Arizona Star Bennedict Mathurin Announces Plans to Enter NBA Draft

The Wildcats standout is a projected lottery pick in the June draft.

Arizona standout guard Bennedict Mathurin announced on Wednesday he is entering the 2022 NBA draft.

“It has always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA and I am ready to take that step forward,” he tweeted.

Mathurin made sure to thank a wide range of people, including former Arizona head coach Sean Miller, current head coach Tommy Lloyd and the rest of the Wildcats program.

“I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me through my career at Arizona,” Mathurin said. “The city of Tucson has been great to me and the best fanbase in the world has welcomed me with open arms. I would also like to thank Coach Sean and Coach Tommy for everything that they’ve done for me and the opportunities they’ve given me.”

Thank you Arizona for everything ❤️ pic.twitter.com/EJD44IWshy

— Bennedict Mathurin (@BennMathurin) April 13, 2022

Mathurin was born in Montreal but played in the NBA Academy in Latin America before becoming a four-star recruit in 2020. He played two years for Arizona and had a breakout 2022 season, totaling 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game over 37 games.

Mathurin played a key role in Arizona’s excellent year, as the Wildcats won the Pac-12 regular season and tournament championship and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Many Arizona players earned end-of-the-year awards, including Mathurin who took home the Pac-12 Player of the Year.

Mathurin is currently a projected lottery pick in June’s NBA draft.