DePaul junior Paul Reed declares for NBA Draft

DePaul junior Paul Reed told Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that he has declared for the NBA Draft.

“After three great years of learning, improving and developing my game at DePaul, I am blessed to say that I will be declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft,” Reed said in a statement. “I want to thank the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity and being great mentors and role models for me.

“To the fans, thank you for supporting us and always bringing the energy to Wintrust Arena. Most importantly, I want to thank my teammates/soldiers for always keeping it real with me and teaching me every day what it means to be a part of something bigger than myself.”

Reed stood out for the Blue Demons in a disappointing season in which they went 12-1 in nonconference play, then took a nose-dive, finishing 3-15 in Big East play.

He was named to the All-Big East second team and finished his season with 18 double-doubles. He averaged 15.1 points, and his 10.7 rebounds were good for second in the conference behind Xavier’s Tyrique Jones.

Reed’s length and athleticism made him a difficult matchup.

“He’s so long, and he’s hard to box out,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said after the Demons beat Xavier 71-67 on March 12 in the first round of the Big East tournament. “He’s hard to find. In the most positive ways, he’s awkward about how he does things. He scores in unconventional ways. As I’ve said all along in the three years he’s been here, you don’t have to run a bunch of plays for him to be in the middle of all the action.”

His NBA draft prospects vary during early projections. CBS Sports has him as the 32nd-best prospect, NBADraft.net lists him at 37th-best and ESPN rates him as the 51st prospect available.