Account
5-Star SF Leonard Miller to Pursue Pro Options; Undecided on NBA Draft vs. G League
May 31, 2022
There will reportedly be no college basketball for highly regarded prospect Leonard Miller.
Joe Tipton of On3 Sports reported the forward will pursue professional options. He previously announced Arizona, Kentucky and the G League Ignite as his three finalists while also declaring for the 2022 NBA draft and keeping the option to maintain his collegiate eligibility.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN noted Miller has until the June 13 deadline to decide whether he will withdraw from the draft.
While Miller is just 18 years old, he is eligible for the draft because he is far enough removed from high school after a postgraduate year at Fort Erie International Academy in Ontario.
It isn't much of a silver lining for Arizona fans, but Tipton noted the Pac-12 program was the "presumed favorite to land Miller" if he did elect to play college basketball.
The Wildcats just went 33-4 and won the conference regular-season and tournament titles in head coach Tommy Lloyd's first season, and landing such a talented recruit would have been an ideal way to maintain that momentum.
According to 247Sports 'composite rankings, Miller is a 5-star prospect and the No. 26 overall player, No. 9 small forward and No. 1 player from Ontario in the 2022 recruiting class. He would have surely played his way into the immediate rotation at either Kentucky or Arizona and will look to do the same in the NBA or with the G League Ignite.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman released an updated mock draft Tuesday, and he projected the Los Angeles Clippers would select Miller with the No. 43 pick.
That Miller is seen as a second-round pick may convince him to withdraw from the draft and hone his game for a year on the G League Unite. It would give him the opportunity to test his skill set against elevated competition and work on some of the things the scouts tell him he needs to improve during the draft process.
Perhaps he will be a first-rounder next year if he chooses that route.