FORT COLLINS — David Roddy has declared for the 2022 NBA Draft while still maintaining his collegiate eligibility. The junior guard/forward officially announced the decision on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
The news is no surprise for those that have followed the Rams closely. Roddy said on the Brady Hull show, as well as the DNVR Rams Podcast last week that he would test the NBA waters and see what type of feedback that he receives from professional teams.
I caught up with @droddy22 on Friday & we talked about CSU's journey, the NCAA Tournament, & his mindset as he tests the NBA waters. https://t.co/80h2TsfPEV
— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) March 27, 2022
If he has the opportunity to be a first-round selection and/or receive a guaranteed deal, then it would make a whole lot of sense for him to remain in the draft. After all, there is no way of saying for sure that he could improve on that type of draft evaluation. It’s pretty difficult to be much better than Roddy was for the Rams during the 2021-22 season.
Having said that, though, if Roddy’s draft status is murky and he is not going to receive a guaranteed contract, the versatile superstar could still return to CSU and make another run at the NCAA Tournament with his CSU teammates.
Roddy has up until June 1 to remove his name from the NBA Draft and declare that he is officially returning for his senior season. But before that, Roddy can participate in the NBA Combine which runs from May 16-22 in Chicago.
Roddy is coming off of an impressive junior campaign in which he averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He made 62 percent of his 2-point attempts and 44 percent of his shots from deep. And as a result of his dominance, Roddy was named the 2022 Mountain West Player of the Year, earned first-team All-Conference honors and received All-American recognition from multiple outlets.
Over the course of his career Roddy has scored 1,406 points, which is the ninth-most in program history. His 677 total rebounds is the 10th-most by any Ram ever. And his career total of 508 field goals is top-10 as well (No.9).
During his freshman season, back in 2019-20, the Rams went 20-12 overall and 11-7 against league competition. CSU has since won 14 league games in back-to-back seasons, and most recently the Rams went 25-6 overall and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.
When asked what it would mean to lead a team to CSU’s first-ever regular season Mountain West Championship, after coming just shy in each of the last two years, Roddy recently told DNVR that it would definitely be one of the big factors in his final decision.
“We’re so excited to get back to it and just really start the process over with so much knowledge that we’ve gained,” Roddy said.
Roddy also talked about how it would be a challenge for him to leave, given the relationship he has with the coaches and his teammates. Obviously, he has to take into consideration what he hears about his standing through the NBA evaluation process, but he admitted that leaving early would be a bit on an odd feeling.
“I’ve never really had to do that before,” Roddy said. “I would always love to come back if the situation is right. But I kind of have to do what is best for me in my future and my career.”
Ultimately no matter what Roddy decides to do, Ram fans should be excited for him. Obviously, it would be ideal for CSU to get one more run with the majority of the core from the past few years still intact. But the chance to play in the NBA would be a lifelong dream come true. You can never fault a guy for making that dream a reality.
