Louisville basketball: Could Jordan Nwora really return for his senior season?

Louisville basketball forward Jordan Nwora already graduated, but with a year of eligibility left, there’s no way he comes back, right?

Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack had to wait until the waning moments before rising junior forward Jordan Nwora opted to stay in school over entering the 2019 NBA Draft.

Twelve months later, Mack may have to do the same.

The 21-year-old from Buffalo, New York became one of the more prolific forwards in the country under Mack in 2019-20, averaging 18 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and becoming a first-team All-ACC player and a third-team All-American.

Nwora stayed in school one more year to improve his draft stock and hopefully catapult himself into an NBA lottery pick in the summer of 2020.

But situations are fluid, and in these times, things are rapidly changing.

Nwora has not soared up the NBA mock draft boards in the way that many thought, and players, scouts, and teams will have virtually no way of meeting in person for workouts and meetings in the offseason. Nwora’s chances of boosting his draft stock diminish significantly because of the times that we are in.

Then there’s this:

https://twitter.com/TheBigRedLouie/status/1245700369025507329?s=20

Nwora opened up on Instagram on Wednesday night and, based on some of his responses to fan questions, his mind may not be made up quite yet.

Is it so far-fetched to believe that Nwora could return for his final year of eligibility? Everything he set out to do in his junior season was sort of washed away when the postseason was canceled. Louisville didn’t have a chance to enact revenge in the ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament, and Nwora’s season was riddled with inconsistency. He played some of the better games of his career, but a few notable regular-season games may have left him wanting for more.

As always, it’s pure speculation at this point. Nwora was recognized on senior night this season and the intention the entire time has been for his junior season to be his final one at Louisville.

Still, it’s fun to speculate what Louisville’s roster could look like in 2020-21 with Nwora still a part of the team.

I think we should just keep dreaming, however. I’d put the chances of him returning next year at less than 5 percent.

Here’s to holding out hope for one more magical season.