Auburn freshman Isaac Okoro to declare eligibility for NBA draft

Auburn freshman Isaac Okoro will declare his eligibility for the NBA draft, Tigers coach Bruce Pearl told reporters on Friday.

Okoro has not yet hired an agent, so he can return to school if he decides not to enter the draft following an evaluation. ESPN's Jonathan Givony projected him as the No. 3 pick in February in his most recent mock draft.

Pearl said on a conference call that he believes Okoro has a good chance to be a lottery pick and become Auburn's first one-and-done player.

"If Isaac has an opportunity to be a first-round pick and certainly has an opportunity to be in the lottery, with this draft not being as deep as next year's draft is going to be, I think it makes sense for him to absolutely become draft-eligible, which he is going to and then go through the process," Pearl said, according to AL.com.

Okoro entered college as a four-star recruit and was the 40th overall player in the ESPN 100 for the Class of 2019, but he quickly surpassed expectations.

The forward was named to the All-SEC second team and was first-team All-Freshman and All-Defense in the conference after averaging 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game.