Four-star prospect Jay Scrubb, the consensus top-ranked junior college player in the country and the reigning junior college player of the year, opted officially on Thursday to forfeit his remaining collegiate eligibility. Scrubb's father told 247Sports that his son will instead keep his name in the 2020 NBA Draft and is signing with an agent.
Scrubb committed and signed with Louisville last fall, picking the Cardinals over Memphis, Alabama and others. He was the second-highest ranked signee for Chris Mack's program in the Class of 2020 behind top-100 forward prospect D'Andre Davis.
A 6-foot-6 guard, Scrubb was in line to take on a major role at Louisville with the departure of leading scorer Jordan Nwora, who is leaving early for the NBA Draft. Nwora last season averaged 18 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as Louisville's top option. Now the two will likely be vying for a spot somewhere in the second round of the draft.
It's a pretty cruel twist of fortune for Louisville that leaves it without a player that would have been a high-level scorer and defender immediately upon arrival next season. But as Mike Rutherford of SB Nation noted, it's not the first time this has happened. In 2004, forward Donta Smith also jumped from junior college to the NBA. He was the No. 34 pick in the 2004 draft.
Two junior college players in the last two decades have jumped straight to the NBA. Both were committed to Louisville.
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) April 9, 2020
Louisville's also had some rotten recent luck, too -- though what some call misfortune others may call misdeeds. Former five-star prospect Brian Bowen was set to enroll at the school in 2017 before the bribery scandal that rocked college basketball, leaving Louisville no choice but to move on from coach Rick Pitino and Bowen without an opportunity to compete. Louisville ultimately suspended him and he never played a minute in college.
Louisville finished last season 24-7 overall and one game back from first place in the ACC regular season.
