Not even a week after LSU lost to Michigan State 80-63 in the Sweet Sixteen, freshman forward Naz Reid has entered his name in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Reid averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Tigers. The freshman will hire an agent which means he has until May 25 to decide to go to the draft or come back to school. The NCAA adopted this new policy after the revelation of the college basketball scandal that has tainted the sport over the last year.
The NCAA adopted a new policy this year that allows players to hire agents until 10 days after the NBA Draft Combine and still elect to go back to school. The agents will be permitted to pay for meals and transportation during the agent selection process
Until last season, NBA draft prospects could enter their names in the draft without hiring an agent to get an evaluation on where they were projected to go and decide to hire an agent or go back to school. Sophomore point guard Tremont Waters did that after his freshman season but elected to come back for a second year.
Reid is the first to decide on his future with the program but expect decisions from Waters as well as Skylar Mays, Javonte Smart, Emmitt Williams and Darius Days within the next few weeks.
The full statement, that Reid announced on his Instagram Wednesday afternoon is below:
"First I want to thank God As I write this most humble post, I want to secondly express how truly incredible this past season has been for me. LSU has changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Uprooting my life and moving from New Jersey to Louisiana posed its own challenges, but the family waiting for me on the court made the transition as wonderful as it could possibly be. Attending LSU and playing as a Tiger this year has been an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. I want to say thank you to every single person who helped me along the way; I wouldn’t be here without your love and support.
It is with this that I announce I will be leaving LSU to pursue my dream of being a professional basketball player. I will be entering the NBA Draft with an agent in hopes of finally fulfilling a dream I believe is my destiny. I cannot imagine doing anything else and, again, would not be in this position without all of you and everyone who has ever believed in and supported me. Thank you to my LSU family for welcoming me with open arms. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger."
