Nigeria’s men”s basketball national team, D’Tigers’ coach, Alex Nwora is supporting his son, Jordan, for a longer spell in collegiate action with Louisville, than switch to the NBA.
Sports247.ng learnt that, in spite of frenetic efforts from agents and clubs to lure Jordan Nwora into professional basketball action, the lad’s father believes he needs to mature longer at college level.
Nwora sued for patience, following reports that several NBA scouts are putting pressure on his son to dump Louisville basketball games this year and take up a career in the money-spinning basketball league.
Jordan is reportedly moving up his list and the forward has been valued as a second-rounder this year, but Nwora insists caution must be applied before his son makes the huge career-defining switch.
While some of the scouts might have stopped in to assess opposing talent, Jordan Nwora is ranking high as a future NBA draft pick.
Nwora, a sophomore averaging 17.8 points, is Louisville’s leading scorer and the second-most improved scorer in the nation.
Nwora Jnr, a versatile 6-foot-7, 225-pound scorer with deep range and good rebounding numbers, has crept into the fringes of some 2019 mock drafts but is widely considered to be more of a contender in 2020.
While NBADraft.net puts him at 38th overall in 2020, 10 spots behind Class of 2019 Louisville signee, Aidan Igiehon, Sports Illustrated’s big board of top 80 college players ranks Nwora at No. 70.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him as a second-round pick (No. 36 overall) in the 2020 draft, adding that Nwora’s shot-taking ability is undoubtedly his greatest asset.
As Jordan Nwora’s stock rises, so too does the possibility that he will leave Louisville early for the 2019 NBA draft, but his father insists it will not be in a rush and says nothing is to be determined just yet.
Rather than see his son move into the paid ranks, Nwora said his vision for now is seeing the lad shine in the United State’s National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) basketball league.
The D’Tigers’ coach added: “He wants to win in the tournament, to see if he can win a national championship.
“If the NBA is going to happen, if he’s that good, it’ll find him. We’re not even talking about it right now.
“If I’m being honest, we are not even thinking of that right now. He has a chance to do something special at Louisville if they make a great run.
“At the end of of the year if it’s worth it we will sit down with Coach (Chris) Mack and see if that’s in the best interest of Jordan.”
