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Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis to enter NBA Draft, per report

Domanatas Sabonis, Jakob Poeltl

Gonzaga forward Domantas Sabonis, front, drives past Utah forward Jakob Poeltl during the first half of a second-round men’s college basketball game Saturday, March 19, 2016, in the NCAA Tournament in Denver. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

AP

Domantas Sabonis is headed off to the NBA Draft and is expected to sign with an agent, according to a report this morning from ESPN.com.

There isn’t much surprise here. Sabonis is projected as a mid-to-late first round pick and, considering that his father is Arvydas Sabonis, Domas likely has a great feel for where his stock stands at this moment in time.

The 6-foot-10 center had a terrific sophomore season for Gonzaga, averaging 17.6 points and 11.8 boards for a team that played their way into the Sweet 16. There are some questions about what his upside will end up being -- he’s limited athletically, he has short arms and he does almost all of his damage in the post going over his right shoulder -- but the two things that he does does are the two things that translate well from level-to-level: he rebounds the ball and he plays exceptionally hard.

Losing Sabonis will hurt Gonzaga, clearly, but with Zach Collins entering the program and, hopefully, Przemek Karnowski returning, Mark Few’s club will be just fine. That’s why we have them ranked 14th in our preseason top 25.