Sophomore Oklahoma State guard Isaac Likekele would have garnered a ton of NBA interest from teams in a normal NBA Draft process with his 6-foot-4 frame, bulldog defensive mentality and scoring upside.
But the NBA Draft process right now is anything but normal, with in-person workouts and interviews banned indefinitely due to the pandemic. And so Monday it was made official what many long expected inside OSU, as Jon Rothstein reported Likekele was returning in 2020-21 for a junior season.
Likekele is on the NBA radar already, so the draft process for underclassmen — where they can declare, workout and interview with NBA teams, get feedback on their stock and make a decision about staying or going — would have benefited him greatly, if for no other reason but to prep himself for 2021.