Latest mock draft from The Athletic provides good news for Tennessee Vols
The Tennessee Vols received a bit of not-so-good news last weekend. Forward Yves Pons, who has one year of eligibility remaining, entered the NBA draft. Pons can return to Tennessee after going through the pre-draft process (including the combine) if he wants. The decision by Pons to enter the draft wasn't exactly surprising. He'll be […]
The Tennessee Vols received a bit of not-so-good news last weekend.
Forward Yves Pons, who has one year of eligibility remaining, entered the NBA draft.
Pons can return to Tennessee after going through the pre-draft process (including the combine) if he wants.
The decision by Pons to enter the draft wasn't exactly surprising. He'll be able to get some feedback on his status as a potential NBA player. For now, it's unclear what kind of grade he's hoping to get back.
So that means there's still a reasonable chance that Pons, the reigning SEC defensive player of the year, returns to the Vols next season. And that's important. Pons is an extremely athletic player that can guard any position on the floor.
Tennessee is expected to be a top 10-15 team next year and Pons is a big reason why.
Now for the good news….at least for UT fans.
In The Athletic's latest mock draft, which was released on Wednesday, there's no Pons.
If Pons gets an undrafted grade back from the NBA pre-draft process, he'll almost certainly return to the Volunteers next season. And even if he gets a second round grade, he still could return in order to raise his draft stock.
This will be a situation that will be worth monitoring closely over the next month.
The deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain eligibility is June 3.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports/Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
