No. 1 JUCO Recruit, Louisville Commit Jay Scrubb Declares for 2020 NBA Draft
March 25, 2020
Jay Scrubb, the top-ranked JUCO player in the 2020 college basketball recruiting class, has declared for the 2020 NBA draft amid a commitment to the Louisville Cardinals.
The shooting guard's father, Jason Scrubb, confirmed the news to 247Sports' Evan Daniels.
"Jay's focus right now is trying to be a pro player, and we want the NBA to take him seriously," Jason said. "Some execs aren't sure if he's going to go to school or try for the NBA. With the timeline, we don't know when we would hear from the NBA. He wants to be a pro athlete, but he does love Louisville."
He added: "We're still deciding on an agent and also if it's in his best interest to sign. That will come with more information from the NBA."
Scrubb is coming off a terrific season with the John A. Logan College Vols in the NJCAA. He averaged 21.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 50.1 percent from the field across 29 appearances (25 starts).
He led the Vols to a 28-5 record, including an 18-0 mark in conference play, before the remainder of the season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic with the team on an 11-game winning streak.
Scrubb could face difficulties trying to prove himself to NBA executives and scouts, though.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported teams are preparing to go through the predraft process without many of the usual elements because of the reduced travel and personal interaction in response to the coronavirus.
"For instance, players would likely find it more difficult to directly affect their draft standing without the usual workouts, interviews, combine and other elements of the process," Givony wrote.
That's particularly impactful for a prospect like Scrubb (6'6", 205 lbs), who hasn't had the opportunity to showcase his talent in nationally televised games at the NCAA level.
Since he wasn't listed among the top 50 prospects on the big board of Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, getting those in-person opportunities to impress executives and scouts would have been essential to pushing himself up draft boards.
Scrubb can still remove his name from the draft and attend Louisville for the 2020-21 season, but the deadline for that decision is also up in the air. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported the current June 3 date could shift alongside an updated NBA calendar if the playoffs, and thus the draft, are delayed.
Given the circumstances, a season with the Cardinals to prove himself against top-level college competition before going through a standard predraft process next year may be his best option.