Georgia sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope declared for the NBA Draft. The school just released a statement 40 minutes ago.
Caldwell-Pope, a 6-5 guard from Greenville, Ga., became the first Bulldog since Dominique Wilkins in 1981 to sweep the major Southeastern Conference Player-of-the-Year awards this past season. He led Georgia and ranked second in the SEC in scoring at 18.5 points per game. In what became his final collegiate game, he scored a career-high 32 points against LSU in the SEC Tournament. That total made him the 43rd player in UGA history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Caldwell-Pope has earned a reputation for excelling in crunch time. In the last five minutes of SEC games this season, he averaged 5.4 points (projects to 43.2 points over a 40-minute game), shooting 65 percent from the field, 63 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free-throw line. He scored 31 percent of his total of 332 points in SEC play during the last five minutes.
Here’s where we have Caldwell-Pope in our NBA Mock Draft 1st round
23. Indiana Pacers- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Georgia, 6-4, So.
Drafting a power forward makes sense since David West is in the final year of his deal but with no four worth taking at this point, a smooth shooter like KC-P would add to their talent on the wing in case they decide to move Danny Granger.
So obviously Caldwell-Pope needs a strong postseason and even stronger combine to move up into the lottery.
GO HERE FOR THE SECOND ROUND
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