After initially being ruled an alternate for the NBA Draft combine, former Iowa star shooting guard Peter Jok will officially participate in the annual scouting event.
The Big Ten’s leading scorer received an invitation to participate in the 5-on-5 drills, giving him the opportunity to display his skills for NBA scouts. A high-volume scorer at 19.9 points per game last season, Jok enters as one of the better shooters in the draft pool; he ranks fourth all-time in Iowa history for made 3s.
An injury-riddled 2016-17 campaign and age worked against Jok; the top few picks in the NBA Draft will more than likely be all freshmen.
Those one-and-done prospects opened the door for Jok’s invitation, however. Many players projected to be drafted within the top 10 picks, such as UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, Duke’s Jayson Tatum, Kansas’ Josh Jackson, and Kentucky’s Malik Monk, received combine invitations but will not attend.
Draft Express ranks Jok as the 26th-best senior prospect in college basketball and the 16th-best Big Ten prospect for the draft, and he makes the cut on Draft Express’ 2017 mock draft.
Those rankings don’t shine an encouraging light on his chances of getting his name called in the draft, but stranger things have happened. If Jok shows up to the combine with a renewed sense of pride on the defensive end, he could be seen as an interesting prospect to spot up on the 3-point line and play some defense.
Jok showcased his scoring ability by taking over games on numerous occasions this past season. He scored 42 points (including 8 3-pointers) against Memphis, 34 (with 5 3-pointers) at Nebraska, and 35 at home against Indiana.
He made 5 or more shots from 3-point range five times throughout the season, shooting 38 percent from deep (40.2-percent the year before). Jok declared for the NBA draft after his junior season. By not hiring an agent, his eligibility was unaffected for his senior year. By working out for various teams (such as the New Orleans Pelicans, a workout in which he sprained his thumb), Jok got a better understanding of what improvement he would need to make in his final college season to prepare himself for this year’s draft.
Jok led a freshman-heavy team this season and carried much of the load to start the season as the freshmen got their feet wet. As the season progressed, Jok shouldered less of the scoring duties.
This year marks the fourth-straight year Iowa has produced a combine participant — Jarrod Uthoff, Aaron White, and Devyn Marble round out the list.
— Adam Hensley