Guess who’s back?
Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports
It’s time for Syracuse Orange fans to cue Skylar Grey’s “I’m coming home.” Judah Mintz is officially back.
Mintz announced on Wednesday via Instagram that he will forgo the 2023 NBA Draft process and return to the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team for his sophomore season. Mintz was a borderline All-ACC candidate who averaged 16.3 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 1.8 steals per game in 2022-2023 for the Orange.
Mintz - who received draft buzz as a mid-to-late second round pick in this year’s draft and most recently working out for the Charlotte Hornets - had until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. to decide whether he wanted to stay in the draft process or return to Syracuse for the 2023-2024 season.
Jonathan Wasserman’s latest post-lottery mock draft expected Mintz to be taken with the 45th pick by the Memphis Grizzlies per Bleacher Report, while other mock drafts previously projected him as a mid-to-late second round pick. On Wednesday, however, ESPN’s latest mock draft did not project Mintz to be drafted hours before he announced his return to Syracuse.
Instead, Mintz will look to solidify himself as the cornerstone for the Orange in coach Adrian Autry’s first season at the helm of the men’s program. He’ll also look to fine-tune his game as a sophomore in hopes of potentially returning to the NBA Draft process in 2024.
In addition to Mintz, Autry managed to also keep Chris Bell, Benny Williams, Justin Taylor, and Maliq Brown from this past season’s roster while adding notable transfer players J.J. Starling, Chance Wetry, Naheem McLeon, and Kyle Cuffe Jr.
The future is looking bright, especially with Mintz back in the fold.
Welcome home, Judah.
? :@Jmintz10 pic.twitter.com/aVMPfUIFRK
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) May 9, 2023
