Men’s Basketball: How Chase Audige and former player Pete Nance might fare in tonight’s NBA draft
Daily file photo by Gabe Bider
Chase Audige. After an impressive career at Northwestern, Audige looks to move up to the next level tonight.
June 22, 2023
The NBA draft kicks off tonight, and Chase Audige and former Wildcat Pete Nance are hoping to hear their names called.
Audige, the Wildcats’ redshirt senior guard, announced April 9 that he was entering the draft while retaining his final year of eligibility, then affirmed on May 31 that he would not be returning to NU.
The star player is coming off a blockbuster season where he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors after proving invaluable on both ends of the floor. Audige averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game this season as he helped lead NU to its second-ever March Madness run.
The defensive star will most likely find himself on the edge of the draft tonight — his defensive prowess could potentially squeeze him into the bottom of the second round or compel a team to sign him to a two-way deal.
Audige’s only known pre-draft workout was with the Atlanta Hawks, a session that came right before the announcement that he would not be withdrawing his name from the draft.
In a somewhat similar position is forward Nance, a former NU star who transferred to North Carolina this past season after finishing his four years at NU.
Coming off workouts with the Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Pelicans, Nance received slightly more pre-draft excitement than Audige. He too, however, will most likely be battling to hear his name called in the second round.
During his senior season at NU, Nance was an All-Big Ten honorable mention and led the team in scoring, rebounding, three-point percentage and blocks.
Nance initially entered the 2022 NBA draft after graduating from NU but withdrew to transfer to UNC. There, he was an immediate starter and led the team in blocks.
The NBA Draft is tonight at 7 p.m. Central Time.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @alycebrownn
Related Stories:
