Former Wildcat Zeke Nnaji has improved his game. Now, he must prove it to NBA execs.

During his lone season with the Arizona Wildcats in 2019-20, Zeke Nnaji took only 17 3-pointers and made five of them.

With time on his side — lots and lots of COVID-era time — maybe that changes now.

“I’m shooting the ball extremely well,” Nnaji said Monday, during an NBA Combine media interview via Zoom. “I think teams are going to be shocked when they see how I shoot the ball or definitely be pleasantly surprised.”

Like his fellow NBA Draft prospects, Nnaji will have had a full eight months to reinvent himself by the time the draft actually happens.

Two months after the Wildcats’ season ended on March 12, the 6-11 forward from Minnesota moved to Las Vegas to begin working out in advance of what was supposed to be the June 25 NBA Draft.

Then it became the Probably-in-August NBA Draft. Then the Oct. 15 NBA Draft. And now, the Nov. 18 NBA Draft.

“This whole situation is so weird,” Nnaji said. “I really think this is a really unprecedented time, but we’ve just got to make the most of it, and we’re all working our butts off to get better and be ready. … I’m thankful for this time that we have off because I’m working to get better every single day.”

It helps, Nnaji said, that he has several former teammates going through the same prolonged pre-draft process. Nnaji said he has kept in close contact with former Stanford guard Tyrell Terry, a former club-ball teammate in Minnesota, along with former UA teammates Josh Green and Nico Mannion. Nnaji said Green has also relocated to Las Vegas and worked out with him on occasion.

“Josh came out here a little bit after me and we’ve definitely been hanging out a lot,” Nnaji said. “We work out together sometimes, and it’s great to have a familiar face here, someone I played with.”

Although Mannion and Green both entered Arizona with higher ratings out of high school, the fact that Nnaji quickly proved himself a peer last season moved him firmly on to the NBA radar. Nnaji wound up leading the Wildcats in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounding (8.6) while becoming the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year over USC’s Onyeka Okongwu, who is now a lottery prospect.

Nnaji said his success at UA convinced him that it was the right time to jump.

“The reason I left was basically that this is what I’ve wanted to do all my life,” Nnaji said. “When I was a kid, playing outside in my driveway, getting shots up, I always dreamed about going to the NBA, and now after I had a great season at Arizona … I think it was a great time to leave. I think that I’m ready for the NBA.”

Nnaji has been preparing for the transition at Joe Abunassar’s Impact Basketball facility in Las Vegas, saying he’s added strength and quickness along with basketball skills. His agent, Adam Pensack, said Nnaji was up to 245 pounds on a frame UA listed as 6-11 last season.

“I feel stronger than ever… I feel a lot quicker laterally than ever,” Nnaji said. “And I think the biggest thing that I’ve been working on is my shooting. I’m shooting the ball extremely well from 3, mid range, from anywhere on the floor.”

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But even with the extra time, Nnaji hasn’t been able to spend any of it in front of NBA executives, as draft prospects customarily do before the draft.

As a result, Nnaji’s draft stock does not appear to have changed much. He’s still projected to land somewhere in the late first round or early second round, with many analysts predicting he’ll go shortly after Green and Mannion do.

Nnaji is currently projected to go 26th by Bleacher Report, 27th by NBADraft.net, 33rd by USA Today and he’s rated the No. 35 overall available draft prospect by ESPN.

It is possible, however, that the NBA’s reworked Combine this fall might give him an opportunity to move up.

Instead of having draft prospects meet for tests, competition and interviews in Chicago for a combine it usually holds in May, the NBA this year is having players participate in league, team and media interviews held virtually from Monday through Oct. 16.

In addition, at an NBA team site nearest to their home or interim base at some point next month, players will undergo an on-court program of strength and agility testing, anthropometric measurements and shooting drills while making a “Pro Day” video. They will also receive medical testing and examinations by NBA-affiliated physicians at the same location.

Since Nnaji is in Las Vegas, Pensack said he’ll likely be asked to report to an NBA facility in Los Angeles for the testing and on-court program.

Meanwhile, Nnaji will continue interviewing with NBA teams. Nnaji said he’s already spoken with about 22 teams while Pensack said his combine interviews would likely add “most if not all” of the remaining teams.

While also speaking Monday to reporters who cover teams around the NBA, Nnaji may have given a preview of those interviews when asked what he would bring to an NBA team.

“I think I’ve learned a lot,” Nnaji said. “I think I’m a very coachable player. A very big competitor. I’m tenacious in rebounding and run the floor well. I can switch on pick and rolls, am able to guard guards, stretch the floor, take advantage of mismatches.

“I mean, I’m 6-11, but I’m still mobile, I’m still agile, able to stay in front of smaller and shorter guys, and take advantage of mismatches. If there’s a small guy on me, post them up. If there’s bigger guy on me, use my quickness to beat him.”

Thanks to COVID-19, Nnaji has also added other skills that don’t come in the weight room or basketball court.

That is, flexibility and patience.

“I think the important thing is the continue to maintain the structure that I have in place,” Nnaji says.

“Whenever the season starts I’m going to be ready. I’m just going to continue to work hard and take advantage of every day that we have. I’m not going to look too far ahead.”