Jonathan Isaac is a top-12 talent in an absolutely loaded 2016 recruiting class.
The Florida State commit is a 6-9 / 6-10 forward who has drawn comparisons Kevin Durant to Kevin Garnett due to his unique skill-set.
On Friday, Issac told SI’s Pete Thamel that he’s looking into the possibility he could forgo playing with the Seminoles to try to enter the 2016 NBA draft.
We all know that the NBA banned high school players from entering a decade ago and the rule, as it currently exists, states that American basketball players need to be a year removed from graduating high school and also be at least 19 years old to enter the draft. Isaac will turn 19 on Oct. 3.
But things aren’t so clear here.
Isaac is in his fifth-year of high school, playing this season at IMG Academy. So, his original high school class has graduated and he would meet the age requirements as well.
Over at Draft Express, Jonathan Givony believes that Isaac may be ineligible to enter the draft because he does not have his diploma, and teams that have already inquired about his eligibility were told by the NBA he is not currently eligible.
Isaac’s issue is that while he’s in his 5th year of high school, he’s not a year removed from graduating high school. Maybe if he drops out?
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 5, 2016
How does Isaac feel about potentially being the first player drafted out of high school in a decade?
“I think it’s cool and scary. A little bit of both,” Isaac told Thamel about possibly being the first player since 2005 to be drafted out of high school. “It’s cool because no one has done it in a decade, and it’s still scary because I don’t want it to be a bad decision.”
NBADraft.net currently projects Jonathan Isaac to be the #20 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
