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Northern Colorado freshman All-American Kendall Jenkins to Declare for NBA Draft

Freshman Forward Will Not Hire Agent, Maintaining His Amateur Status



Northern Colorado freshman All-American forward Kendall Jenkins will declare for the 2016 NBA draft but will not hire an agent, he announced shortly after the Bears' season-ending loss to No. 2-seeded Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament.

Not hiring an agent will allow Jenkins a sizeable timeframe between now and May 25 to decide whether or not he will stay in the draft. If Jenkins decides to take his name out of the draft pool, he will be able to return to Northern Colorado if he so chooses.

In his lone season at UNCO, the 6-foot-9 forward won Big Sky Conference Player of the Year honors while averaging 18.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

Jenkins, a former two-star recruit, is the second player in school history to win the player of the year award, and joined former EWU guard Rodney Stuckey as the only freshman in Big Sky Conference history to hoist the post-season accolade.

The North Las Vegas native guided Northern Colorado to its second Big Sky championship in school history prior to a short-lived NCAA tournament run, its first since 2011.

Despite a prolific freshman campaign, Jenkins has not projected well as an early-entrant pro prospect.

Considered a tweener with a raw skill set, off the court issues have also factored in why draft analysts see Jenkins benefiting in returning to school.