Kansas State Wildcats guard Nijel Pack ready to explore NBA Draft opportunities
Kansas State’s best basketball player is ready to explore his opportunities at the professional level.
Nijel Pack, a sophomore guard who led the Wildcats with 17.4 points per game and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors this past season, intends to declare for the 2022 NBA Draft as an early entrant.
“I have spent many years dedicating my life to the craft of basketball,” Pack wrote on social media. “I truly love the game. I cannot explain the honor it is to represent the Kansas State Wildcats and the community it serves. At present, I would like to further explore new possibilities. It is is with unwavering faith and joy that I am entering my name in the 2022 NBA Draft. My number one goal is growth.”
Pack can still return to college for his junior season if he chooses. New rules allow players to hire an agent, work out with teams and stay in school if they decide they aren’t yet ready to chase a pro career.
Many players who aren’t thought to be draft picks declare for the NBA Draft to test the pro waters and receive feedback from scouts before ultimately deciding to remain in college.
That is the path Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Xavier Sneed all decided to follow in recent years.
It will be interesting to see what kind of feedback Pack receives from scouts and what he decides to do about his future. He is not currently projected as a future draft pack in 2022 or 2023 by online mock drafts, but that could change as he shows off his skills in front of scouts.
K-State would love for him to return next season.
Pack eclipsed 30 points in three different games for the Wildcats as a sophomore and would be a huge building block for new coach Jerome Tang in Tang’s debut season.
The Wildcats will look much different in the backcourt next year if Pack decides to remain in the draft.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 7:26 PM.