Coach still not sure if Joe will enter draft

FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said Wednesday it’s uncertain if guard Isaiah Joe will return to the Razorbacks for his junior season.

Joe, who averaged 16.9 points per game this season, has yet to announce if he’s entering the NBA Draft.

College players with eligibility remaining have until April 26 to declare for the draft and a June 3 deadline from the NCAA to withdraw their names.

“I would expect [Joe] to probably test the waters,” Musselman said of entering the draft, but not signing with an agent. “That would be my gut feeling … But I think that the timing is really up to Isaiah. He and his dad [Derrick Joe], we’ve communicated with them on feedback stuff, and they have great questions. They are really, really thinking through the process. They’re asking all the right questions.”

Musselman declined to say if he believes Joe is leaning toward returning to Arkansas or turning pro.

“Our thought at this particular time is that if he wants to explore this thing, you explore it and you do as much research as you can, and you don’t put odds on coming back,” Musselman said. “You just focus on the process and then at some point you make a decision to stay in or come back.”

Musselman said he expects Arkansas 6-5 junior guard Mason Jones — the co-SEC Player of the Year who averaged 22.3 points to lead the conference — will stay in the draft after he entered his name on March 27.

“From all indications, it sounds like that’s the challenge he’s looking towards,” Musselman said of Jones’ intention to turn professional rather than return to Arkansas for his senior season.

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