FAYETTEVILLE — JD Notae is set to begin his professional basketball career in the coming months.
Notae, Arkansas’ leading scorer in 2021-22 and an All-America guard, announced Sunday he is entering his name into the upcoming NBA Draft and signing with an agent.
Many draft analysts do not project Notae to be drafted.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for the gift to play the game that I love,” Notae wrote in a post to his Instagram account. “I also want to thank my family/support system for their never-ending support and their guidance throughout this process. I want to thank my teammates and coaching staff for believe in me and putting me in a position to be successful.
“Thank you Razorback nation, it’s been a pleasure to play in front of the best fans in the nation! The past three years at Arkansas have been the best of my life. I wouldn’t trade the memories I’ve made for anything, and Fayetteville will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Notae arrived at Arkansas as one of coach Eric Musselman’s first transfer additions. He joined the program following the 2018-19 season from Jacksonville (Fla.) University.
After redshirting during the 2019-20 season, the Covington, Ga., native averaged 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals in 2 seasons at Arkansas, including a career-best 18.3 points in 2021-22.
Notae, a star at Newton High School, was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year in his first on-court season with the Razorbacks. He put up 12.8 points on 38.2% shooting and came off the bench in 31 of 32 games played.
In his final year at Arkansas, the guard became one of the top players in college basketball, landing on All-America teams by The Sporting News and The Associated Press. He was also a consensus All-SEC first-team selection.
"He can score the ball at the pro level already right now," Rick Rasmussen, Notae's coach at Newton, told WholeHogSports in March. "He’s going to get even more reps when he’s a pro and you don’t take classes anymore. His shot will continue to improve. His ability to score the ball is already professional, no doubt about it, and he can score it in so many different ways — free throws, the floater, the layup, the midrange, the deep three.
"I don’t think he’s going to have any trouble scoring in the NBA, I really don’t. He’s got NBA range, for sure. I think in the NBA it’s a mentality. You’ve got to believe in yourself. Everybody is a really good player and everybody was good in college.
"It’s all about competing and not being afraid to take a big shot. A lot of it is unselfishness, as well."
In 2021-22, Notae averaged 18.9 points on 41.4% shooting and 3.6 assists in the regular season, and 19.7 points and 4.1 assists in conference games.
His 19.7 points per game in league play were the second most by a Razorback in at least the last 19 seasons, trailing Mason Jones (23.6) in 2019-20.
Notae finished his college career with 1,999 points.