Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell Jr. tells reporters he’s committed to staying in draft

Zach Norvell Jr.

Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell Jr., right, shoots during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Creighton in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

AP

Zach Norvell Jr. told reporters in Atlanta on Thursday that he is 100 percent committed to leaving school.

“I’m coming out,” Norvell said, according to Kevin Chouinard, and Atlanta beat writer who attended a workout that the Hawks held on Tuesday.

A 6-foot-5 native of Chicago, Norvell was a redshirt sophomore at Gonzaga this past season, averaging 14.9 points and 3.1 assists who shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc. He’s a big-time scorer that can get hot and stay hot, and while he can be streaky, he is one of the more dangerous and confident shooters in this draft. If he had returned to Gonzaga, he would have potentially been an All-American in the preseason and a good bet to average 20 points as a junior.

As of now, Norvell looks like he’ll likely end up being an early second round pick as he follows Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke out the door with eligibility left to spare. The Zags also lose Josh Perkins to graduation, and Killian Tillie has yet to announce whether or not he will remain in the draft or return to school.

The Zags do have some bodies in reserve. Admon Gilder, a talented transfer from Texas A&M, recently committed to the program and will be eligible immediately, while Corey Kispert is a star-in-the-making that played a role for Gonzaga this past season.