to the NBA Draft. While Rivers has not yet stated that he will test the waters, he is projected to be a potential lottery pick if he leaves Duke early. He will have until April 3 to decide whether or not he wants to receive a report from the Undergraduate Advisory Committee.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.