Duke Basketball: Frank Jackson hires agent, will stay in 2017 NBA Draft

Duke Basketball’s Frank Jackson has decided to hire an agent and remain eligible for selection in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The list of Blue Devils that will not return to campus next season continues to grow. Frank Jackson, who proved himself as a valuable starting guard this past season, has decided to hire an agent, meaning his collegiate career is over.

Jackson averaged 10.9 points and 1.7 in his one year career, but his numbers do not tell the full story. He received healthy amounts of playing time from the time he set foot on campus, and he was never afraid to shoot the ball. In the first five games of the season, he averaged 29.6 minutes and 11.0 shot attempts— quite an impressive total if you consider the players Krzyzewski could have been playing over him, such as Matt Jones, Luke Kennard, and Grayson Allen.

At the end of the season, Jackson took on an ever bigger role. He began starting in place of Grayson Allen and went on to score 53 points in the team’s final three games of the regular season.

Jackson has had meetings with multiple NBA teams and up until this point had said he was going to “play [the NBA Draft process] by ear.”

After impressing NBA scouts with his play in the 5 on 5 segment of the NBA Draft Combine, he has now officially chosen to begin his career as an NBA player.

Jackson was recently projected to be a second-round pick by ESPN.com, though ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla believes Jackson will go in the first round: “…If you remember him in high school, he’s athletic and he’s a shooter and scorer, something the league covets…and it’s my opinion that his talent level will find him a place in the late-first round because there aren’t that many guys to take once you get past 15.”

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Regardless of when he is selected, Jackson is ready to make an impact.