We’ve been waiting on a decision on Ohio State freshman guard Malaki Branham’s future and we received some news on that front Friday. According to an announcement Branham made on his Twitter account, he will be entering his name into the 2022 NBA draft.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise if you’ve been watching the astronomical rise of his draft stock over the last half of the season. He’s gone from a freshman with a lot of tools and upside, to a freshman that’s figured out how to use those tools to become one of the best players in the Big Ten. And yeah, he still has a ton of upside that’s going to play well at the next level.
Branham’s numbers aren’t all that impressive for the season, having averaged 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists for the year, but consider that he’s scored more than that average in nine of the last ten games, and the fact that he had a couple of games over 30 points, and that should tell you all you need to know about his improvement and rise among the NBA types.
Go be great 🤝🏾 @MalakiBranham https://t.co/HOS87eUsew
— E.J. Liddell (@EasyE2432) April 1, 2022
Now, before we put a nail in Branham’s career at Ohio State, consider that he could still go through the NBA draft process and decide to return. However, with him projected to go inside the top ten in a lot of mock drafts, this sure feels like the last time we’ll see the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year in a scarlet and gray jersey.
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