FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas guard Jaylen Barford has received an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine, according to a post on his Instagram page Saturday.
The combine will be held in Chicago on May 15-20. Barford is the first Arkansas player to be invited to the combine since Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls in 2015. It is unclear how many players will be invited this year.
Barford (6-3, 202 pounds) helped his draft stock by earning the most valuable player award at the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational earlier this month, averaging 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three games.
The Portsmouth Invitational has been played each year since 1953 and is designed to showcase seniors that hope to be drafted. Around 200 scouts attended this year's event.
Barford was an All-SEC performer as a senior and scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons after transferring from Motlow Community College in Tennessee.