David Johnson, Carlik Jones Excluded From ESPN's Post-Tournament NBA Mock Draft

The backcourt duo for the Cardinals both are not listed in the latest 2021 NBA Mock Draft released by ESPN

(Photo of Carlik Jones, David Johnson: Scott Utterback/Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While no one from the Louisville men's basketball program has officially declared for the 2021 NBA Draft yet, two players who are widely expected to do so, or at least test the draft waters at the very least, are sophomore guard David Johnson and graduate transfer guard Carlik Jones.

Now that a champion of college basketball has been crowned, and the 2020-21 season has concluded, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz released an updated 2021 NBA Mock Draft that takes into account the NCAA Tournament, as well as the months of games that preceded it.

However, neither Johnson or Jones were listed among the 60 prospects who will hear their name called on draft night. For the last couple months, both Cardinals have been sliding down many draft boards, with The Athletic recently listing them as the No. 49 and No. 84 draft prospects, respectively.

Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound native of Louisville and Trinity alum, finished his second year as a Cardinal averaging 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 38.6% on three point attempts. However, he shot just 35.5% from the field and averaged 2.7 assists to 2.8 turnovers in the final 10 games of the 2020-21 season.

As for Jones, he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the Atlantic Coast Conference after coming over from Radford. The Cincinnati native averaged 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, and was named a First Team All-ACC selection. But with him, many around the NBA are more so concerned with his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame than his actual game, as well as his age.

Louisville opened up the 2020-21 season at 9-1, and were ranked as high as the No. 16 team in the nation. But due to COVID issues, injuries, and at times offensive inconsistencies, they went 4-6 in the second half of the season to finish at 13-7 and 8-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference - missing the NCAA Tournament by a razor-thin margin.

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