Vanderbilt's Aaron Nesmith Makes It Official, Declaring For NBA Draft
Nashville, Tn.- While most people believed it was only a matter of time before Aaron Nesmith made his decision to declare for the NBA Draft official, some held the hope of his return for one more season in a Vanderbilt Commodore uniform.
That hope is now gone with the announcement from Nesmith in an interview with Evan Daniels of 247 Sports that the sophomore will indeed enter the draft and plans to hire an agent, meaning his college eligibility will end.
“I’ve decided to go through the process and intend to hire an agent,” Nesmith said via Daniels interview. “I’m just getting ready for the next steps and just learn even more at the highest level because it’s always been a dream to play in the NBA so it’s going to be fun to go out there and go through it.”
Though Nesmith's final season at Vanderbilt ended after just 14 games, his numbers through those games were outstanding and had him leading the SEC in scoring at the time of his season-ending injury. Nesmith averaged 23 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game for the season in those 14 games.
Nesmith shared the following through his personal Instagram account on Thursday.
The decision is the right one for Nesmith, who by all accounts will be a lottery pick in the draft, in large part because of his 52% shooting from behind the three-point line last season, making him arguably the best outside shooter in this draft class.
“I’m very excited,” Nesmith said. “This is the dream. Growing up, I never dreamed to played college basketball. I always dreamed to play in the NBA. I always kind of looked past college basketball. When the time got closer I had to go to college first. The dream has always been to play in the NBA and the dream has always been to walk across the stage and hear the three bells and hear my name called. That’s always been the dream."
While the end of his career as a Commodore was not what he or anyone else expected, it was a joy to be able to watch him perform for as long as he was in Nashville.
Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or on Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven
