LSU's Tari Eason Declares for 2022 NBA Draft After 1 Season with Tigers

LSU men's basketball forward Tari Eason has declared for the NBA draft:

The 6'8" Eason averaged 16.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor during the 2021-22 season. 

He played his first collegiate season at Cincinnati in 2020-21 before transferring to LSU.

The latest NBA mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has the 20-year-old Eason going 12th overall.

"Scoring versatility and defensive toughness could help Eason draw lottery looks," Wasserman wrote.    

"At 6'8", 216 pounds, he stands out for his ability to face up and drive, outwork opponents at the rim, guard multiple positions and make plays on the ball defensively."

Plenty of others have Eason as a first-round prospect and fringe lottery player, including Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer (12th overall), Bryan Kalbrosky of USA Today (13th), Kyle Boone of CBS Sports (18th) and NBADraft.net (30th).

ESPN's Jonathan Givony ranks Eason as the No. 15 overall prospect and gave more insight into his collegiate career path.

"Eason took a unique trajectory to emerging as a potential lottery pick. He was a three-star high school recruit who initially committed to Cincinnati, where he came off the bench as a freshman and averaged 7.3 points in 19.5 minutes per game."

"Last summer he elected to transfer to LSU after a coaching change and immediately emerged as one of the most improved players in college basketball, helping his team to a 12-0 start and eventually a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament."

LSU is undergoing significant changes after Will Wade was fired before the NCAA tournament following accusations of five Level I NCAA violations during his tenure. Kevin Nickelberry took over as the interim coach for the NCAA tournament, in which LSU lost to Iowa State in the first round.

At this juncture, Eason looks like he's making a great decision following a fantastic season coupled with uncertainty within the Tigers program at the moment. He shouldn't wait long to hear his name at the NBA draft, which is scheduled to take place on June 23.