4-Star NC State Commit Jalen Lecque Explores 2019 NBA Draft Eligibility

NC State commit Jalen Lecque has filed paperwork in an effort to gain clarity on his eligibility for the 2019 NBA draft.

"We're waiting to hear if he's eligible or not," Jalen's father Derrick Lecque told ESPN.com's Jonathan Givony. "We're waiting for them to evaluate the transcripts."

Lecque, whom 247Sports rates as a 4-star recruit, believes he should be allowed to enter this year's draft as the result of spending five years in high school.

The Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire) star did not receive a diploma from his previous school, the Christ School (Arden, North Carolina). But given he is a year removed from his original high school graduating class and will turn 19 this year, he can petition the NBA for inclusion.

The deadline to submit a petition was April 11. Now that he has taken care of that part of the process, he awaits a decision. If accepted, he then has until April 21 to sign up for early entry into the draft.

Prior to committing to NC State back in October, Lecque received offers from the likes of Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Syracuse and UCLA. Throughout the recruiting process, though, the 2019 NBA draft has always been on his mind.

Back in November, Lecque told Givony he would wait until after his team's season to figure out his future:

"I am interested in everything because the NBA is my goal at the end of the day. I want to be a great college player, but my end goal is to help my family. I want to be a concrete Round 1 player if I do make that decision. If I'm guaranteed a Round 1 position, then you never know. I could see myself doing it if I am in a good position at the end of the year. A college education is so important and making that jump is really hard, so I really gotta think about that, but if I'm Round 1, then that's different."

Per Givony, Lecque averaged 12.6 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.8 turnovers for Brewster this past season while leading his team to a 34-7 record.

Should he gain early eligibility, he will have until May 29 to decide if he will remain in the draft or withdraw his name and play college ball for the Wolfpack.