Illinois Basketball: Most likely path for former Illini Leron Black

The Illinois basketball team took a big hit when Leron Black declared for the NBA Draft.

Most people thought he wouldn’t sign an agent and would eventually be back in the Orange and Blue. But, this time it was for real. He decided to forgo his final season in college and wanted to test the waters of the big boys.

Full disclosure, I thought it was smart for Black to declare but not hire an agent. He needed to get the feedback from the professional scouts and then come back to college and work on those things for one more year. While he decided to stay in the draft instead of coming back, I will still root for him and always will. I want to see Black succeed in life. This kid has been through a lot – some self-inflicted – during his time in Champaign.

Will Black get drafted, though? The answer to this question is most likely no. He is extremely talented and has the ability to be drafted, but I think there are other players who will be selected ahead of him. I think he will fall just shy of being picked in the second round.

This doesn’t mean Black is a bad player or he won’t sign on somewhere. There are a lot of players who don’t get drafted but still manage to find NBA careers. What I think will end up happening with Black is he won’t get drafted but will then sign with an NBA Summer League team for a few summer sessions.

The Summer League is where Black can prove he is NBA worthy. After that, he might have a shot at getting signed with an NBA team, but my guess is he signs on with a G-League team so he can stay in the states and play basketball. He could make more overseas but I would think he stays around here.

I think he does prove himself in the G-League. He has the ability like previously mentioned. I think he has tremendous touch around the hoop, and he has a Draymond Green type of mentality on the floor. There will be a team who sees this and eventually signs him. Just look at the trajectory of Brandon Paul. It might take a few years but making it in the league can happen.

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I hope nothing but the best for Black. The kid has a bright future, and I hope to see him in an NBA jersey in the next few years.