Report: UNC junior J.P. Tokoto to enter NBA draft

By foxsports
Published

By Andrew Holleran

North Carolina junior forward J.P. Tokoto will be leaving school early and declaring for the 2015 NBA Draft, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports. 

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward averaged 8.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a game this past season. 

Tokoto is projected by some to be an early second-round pick. 

From the report: 

“Going in, I know I’m not a first-round pick,” Tokoto told Yahoo Sports. “I know my jumper needs work, and I’m putting in that work now – and will keep doing it. My jumper is something that has me as a second-round pick right now, but I have a mindset of work to improve the form and range of my shot.”

Tokoto, who is 6-foot-6, is considered to be solidly in the second round of the draft, several NBA executives told Yahoo Sports.

This is a blow to the Tar Heels’ chances to win a championship in 2016, but not a huge one.

UNC is still expected to bring back the majority of its 2014-15 team. We have the Tar Heels ranked No. 1 in our way-too-early top 25 for 2015-16. Due to this news, they’ll likely fall a couple of spots. 

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