CINCINNATI — Xavier University's men's basketball guard Colby Jones is declaring for the NBA Draft.
Jones, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, is leaving early from the Musketeers. Jones is showing up on a lot of NBA mock draft boards as possibly even a late 1st-round pick.
He posted to Instagram announcing the decision, thanking Xavier for taking him in, coach Sean Miller for his work with him this past year, and former Xavier coach Travis Steele for recruiting him to begin with.
The Birmingham, Alabama native is deserving of the buzz. This past season for the Muskies, Jones shot 51% from the field, 38% from 3-point range and averaged 15 points per game. He also filled up the rest of the stat sheet, with almost 6 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game.
He led the team in assists and steals, helping XU get to its deepest NCAA Tournament run since 2017, where they lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Texas.
If Jones went undrafted, he could return to Xavier, but that's unlikely given his unique physical frame, improving performance and the amount of interest NBA experts predict teams will have in him.
Jones joins six other Xavier Musketeers that are leaving the team from this past season. Guards Souley Boum and Adam Kunkel are out of eligibility to play. Four other players have entered the transfer portal, according to various reports: KyKy Tandy, Dieontae Miles, Cesare Edwards and Elijah Tucker. Each of those four players saw small amounts of playing time throughout Sean Miller's first year back as head coach. Technically, those players could return, but Xavier is no longer required to hold their scholarship spot, per NCAA rules, and could replace them.
Xavier big man Jack Nunge technically has an extra year of eligibility, but did participate in "Senior Night", signaling that he may be moving on from the team.
If Nunge doesn't return, then the only members of the team that played any significant minutes that remain are forwards Zach Freemantle (whose season ended in an injury) and Jerome Hunter, plus guard Desmonde Claude.
No doubt Sean Miller will be working the transfer portal, while Xavier does have four incoming freshman recruits, three of which are rated as 4-star players: 5-foot-10 guard Trey Green, 6-foot-7 forward Dailyn Swain, 6-foot-6 guard Reid Ducharme and 6-foot-9 forward Kachi Nzeh. 247Sports ranks Xavier as having the 14th best recruiting class in the nation.
