LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jordan Nwora's college career came to an unusual end, and the start of his professional career could be just as strange.
The NBA Draft is currently scheduled for June 25, although there's speculation that it could follow the NFL's lead and hold a virtual draft where players are live-streamed from home.
"It's definitely tough thinking about it," the former Cardinal told WDRB Sports. "I felt like I did about the tournament. Everybody's going through it. It's not just me. There's a bunch of other guys going through the same process that I'm going to have to go through. Growing up, you definitely don't picture it being like this, but you've got to do what you can and see what happens."
Nwora and the Cardinals were looking to make a deep postseason run in March, ranked 15th heading into their first ACC Tournament game against Syracuse. Then everything came to an abrupt stop.
"I was getting food with my teammates in Greensboro and just getting the notifications on my phone," Nwora remembered. "Obviously I was shocked and a little upset. Nobody wanted the season to end that way."
Nwora said the team was in a good place and eager to erase the memory of losing two of its last three regular season games.
For Nwora, the postseason was also a chance to improve his draft stock and quiet naysayers. The Preseason ACC Player of the Year fielded a lot of the blame in U of L's losses, and was often asked about fan's criticisms on social media.
"It feels good when you're taking the highs, but you've got to take the lows, too," Nwora said. "It just comes with it. I kind of got used to it. It's been the same thing back-to-back years. That's just how fans are going to be. There's going to be another guy next year who's going to go through what I went through. We just don't know who yet."
During the season, some wondered if Nwora's struggles were the result of a broken relationship with head coach Chris Mack.
"There were no problems with Mack and his staff," Nwora said. "If anything, they were just trying to make me a better player, more mature. And they did that. He benched me a game and that was something I deserved. I didn't play great the game before that at Georgia Tech. It happens. I'm held to a high standard and I've got to meet that standard, and I didn't do it at that time. He would've done that to any other player."
While social distancing back home in Buffalo, New York, Nwora said open gyms can be hard to come by, but he's making it work. Now a month removed from the end of the season, Nwora can reflect on his junior year and whether he made the right decision to come back.
"It was definitely worth it," Nwora said. "If I could go back and do it again, I would."
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