While Tyler Ennis’ decision has been made, sophomore forward Jerami Grant has yet to announce whether he’ll be returning to Syracuse.

“I was expecting Ennis to declare,” an NBA scout said. “I’m not particularly expecting Jerami Grant to declare.”

Grant averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this year, and is projected by most as a mid-first round pick. However, he finished the season on a bit of a rough patch.

Grant missed one game and was limited in two others down the stretch by a sore back. He then scored just four points on 2-of-3 shooting before fouling out in 34 minutes of Syracuse’s season-ending loss to Dayton in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

“If he came out this year, I think he’d have to understand that he’d probably be in a position where he’d have to spend time on the bench or in the D-League, or really make a lot of progress to earn minutes right away,” the scout said.

The scout said he expects Grant to return for a few reasons. Grant’s father, Harvey Grant, and uncle, Horace Grant, used their full eligibilities. The family is financially safe. And he’ll likely be projected as a first-round pick again next year.

While Grant’s lack of a consistent jump shot is an aspect of his game that will need to be improved for him to succeed at the next level, the scout said that he could do that regardless of his decision.

“I don’t think there’s a great track record of players developing their shooting at Syracuse,” the scout said. “Michael Carter-Williams, I think, got worse as a shooter during his time at Syracuse.”

Grant still has nearly a month to decide before the NBA’s deadline for early entry into the draft on April 27.

Published on March 28, 2014 at 6:21 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1