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Pair of Illinois seniors declare for 2022 NBA Draft
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Two Illinois senior basketball players are testing the NBA Draft waters.
Illini Inquirer’s Jeremy Werner reported Wednesday Jacob Grandison and Austin Hutcherson have entered their names into the 2022 NBA Draft. It’s unclear whether or not they are retaining their college eligibility for the 2022-23 season, but both would have one year remaining.
Both Grandison and Hutcherson will have until June 1 to make a final decision. All-American center Kofi Cockburn has already declared for the draft and has said he will not be returning to Champaign next season.
Grandison averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Fighting Illini during the 2021-22 season, helping lead the team to a B1G regular season title. He also shot better than 41% from 3-point range.
Grandison has been a starter each of the past two seasons for Illinois after transferring in from Holy Cross.
Hutcherson has seen limited time on the floor at Illinois because of injuries. He’s appeared in only 4 contest over the past two years after transferring in from Wesleyan, a Division III program.
Illinois earned a share of the B1G regular season title with Wisconsin last season after finishing 15-5 in league play. In the 2020-21 season, the Illini were the B1G Tournament champions.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB