Sheldon High School graduate Marcus Bagley says he’s going into NBA draft
After two superstar seasons at Sheldon High School and one season of promise at Arizona State, Marcus Bagley is ready to test the NBA waters.
The 6-foot-8 guard/wing said on his Twitter page that competing at the same college where his grandfather Joe Caldwell excelled in the early 1960s was a dream. So, too, is the NBA. In the social media post, Bagley wrote, “as much as I would love to play college basketball for another year, I feel that I owe it to myself and my family to explore all of my options. ... I have decided to take the next step and declare for the 2021 NBA Draft.”
Bagley later told ESPN Tuesday morning he is, “excited about the opportunity to inform the NBA of my intentions and preparing for the draft. There’s so much about my game that I believe the basketball world hasn’t seen.”
The No. 27 prospect on the ESPN 100 NBA draft rankings, Bagley played one season at ASU, averaging 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 12 games. He played off guard, small forward and power forward. Bagley missed the bulk of the season due to ankle and calf injuries and pauses in ASU’s season due to COVID-19 protocols or issues.
He could still opt to return to Arizona State. In non-pandemic years, players have to withdraw from the draft within 10 days of the conclusion of the NBA scouting combine.
Bagley earned Bee co-Player of the Year honors at Sheldon as a junior and made The Bee’s All-Decade team, graduating in last spring. Over his 41-game prep career at Sheldon, Bagley averaged 20.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists, and he was the sort of competitor who was often the last one out of the gym after practices.
Bagley’s 6-foot-11 brother Marvin Bagley III was the No. 2 pick for the Kings in 2018 out of Duke. Grandfather Caldwell at 6-5 was the No. 2 pick in the 1964 NBA Draft, going to the Detroit Pistons.
Should Bagley go in the first round, he would join these players with regional roots to do so: Darnell Hillman (Johnson High School), in 1971, Bill Cartwright (Elk Grove), in 1979, Kevin Johnson (Sacramento), in 1987, Ryan Anderson (Oak Ridge), in 2008, Marquese Chriss (Pleasant Grove), 2016, and D.J. Wilson of Capital Christian, 2017.
Bagley helped power Sheldon to another CIF Northern California Open Division playoff berth last spring with a spirited win over Dublin with a chance to three-peat as champion but the pandemic soon shut sports and schools down across the country. Bagley scored 27 points in his final prep game and said before his ASU career that it was the most exciting game he had been a part of.
At ASU, Bagley was coached by former Kings guard Bobby Hurley, who tweeted Tuesday after the announcement, “I’m so proud of Marcus! He has a limitless future ahead of him. He has the full support of Sun Devil men’s basketball as he pursues his NBA dream.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 9:18 AM.