Hunter Dickinson Declares For 2021 NBA Draft

On Wednesday, the Michigan Wolverines got some big news as star big man Hunter Dickinson declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. He put together an outstanding freshman campaign in Ann Arbor last season and will now consider taking his talents to the next level. Dickinson put out the following tweet to announce his decision:

During his lone season in Ann Arbor, Dickinson played in 28 games and averaged an impressive 14.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. He arrived as a highly rated recruit and lived up to the hype, being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earning some All-Big Ten honors by season’s end.

While reading too much into the language of a release like this can be a dangerous move, the language here suggests Dickinson is primarily entering the Draft with the hope of receiving feedback than seriously considering a jump to the pros. Again, that’s primarily speculation, but the gist of the language here is pretty clear. And Michigan fans will certainly hope that’s the case.

Those thoughts also seem to be reflected by the Draft experts, as Dickinson is considered a fringe candidate to be drafted by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. He’s projected 56th overall by Vecenie and would likely be fighting just to have his name announced on Draft night. That’s usually a pretty good indication of a player set to return to campus.

We’ll have to wait and see how things shake out, but Wolverine fans will certainly be sweating out the next few weeks as Dickinson weighs his options.