Stanford's chances of winning the Pac-12 next season -- and of beating Sean Miller for the first time ever -- took a blow Friday when freshman guard Tyrell Terry announced he is staying in the NBA Draft.
"After one incredible year at Stanford, I have decided to chase my dream of playing in the NBA by keeping my name in the draft this year" - @tyterry05 #GoStanford
— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) July 31, 2020
Terry was initially believed to be leaning toward staying but he might be moving up as a potential first-rounder, where he would pick up a guaranteed two-year contract. Turning pro now also assures Terry of developmental opportunities with staff in the event that the college basketball season is cancelled or compromised.
ESPN lists Terry only as the No. 44 overall prospect on its draft board but NBADraft.net has him at No. 17 and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has him at 26.
Terry averaged 14.6 points 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a freshman last season while shooting 40.8% from 3-point range. He made the Pac-12's all-freshman team along with UA's Nico Mannion and Josh Green, Washington's Isaiah Stewart and USC's Onyeka Okongwu, while UA's Zeke Nnaji was named freshman of the year.
"Ty's impact on our program and this school was remarkable, having one of the best freshman seasons in program history," Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. "Our program is now on a different level, and a large part of that is due to Ty."
Stanford is 0-20 against Arizona under Sean Miller but the Cardinal still returns most of its key players next season from a team that went 20-12 while adding five-star wing Ziaire Williams, who had been a top Arizona target.
Without Terry, Stanford may have a tougher time chasing the Pac-12 title, in which UCLA, Oregon and ASU are expected to be the top contenders -- if Chris Smith returns to UCLA and Remy Martin returns to ASU. WSU's CJ Elleby and OSU's Ethan Thompson also remain undecided, and players have until Aug. 3 to withdraw.
Smith was one of 105 players named on a preliminary NBA Combine invitation list while Martin was not. There are only 60 spots in the NBA Draft.
