University of Notre Dame men’s basketball junior forward V.J. Beachem has declared his eligibility for the 2016 NBA Draft. He will not hire an agent, allowing him to retain his eligibility for the 2016-17 NCAA basketball season. The NCAA and NBA recently adapted the rules surrounding draft eligibility, allowing student-athletes to retain their eligibility while going through a portion of the pre-draft process.
“I really pushed for V.J. to take advantage of the new rules to get a better understanding of his future in professional basketball,” said Irish head coach Mike Brey.
“He finished the season on an outstanding run and the ability to go through this process will be another step forward in his confidence as a player and as a leader in our program. This can really set him up for a great finish to his college career or provide him the opportunity to play the game at its highest level.”
Beachem was named to the 2016 NCAA East Regional All-Tournament Team, averaging 17.5 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per contest as the Irish advanced to their second consecutive NCAA Elite Eight. For the season, Beachem doubled both his scoring (5.9 to 12.0 per game) and rebounding (1.4 to 3.9 per game) from his sophomore to junior season.
Over the second half of the season (final 18 games), Beachem averaged 13.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg and shot .449 (44-98) from three-point range.
“After our run in the tournament Coach Brey brought up the idea of entering my name in the NBA Draft process and after talking with my family, I am excited about this opportunity.” Beachem, a Fort Wayne, Ind., native, said in a statement.
“The process will allow me to push my development to another level and get a better idea of what the organizations in the NBA think of my abilities on the court at this point in my career.”
The new draft process allows for Beachem to be invited to the pre draft combine (May 10-15 in Chicago, Ill.) and have one individual workout per NBA team. In addition, if Beachem is invited to the combine, the NCAA allows a player declared for the draft to have four hours of athletically related countable hours per day which enables more practice time with the Irish coaching staff (a non-draft declared player is limited to two hours per day).
Official invitations to the draft combine will be released the first week of May. Beachem will then have until May 25 to remove his name from consideration for this year’s draft.
Beachem is the fourth player from the 2015-16 Notre Dame team to be eligible for consideration in the 2016 NBA Draft. Junior Demetrius Jackson announced his eligibility on March 29 and plans to sign with an agent. Seniors Zach Auguste and A.J. Burgett are automatically eligible for the draft after the completion of their collegiate eligibility.