National Basketball Association

Report: UNC junior J.P. Tokoto to enter NBA draft

Published Apr. 8, 2015 11:06 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Andrew Holleran

North Carolina junior forward J.P. Tokoto will be leaving school early and declaring for the 2015 NBA Draft, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward averaged 8.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a game this past season.

Tokoto is projected by some to be an early second-round pick.

From the report:

“Going in, I know I’m not a first-round pick,” Tokoto told Yahoo Sports. “I know my jumper needs work, and I’m putting in that work now – and will keep doing it. My jumper is something that has me as a second-round pick right now, but I have a mindset of work to improve the form and range of my shot.”

Tokoto, who is 6-foot-6, is considered to be solidly in the second round of the draft, several NBA executives told Yahoo Sports.

This is a blow to the Tar Heels’ chances to win a championship in 2016, but not a huge one.

UNC is still expected to bring back the majority of its 2014-15 team. We have the Tar Heels ranked No. 1 in our way-too-early top 25 for 2015-16. Due to this news, they’ll likely fall a couple of spots.

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