Baylor’s Jared Butler Declares for 2021 NBA Draft
Baylor guard Jared Butler finally declared for the 2021 NBA Draft on Sunday, as many consider the junior to be a first-round pick.
Butler waited until the final day of the early-declaration deadline to make his decision. Up until Sunday, he had been relatively silent on social media, the venue of choice for college players to let everyone know their future decisions.
But he posted his announcement to both Twitter and Instagram around 3:45 p.m. central time.
Thankyou Baylor đź’šđź’› #Sicem pic.twitter.com/KsqXVYXmAM
— Jared Butler (@J_Hooper11) May 30, 2021
Most mock drafts have Butler going in the first round, making it worth his while to head to the NBA now.
Butler was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament after the Bears defeated Gonzaga to win the program’s first national championship. Butler saved his best game of the Tournament, as he scored 22 points and 7 rebounds against the Bulldogs.
READ MORE: Big 12 Basketball Transfer Tracker
READ MORE: Big 12 Basketball Recruiting Tracker
Butler, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 16.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game last season. Butler was named a First-Team All-American, and also earned All-Big 12 Player of the Year Honors, selection to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team and All-Big 12 First Team.
Butler has been one of the most-watched players in the country and the Big 12 this season. In his third season in Waco, he helped lead the Bears to a No. 2 national ranking for most of the season, a year after helping the Bears reach the No. 1 national ranking for most of January and February of 2020.
The Bears won their first Big 12 regular-season title this season and their first conference title of any kind since 1950.
Butler earned All-Big 12 honors in 2019-20, as he was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
For his Baylor career, Butler finished with averages of 14.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, while shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line. He started his career as a late transfer to the program before the 2018-19 season, as he actually enrolled at Alabama before deciding to leave for the Bears.
He was a serious candidate for the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award, each given to the nation’s best overall player.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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