Keene officially declares for 2017 NBA Draft
This time, the announcement was official.
Junior guard Marcus Keene officially declared for the 2017 NBA Draft and will leave the Central Michigan men’s basketball team after one season with the program.
Keene made the announcement on Instagram and Twitter account Tuesday morning.
“At this time, I would like to announce with the blessings of my family, coaches and teammates that I will be entering the NBA draft,” Keene said in the post.
The Associated Press reported Keene had declared on March 14, but the redshirt junior denied the reports saying he would make his decision in April after speaking with his family.
"Thank you to all of the fans who have supported me throughout my time at Central Michigan," Keene added in the post. "I will miss you all. I will forever be a Chippewa and I take great pride in knowing that our program will only continue to get better and better in the future. Fire Up Chips!"
In his lone season with the Chippewas, Keene broke multiple program records after transferring from Youngstown State where he sat out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
The San Antonio, Texas native led the nation in scoring at 30 points per game — becoming the first player to do so since 1996. Keene had seven 40-point games and a McGuirk Arena-record 50-point outing against Miami (OH) on Jan. 21.
The 5-foot-9 guard didn't stop there. Keene broke the Mid-American Conference record for points in a single season with 959. He was selected to the All-MAC First Team and was runner-up for MAC Player of the Year to Akron’s Isaiah Johnson.
Following CMU's 116-106 loss to Kent State in the first round of the MAC Tournament on March 6, CMU head coach Keno Davis hinted Keene would be taking his talents to the next level.
“We’re not going to be able to replace the scoring of (Braylon) Rayson and Keene and our team is going to look a lot different next year," Davis said after the game. "That doesn’t mean we can’t look better, but we’re going to look different. At times, we are going to miss the scoring output of those guys and they were definitely electric to watch."
While he is entering the NBA draft, the NCAA rules would allow Keene to change his mind and return to CMU if he wanted to.
Players who declare for the NBA draft and don't signed with an agent have 10 days after the NBA Combine to remove their name from consideration in the draft and are allowed to return to school. Keene could return for his senior season if he doesn't like where his draft stock is at.
The NBA Combine, which is an invitation only event where players are scouted and receive feedback on their draft stock will be held May 9-14. The on-court evaluations will be May 11 and 12. The list of players invited to the combine has not yet been released.
According to a report from hustlebelt.com, Keene is unlikely to be drafted.
In the report, the website spoke with NBA Draft analyst Matt Harvey, who writes for NBDraft.net. Harvey said Keene will have a better chance of making a summer league or Development League roster due to the amount of top point guards entering the draft and because of his small stature.
"We project nine point guards (to be drafted) and he's not projected to be drafted by us," Harvey said. "Another reason, he is very undersized.Do I think he's going to get drafted? No. Should he definitely get consideration to be on a summer league team or D-League team? Absolutely. No doubt about it."
The NBA draft will be held June 22. The location of the draft has not yet been released.
Sports Editor Greg Wickliffe and Staff Reporter Kullen Logsdon contributed to this article.
