Louisville's Jordan Nwora Declares for 2020 NBA Draft

One of the ACC's best players is headed to the next level after Louisville forward Jordan Nwora declared for the 2020 NBA draft on Monday.

Nwora arrived at Louisville as a 4-star prospect and the No. 1 player from the state of New York in the class of 2017, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He came off the bench as a minor part of the rotation in his freshman season but flashed his potential as a matchup problem who can attack the basket and hit from the outside by making 43.9 percent of his triples.

While Louisville missed the NCAA men's tournament in his first year, Nwora's impressive jump as a sophomore helped it return to the Big Dance.

Nwora averaged 17.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while still hitting 37.4 percent from three-point range despite higher usage. He won 2019 ACC Most Improved Player and was given All-ACC third-team recognition.

The Cardinals lost in the first round during his second season but had championship expectations in 2019-20 in large part because of his presence.

He was named the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year and responded by averaging 18.0 points and 7.7 rebounds a night while hitting 40.2 percent of his three-pointers.

In February, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Nwora as a first-round pick at No. 29 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers. While there was concern about poor shooting efforts in high-profile matchups against Duke and Kentucky, the fact that his case was "built around a sound mix of 6'7" size and shot-making" made him an intriguing prospect.

While he was unable to build on his resume in the NCAA tournament since it was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, he was still recognized as a First Team All-ACC performer.

He will now turn his attention to the big games at the NBA level after announcing his decision to turn pro.