Terrapins men’s basketball forward Robert Carter Jr. will declare for the NBA draft and plans to sign with an agent, forfeiting his final year of college eligibility, the school announced Thursday.
A new rule this year allows players to declare for the draft but return to school after participating in the draft combine. If a player signs an agent, though, they give up any remaining eligibility.
“I want to thank the University of Maryland community and all of the fans for their support during my two years at Maryland,” Carter said in a statement. “I also want to thank Coach Turgeon, my teammates and the entire Maryland basketball program for everything they have done for me. The University of Maryland will always be a special place to both me and my family. I will forever be a Terp.”
Carter, a redshirt junior, could be a second-round pick or go undrafted. He’s projected to go No. 51 to the Denver Nuggets in the latest draftexpress.com mock draft. He was third on the Terps in points per game (12.3) and led the team in rebounds per game (6.9) this past season.
Carter began his college career at Georgia Tech before he transferred to the Terps in 2014. He sat out the 2014-2015 campaign before starring for the Terps this season.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to coach Robert the past two years,” coach Mark Turgeon said in a statement. “During his redshirt year, he worked extremely hard to improve his conditioning and expand his overall game. This past year, Robert was a very productive player and embraced his role as a team leader. I am proud that he achieved his goal and will graduate with a degree in Family Science from Maryland and can now begin to pursue a career in professional basketball.”
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that freshman center Diamond Stone will reportedly declare for the draft but hold off on hiring an agent, though Stone’s dad has refuted the reports. Sophomore guard Melo Trimble is the third starter who could leave early.
If Stone, Trimble and Carter all leave the program, the Terps will have to replace all five starters from this season’s Sweet Sixteen team.
Jeff Ermann of InsideMDSports.com was the first to report the news.
