London says he’s available for draft
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior forward Makinde London is declaring for the NBA draft, according to a post on his Twitter account.
The 6-foot-10, 220-pound London averaged 13.6 points a game this past season, which was second on the team, while leading the Mocs with 6.9 rebounds per game. He shot 40 percent from the floor, 34 percent from 3-point range and 73 percent from the free-throw line.
He set a UTC record this season with three games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds, twice against Samford and once against Marshall. He totaled eight 20-point games, four double-digit rebounding performances, three double-doubles and 12 games in which he hit multiple 3-pointers. He hit at least one 3 in 27 of the 29 games he played, including four on two occasions.
In the Southern Conference tournament, he averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from 3-point range and 86 percent from the free-throw line, earning firstteam all-tournament honors.
London was a former fourstar prospect and top 100 recruit who played two seasons at Xavier, averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 18 games with a career high of seven points in a win over DePaul in January 2016.
Under NBA rules, London is able to declare and be evaluated by scouts before making a decision as to whether he will keep his name in the draft, as long as he does not hire an agent. He has until June 11 to withdraw his name from consideration.
If he stays in consideration and does not return to UTC, the Mocs will be without a senior in the 2018-19 season. They currently have four players signed in this class — incoming freshman guards Maurice Commander and Donovann Toatley, Fairfield transfer guard Jerry Johnson and Arizona State transfer forward Ramon Vila, who won’t be eligible until after fall-semester grades have posted. The Mocs also have commitments from three-star forward Kevin Easley and forward Keigan Kerby.