Kristaps Porzingis was drafted fourth overall by the New York Knicks in last year’s NBA Draft after playing professionally in Spain for a few years, but that may not have been the case had the 7-foot-3 Latvian chosen another path.
In a report by Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, Porzingis discussed the hype surrounding March Madness and mentioned that he himself was recruited by a few Division II schools not by letters, but by Facebook messages.
“It was funny, I received like two or three offers,” Porzingis said. “It was a coach (reaching out to me), writing, ‘I want you play for us, we’re Division II.’ ”
Thus comes the speculation of how Porzingis would have fared on the collegiate level. In Division II, he probably would have absolutely murdered the competition. First off, he’d almost definitely be the tallest on both his team and also amongst the competition. On top of that, he can stretch the floor and shoot threes while also play well enough in the paint. Had the 20-year-old played college ball as opposed to turning pro at age 16, who knows what could have happened.
Either way, Porzingis is currently averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in his rookie season, so one has to assume he’s happy with the decision to not play college basketball in the U.S.
Can’t get enough of Campus Sports? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated with the latest news and exclusive giveaways!
*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
