Jones, Joe invited to draft combine
FAYETTEVILLE — A pair of University of Arkansas basketball players have received invitations to the 2020 NBA Draft Combine.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Joe and junior guard Mason Jones were among the 105 potential participants for the event in which NBA teams voted on and invited the top 60 players who received the most votes. The combine was originally scheduled for May 21-24 in Chicago, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported Sunday that the league sent emails informing players that they had been selected to attend the combine “with a disclaimer that no decisions have been made about a date, format, location, or even if a combine will actually occur.”
The NCAA has given underclassmen until either 10 days after the combine or Aug. 3 — whichever comes first — to withdraw from the draft and return to college.
Jones, the Associated Press co-SEC player of the year, declared for the draft in March and signed with an agent in May. Joe entered his name in the draft in April but left the door open for a potential return to Arkansas by not hiring an agent.
Joe and Jones are the third and fourth Arkansas players to be invited to the combine since 2015, joining Jaylen Barford, who went undrafted in 2018, and Daniel Gafford, who was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft by the Chicago Bulls.
Originally scheduled for June 25, this year’s draft has been rescheduled for Oct. 16.