A day after news broke about his intentions to declare for the NBA draft, incoming Iowa State recruit Emmanuel Malou released a statement via his Twitter account.
“I have decided to declare for the 2016 NBA Draft as an early entrant in order to find out what my options are,” Malou wrote. “Playing in the NBA has been my dream and was a big part of the reason why I moved to the US from Australia several years ago.”
On Monday, ISU coach Steve Prohm called the move a “backup plan” to protect Malou in the event he should not be eligible to play collegiately.