Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald spoke with Mississippi state head coach Ben Howland about EJ Montgomery’s upcoming decision about leaving for the NBA Draft or staying at Kentucky.
Howland told Tipton that he thought another year at Kentucky would help Montgomery.
Howland suggested that Montgomery’s best course of action would be to follow the example of former UK player PJ Washington, who returned for a sophomore season and became a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Montgomery would be wise to play for UK next season, his junior year, and thereby enhance his stock for the 2021 NBA Draft, the Mississippi State coach said.
Tipton also spoke with Montgomery’s Dad and it sounds like he thinks the opposite about Montgomery’s decision.
“Just because he did other things to help his team win, and didn’t get to showcase his (offense), doesn’t mean he can’t do it,” Efrem Montgomery said. “Why come back and waste a whole other year when you can already do those things anyway?”
Montgomery hasn’t been included in any NBA Mock Drafts that I have seen so if he did leave Kentucky he will most likely have to work his way to the league by either way of the G League or playing overseas.
Read “SEC coach says EJ should follow PJ’s example and return to UK” by clicking here.
