We spoke with two sources close to Vols All-SEC sophomore forward Jarnell Stokes last week, and both said they believed the big man was, at least as of that moment, probably leaning a little bit toward declaring for the NBA Draft. Neither could tell us whether Stokes was leaning toward declaring with or without with an agent, and thats obviously key, because he could still return to school if he didnt sign with an agent and didnt take any money and forfeit his status as an amateur athlete.
The other big key with Stokes is this, though: Both sources insisted Stokes hadnt spoken to UT head coach Cuonzo Martin about the decision, and that nothing would be finalized until those two sat down at length and discussed the situation. Stokes recently told govols247 that he 100 percent trusts Martin which is why he signed to play for him in the first place and that he would genuinely listen to his coachs advice. So well see how that talk goes whenever it happens. We assume that would be fairly soon, obviously, but we dont know an exact date.
As much as Stokes is intrigued by the idea of playing on a much better UT team next season, there are other factors hes having to consider, and we think at least most of them are genuine questions. Next seasons draft looks potentially a lot better than this years on paper, and thats something Stokes definitely understands. And while its generally believed that All-SEC forward Jeronne Maymon will return next season after redshirting with multiple knee issues, we hesitate to call it a 100 percent certainty until it happens. And Stokes felt like he wasnt able to show scouts many of the moves hed worked on last offseason because he couldnt go anywhere without two and sometimes three defenders on him. If he returns, he might need assurances from Martin that either Maymons return and/or better perimeter shooting from others will prevent him being double-teamed every minute of every game.
Stokes doesnt consider himself a center prospect for the next level. Were not 100 percent sure why he feels that way DaJuan Blair and a couple of others are Stokes size or smaller and play that position in the NBA but we at least understand why he feels the way he feels. He embraced being a so-called garbage man toward the middle to later stages of last season, and it worked out fairly well. Right or wrong, though, hes not convinced that always has to be his role. He believes there are other parts to his game, and while hell ultimately have to prove that, weve seen enough from him in practice and other settings to believe he might just have a point there. But its tough to show anything when you get so much attention attention he wouldnt get at the next level.
We believe Martin and his staff will try to convince Stokes to return, obviously, and they wont have to lie to tell him genuine reasons why he should return. In short, they believe hes not ready, and theyll probably remind him that more than a dozen NBA scouts told UTs staff that Stokes wasnt ready that he needed to improve his motor and get in better shape.
We wouldnt be surprised if Stokes ultimately returned for his junior season, but were not ready to make that prediction. Thats still very much up in the air or at least it was as of Saturday night.