Pitt target Karim Mane will remain in NBA draft

Back in April, five-star Canadian combo guard Karim Mane placed Pitt in his top five alongside DePaul, Marquette, Memphis and Michigan State. However, Mane then entered the 2020 NBA draft, and although there was initially some doubt he would go through with forgoing college altogether, he decided on Thursday to remain in the draft, according Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

“I want to thank all the schools that recruited me over the last couple of years,” Mane told Givony. “Today I’m blessed to let the world know that I decided to pursue my dreams and remain in the 2020 NBA draft.”

“I feel very confident in the feedback I’ve been getting from NBA teams and with all the interviews I’ve been doing,” he continued. “I also know myself and know that it what the best move for my growth and potential.”

When Mane first announced that he had entered the NBA draft, the presumption was that he would make a decision on whether to go to college or the NBA by June, as the draft was scheduled for June 25. However, with the draft postponed until Oct. 16, Mane was granted more time to make a decision. And after speaking with more than 15 NBA teams and getting positive feedback, Mane felt comfortable going the NBA route.

The 6’5”, 195-pound combo guard out of Vanier College in Montreal was a consensus five-star recruit, and 247Sports ranked him as the No. 29 overall recruit in the 2020 class. The recruiting website also considered him Quebec’s top recruit and the No. 7 combo guard, placing him two spots higher than former Pitt recruit and current North Carolina signee R.J. Davis in the ranking.

During his recruitment, Mane received scholarship offers from more than a dozen college programs, and Pitt notably beat out heavyweights like Kansas, Maryland and UConn to make Mane’s top five.