Josh Christopher declares for 2021 NBA draft

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Arizona State freshman Josh Christopher announced his intent to enter the NBA draft on social media Wednesday night.

Christopher, a former five-star recruit, was limited by injury in his season with the Sun Devils. He scored 14.3 points per game, while adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 1.4 assists per game.

Early in the season he had been projected as a lottery pick in NBA mock drafts for the 2021 NBA draft (and to go as high as No. 9 or No. 10).

A recent NBA mock draft by The Athletic interestingly had him falling to the Phoenix Suns at No. 29.

Sam Vecenie wrote: “Christopher is one of the toughest players to assess in this class. On paper, he has been a pretty big disappointment this season, and evaluators wonder how this style of basketball is going to work at the next level. He’s allergic to passing the ball, has never really been much of a high-volume 3-point shooter and hasn’t ever really made shots at a super high clip. He’s also not exactly an elite athlete. And yet, when you watch the tape, you do see how he’s going to make it work. He gets separation from players and will be a real weapon with just slight improvement as a shooter. Defensively, he has some real tools in the backcourt. He’s one of the many polarizing prospects evaluators are interested in diving deeper into this offseason. His range is wide entering the pre-draft process, and it would behoove him to take it very seriously.”

More: Arizona State basketball NBA draft history

The Sun Devils haven’t had a player picked in the first round of the draft since James Harden was picked No. 3 overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009.

They haven’t had a player picked in the NBA draft since Carrick Felix went in the second round (No. 33 overall) in 2013.

ASU’s Josh Christopher has announced his intention to enter the 2021 NBA draft. (Photo: Patrick Breen, Patrick Breen-Arizona Republic)

The ASU basketball staff has been busy recruiting as of late.

It recently landed commitments from Boston College transfer Jay Heath, Robert Morris transfer A.J. Bramah and elite 2021 center Enoch Boakye.