Louisville basketball: Jordan Nwora has one thing every NBA team wants

Jordan Nwora next Louisville basketball first-rounder.

There hasn’t been a more confusingly polarizing figure around Louisville basketball than former Cardinal Jordan Nwora.

Though he led Louisville in scoring and rebounding in 2019-20 and was a unanimous All-ACC selection, the forward was the subject of criticism throughout his junior year.

Nwora finished his career as a decorated player and one of the better forwards in college basketball, and entered his name in the NBA draft and hired an agent back in March.

Since the college basketball season ended prematurely, there has not been much consensus on where Nwora could land in the 2020 NBA draft. However, one draft expert believes Nwora could wind up falling late in the first round.

An expert’s take on former Louisville basketball star Jordan Nwora

Former agent and current college basketball and NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babock joined the show to talk all things NBA Draft, including his take on Jordan Nwora.

Babcock was a former college basketball player who finished his career as a walk-on at Arizona. He spent time as an assistant coach for an Italian pro team and twelve years as an NBA agent before founding babcockhoops.com.

“I like Jordan, I’ve liked him since last year,” Matt said. “I think the biggest thing with him is his number one skill is the most valuable skill.. He shoots the ball and shoots it from range. He’s able to hit hits tough shots. He’s a 6’7-plus versatile shooter, there are not many guys like that. There’s certainly value in a guy like him.”

Fair or not, Nwora received a lot of criticism during his junior season at Louisville due to several games where he struggled to get going. It wasn’t just that he shot poorly or missed a defensive assignment or two but more so that he would disappear at the biggest times or show little to no effort (at times) on the defensive side of the ball.

Also read: Basketball community mourns the loss of Wes Unseld

That led to a lot of scouts and front offices to show some level of concern in how he would transition to the NBA level.

“There has been some negativity attached to Jordan, just personality-wise, how coachable is he, is he selfish? I’m not overly concerned,” Matt said. “There are some people who are more concerned than others.”

He went on to compliment Nwora’s game and pointed out on multiple occasions that his skillset should easily transition to the next level.

“He’s got good size and can stretch the floor, you can use him at different spots. The way the game is played now, everything is spread offense, even though he’s not a very good defender he’s capable of defending multiple positions at an average level, which is still valuable.”

So where does that leave him from a projection standpoint?

“From a draft projection standpoint, late first, early second, maybe a mid-second,” Matt said. “He’s going to be a solid pick who’s going to get a decent deal I would think.”

Jacob asked Matt about where would be a good fit, and brought up his opinion that Jordan may be best served to play with a veteran-laden team where he can play a specialized role, over a young developing team. Matt agreed but also offered another pathway, saying:

“Yes and no. I do see him being a guy going late first round, like the Lakers, arguably the best team in the league. It’s not out of the question that the Lakers draft him and he plays a role on a championship team. But at the same time, a young developing team a versatile guy with size and able to shoot it, you can put him anywhere. You can use him so many different ways.”

Babcock also spoke on every current NBA draft prospect involved with Louisville basketball including former signee Jay Scrubb, former center Steven Enoch, and current guard David Johnson. He developed a relationship with Scrubb after his commitment to Louisville and helped advise the Trinity High School product and his father before making a decision on whether to go to school or keep his name in the NBA draft.

In his most recent mock draft, Babcock has Nwora going 34th overall to Philadelphia.