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Syracuse freshman guard Judah Mintz announced via his Instagram that he is entering the NBA draft process following one season with the Orange. Mintz said that he will maintain college eligibility through the process. 

The league allows players with remaining eligibility in college to declare for the draft and collect information from scouts and general managers about their potential in the NBA and draft stock. Mintz can then decide whether or not to continue pursuing a professional career. He is currently projected to be a second-round draft pick.

Mintz finished his freshman season with the Orange by making the Atlantic Coast Conference’s All-Rookie team, averaging 16.3 points and 4.6 assists per game. He manned the point guard position for a young SU squad, pushing Joe Girard III, who averaged 16.4 points per game in his senior season with the Orange, to shooting guard for the first time since his freshman year. Mintz facilitated a squad that ended the season shooting 50.4% on two-pointers and was — at one point — in the top third of the ACC before a four-game losing streak that effectively ended their season.

He headlined a six-man freshman class as the Orange’s only four-star prospect out of Oak Hill (Virginia) Academy after he decommitted from Pittsburgh and chose Syracuse over Georgetown, NC State and Penn State. Mintz was touted as a physical lead guard with “impressive craft body control athleticism” by 247 Sports, a skill he flaunted throughout the season with dynamic off-balanced layups and midrange shots.

Mintz dropped a season-high 24 points during the Orange’s first matchup with Pittsburgh and quickly began making an impact in their starting lineup, starting every game of the season and averaging 33 minutes per game. Though he made many costly mistakes, most notably coughing the ball up late against Miami in what would have been a big road win for Syracuse, former head coach Jim Boeheim tended to chalk them up to Mintz being young and inexperienced.

He struggled mightily from beyond the arc to begin the season, making just six 3-pointers in his first 20 games. Though he was brought on as a score-first point guard that liked to drive to the hoop, Mintz gradually began to develop his 3-pointer and lifted his 3-point percentage above 30% by the end of the season, including a season-best 4-for-4 performance in Syracuse’s loss against Clemson.

Former Notre Dame guard JJ Starling also transferred to Syracuse last week. Girard has an extra year of eligibility and could return for a sixth season, and Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland are still on the roster, though they’d need to overcome Mintz for the starting point guard spot.

Published on March 20, 2023 at 8:00 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @anthonyalandt