5 NBA destinations for Villanova’s Kris Jenkins
By John Buhler
Kris Jenkins is living on cloud nine after sinking the National Championship winning shot for Villanova. Here are five NBA teams that could use the forward.
As of Monday, Villanova Wildcats junior small forward Kris Jenkins will forever be part of March Madness and college basketball lore for his game-winning three-point field goal as time expire to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2016 NCAA Championship Game at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Jenkins just did his job executing head coach Jay Wright’s in-bounds play to perfection and helped the Philadelphia institution achieve its second-ever national title on the hardwood, the first for the Wildcats since 1985.
While Jenkins can return to Villanova for his senior season in 2016-17, if he does choose to make some money off what will undoubtedly be the biggest and best shot of his life, Jenkins may opt to go pro after the 2015-16 NCAA Championship season by submitting his name to the 2016 NBA Draft.
Though Villanova has the fewest NBA prospects of any elite NCAA program at this time, Jenkins has improved every year under Wright’s tutelage. Jenkins is a career .560 shooter from the field, .380 from distance, and .820 at the free throw line. As a junior with the Wildcats, Jenkins posted impressive advanced metrics including a 122.4 offensive rating, a 96.7 defensive rating, a 20.4 PER, 5.8 win shares, and a box plus/minus of 10.4.
Jenkins may not have been on every NBA scout’s draft radar only a week ago, but he’s surely on them now as one of the darlings from the 2016 NCAA Tournament. With either ample early playing time or the right coaching system, Jenkins can become a productive NBA player his first few years in the Association. Here are five teams that make the most sense for Jenkins to go to if he declares for the 2016 NBA Draft in the coming weeks.
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