FAYETTEVILLE — Daniel Gafford has declared for the 2019 NBA Draft, Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson announced Monday. The sophomore center will not take part in the Hogs’ upcoming NIT appearance and will forego his remaining eligibility.
“I can’t thank Coach Anderson and the Razorback coaching staff enough for two great years in my development both as a player and person,” Gafford said. “It has been a fun ride, but the time has come for me to move on to the next stage of my career and declare for the NBA Draft. Growing up in this state, I dreamed about playing at the University of Arkansas. It has been an honor to wear that jersey and represent this state. Thank you to everyone at the University of Arkansas, thank you to Razorback nation and, most importantly, thank you to all my teammates that have pushed me, supported me and helped make me the player I am today.”
The former El Dorado Wildcat was a consensus first team All-SEC pick this season as well as being named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. Gafford was also a top 10 finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, and hte only player in the SEC to place among the top five in both scoring (4th, 16.9) and rebounding (2nd, 8.7) as well as being the only player to rank among the top five scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage (1st, .650), blocked shots (3rd, 2.0), offensive rebounds (2nd, 2.8) and defensive rebounds (3rd, 5.8).
Gafford will leave Fayetteville with 955 career points. His 141 career blocked shots are sixth-most in school history. His school-record 62.1 percent field goal percentage is 32 percentage points better than second place on the list, 58.9 from Corliss Williamson.
The NBA Draft is set for June 20 in New York City. 37 Razorbacks have been taken in the history of the draft, including 12 in the first round with the most recent being Bobby Portis to the Chicago Bulls 22nd overall.