Iowa State Cyclones freshman Talen Horton-Tucker has decided to declare for the 2019 NBA draft, he told ESPN.
"When I enrolled at Iowa State my goal was to be a NBA player, but I didn't know that it would come as fast as it did," Horton-Tucker said via text message.
Horton-Tucker told ESPN that he will "most likely" hire an agent to help navigate the NBA pre-draft process, as is permitted by NCAA rules, but that he "might" keep his eligibility options open to returning to Iowa State depending on how the process plays out.
The 6-foot-4 wing averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 27 minutes per game. He is currently ranked No. 20 in the ESPN 100 draft rankings. NBA teams are intrigued by his 7-foot-1 wingspan, as well as the fact that he doesn't turn 19 years old until November 25, making him the youngest college player currently projected to get drafted.
Scouts have told ESPN all season that they would like to get a better feel for how good of an outside shooter Horton-Tucker projects to be down the road. Though he made 3-pointers with good volume, he was not particularly efficient at 31 percent and also struggled at times from the free throw line, converting 62.5 percent of his attempts. Horton-Tucker told ESPN that he is aware of those concerns and plans on addressing them during the pre-draft process.
"Going into NBA workouts I would like to show teams that I am a better shooter than my numbers showed," Horton-Tucker told ESPN. "Also I would like to show teams how hard I have worked on my body and my play making abilities at the 2-guard and lead guard spots."