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Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN 6y

Buckeyes forward Keita Bates-Diop to enter NBA draft

NBA, Men's College Basketball, NBA Draft, Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop will pass on his final year of college eligibility and enter the NBA draft in June, he announced Monday.

Bates-Diop, the Big Ten Player of the Year, also said he will hire an agent.

Bates-Diop, at 6-feet-7 with a lengthy wingspan, is ranked 19th in ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony's list of Top 100 NBA prospects.

He averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds a game for the Buckeyes, including 25 points in an NCAA tournament loss to Gonzaga last week.

Bates-Diop's productive redshirt junior campaign helped Ohio State become one of the conference's significant overachievers this season. His ability to play and guard multiple positions makes him a natural fit for the modern NBA game.

Bates-Diop, 22, steadily improved from his freshman year, playing parts of four seasons for the Buckeyes. After he suffered a fractured left leg nine games into the 2016-17 season, Bates-Diop was awarded a redshirt season that would have allowed him to return for a fifth year in 2018-19.

Bates-Diop is a native of Normal, Illinois.

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