Busting Brackets
Fansided

Gonzaga Basketball: 2019 NBA Draft profile of forward Rui Hachimura

By Rudi Richards

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dunks the ball against Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 28: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs dunks the ball against Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles during the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 28, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 11: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs warms up before a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament against the Pepperdine Waves at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs defeated the Waves 100-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 11: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs warms up before a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament against the Pepperdine Waves at the Orleans Arena on March 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs defeated the Waves 100-74. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga Basketball forward Rui Hachimura, showed in his junior year why he’s ready to be an NBA player. There’s also a strong possibility that he’s a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Rui Hachimura is a household name for college basketball fans. After coming off the bench in his freshman and sophomore years, respectively, the 21-year-old forward more than made his mark on the college game in this past season. Hachimura, from Toyama, Japan, helped his high school basketball to their second All-Japan HS Tournament title. And, after being invited to the Jordan Brand Classic, his route to the US basketball scene became apparent, as he signed with Gonzaga Basketball.

After averaging just 4.6 MPG in his freshman year, Rui played an important role off of the Bulldogs bench, during his sophomore season, recording 11.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG. Coming into the 2018-19 college basketball season, Hachimura was named to the preseason All-WCC team – giving him plenty to live up to in his junior year. Early on, plenty of mock drafts had him going in the lottery, some as high as top-5, as Gonzaga were tipped for a strong season and a deep run into March.

Hachimura and the Bulldogs secured the schools’ seventh straight WCC regular season title, as the junior forward averaged 19.7PPG and took home the conference MVP award. After a tremendous college career, Hachimura now enters the NBA Draft process with big things expected of him in the future.