Following in the footsteps of Andrew Nembhard who announced his intentions earlier in the day, freshman Tre Mann has declared for the NBA Draft. It’s unknown whether he’s signing with an agent or whether he’s planning on keeping his name in or returning to Florida but considering his 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game it’s likely his plan is to return to Gainesville for his sophomore season.
Before the season started there was some sneaky draft buzz surrounding Mann and multiple analysts pegged him as a one-and-done player. Obviously the season he had wouldn’t naturally suggest that’s the route he’s going to go, but it’s worth noting that he had some draft attention before the season and has been on the radar of NBA teams. Entering his name into the draft opens up the avenue for him to have conversations with teams and hear what they think of him as a player, hopefully giving him direct points to work on as he tries to improve his professional resume.
The pathway of every player is different and the possibility that he does want to turn pro next season is certainly there. While he almost certainly didn’t do enough to warrant a team spending a draft pick on him there would be teams interested in him based on his pedigree and high school who would give him a contract on a G-League team. He would be far from the first player to go the route of one-and-done to the G-League and many of those players have worked their way up to the NBA. That isn’t too suggest that this is the direction Mann is going to go, but it shows there definitely is a chance this is something on his mind.
Florida’s backcourt was looking like it could be a bit crowded in 2020-21 but if Andrew Nembhard decides to return minutes could be tough to come by for Mann, though he is probably someone the Gators visualized getting minutes on the wing behind Noah Locke and Scottie Lewis. His natural position is as a lead guard, though it’s unlikely those minutes would really be available for him if Nembhard returns and even if he doesn’t transfer Tyree Appleby is poised to take that position.
Something worth noting about Mann’s game is that he started slow as he adjusted to division 1 basketball but was really on an upward trajectory of production all year and that shows his ability to learn as well as a mental toughness that he didn’t get a lot of credit before. Even though his jumper never developed the rhythm you’d expect to see there were definitely flashes of the offensive game that earned him a 5-star rating out of high school with some silky dribble moves and exciting finishes at the rim. Where he grew the most is on the defensive end where he went from a liability at times early in the season to a trusted guard defender who knew when to rotate over to help a teammate, often leading to him drawing valuable charges.
He’ll have until June 3rd to announce whether he’ll be returning to Florida for his sophomore season or heading to the pros.