Arkansas' Moses Moody Announces He's Declaring for 2021 NBA Draft

Arkansas freshman Moses Moody announced on ESPN's The Jump Friday that he is entering the 2021 NBA draft.

Moody further explained his decision on his Twitter page:

The 6'6" guard averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game during his first collegiate season. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year while earning first-team all-conference honors.

Moody was the go-to offensive player for an Arkansas team that exceeded expectations and reached the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Baylor.

It was the first time the Razorbacks reached the second weekend of the NCAA tournament since 1996 under Nolan Richardson.

Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman provided his thoughts on Moody's announcement:

"We fully support Moses and his family in the decision to enter the NBA Draft. We were excited last spring when they trusted us to continue his basketball journey. I’ve said it many times that Moses handles his day-to-day business like a pro and he will be ahead of the curve when he starts his professional career. Moses was able to showcase his many talents in our system – including being our leading scorer and second-best rebounder – and we believe he continued to make improvements throughout the year to put himself in this position. We will continue to work with Moses and his family as well as do all we can with our connections in professional basketball to promote Moses."

The 18-year-old has proved he can be a consistent scorer who can attack the basket at will. He is also a threat from beyond the arc after hitting 35.8 percent of his three-point attempts this season.

The production has made him one of the biggest risers in the country over the past year after entering college as the No. 45 recruit in the 2020 class, per 247Sports composite rankings. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman now ranks Moody as the No. 12 player in the 2021 NBA draft.