Nojel Eastern Declares For 2018 NBA Draft Without An Agent

Earlier this week, Nojel Eastern announced that he would be declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft without hiring an agent. This is big news for the Purdue Boilermakers as the program prepares to move forward without a stellar departing senior class.

Eastern was a true freshman for the Boilermakers last season and averaged just 2.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. And even though Eastern only averaged 12.6 minutes per game over the course of the season, he saw significantly playing time in the postseason, including nearly 20 minutes in multiple Big Ten Tournament games.

Considering that Eastern is not even listed on NBADraft.net’s most recent mock 2018 NBA Draft, it seems pretty unlikely that he will end up remaining in the Draft. Maybe he has his heart set on going pro, but it’s not often that you see a freshman end up leaving school when there’s a serious chance he goes undrafted.

But, if Eastern were to leave Purdue, it could have pretty substantial consequences. The Boilermakers are already set to lose four starters from last year’s Sweet 16 squad and that doesn’t even include Eastern or Carsen Edwards, who also declared without an agent. Purdue needs a player like Eastern to step in and fill in for some of the lost contributions.

There’s no telling if Eastern will end up returning to school, but BTPowerhouse will keep you updated as we move closer to the deadline. The deadline to withdraw and return to school is May 30, 2018, so fans will have to hold tight until then. In the meantime, fans will have to hold on to their seats.