JD Notae to enter NBA Draft, Sign with agent

Arkansas senior guard, JD Notae has announced that he will enter the NBA Draft and sign with an agent. Notae transferred to Arkansas after spending two seasons at Jacksonville University. He quickly gained the reputation as a great defender and shooter in practice, praised by Mason Jones and the coaching staff during his redshirt season.

Notae was named to the third-team All-American and first-team All-SEC this season. He averaged 18.3 points per game on 40-percent shooting from the field, 30-percent from three and 77-percent from the free throw line. Notae also scored 1,070 points in his career as a Razorback and amassed 1,999 points in his college basketball career.

The Razorbacks superstar led the SEC in scoring throughout the season but finished third in the conference. His departure is the end of an exceptional career as an elite scorer for the Hogs. He announced his decision on Instagram on Sunday:

“First and foremost, I want to thank God for the gift to play the game that I love. I also want to thank my family/support system for their never-ending support and their guidance throughout the process. I want to thank my teammates and coaching staff for believing in me and putting me in a position to be successful. thank you to Razorback Nation, it’s been a pleasure to play in front of the best fans in the nation!”

He went on to say, “The past three years at Arkansas have been the best of my life and I wouldn’t trade the memories I’ve made for anything and Fayetteville will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ve dreamt about playing professional basketball since I was young and after careful consideration I have decided to sign with an agent and enter my name in the 2022 NBA Draft.”

His 2021-22 season was one for the books when he led Arkansas to upsets of LSU, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee this season. The top performances came against the Auburn Tigers where he scored 28 points in route to a court-storming night inside Bud Walton Arena. He also helped lead Arkansas to a huge win against the Wildcats when he recorded 30 points and 8 assists which was the first time that stat-line had been achieved in 30-years against an AP Top-10 team.

Here is Notae’s profile from the Arkansas Razorback team site:

Was rated the 29th-best “Sit-Out” Transfer in the Nation by ESPN.com for the 2020-21 season.

• Sat out the 2019-20 season at Arkansas due to NCAA transfer regulations.

2020-21 (R-Jr. at Arkansas):

• Named the Bleacher Report National Sixth Man of the Year and the SEC Coaches Sixth Man of the Year … Was Arkansas’ first sub 16 times and Arkansas was 13-3 in those games … Third on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) but led the team in scoring 22.2 points per 40 minutes (Moses Moody was second at 19.9 ppg) … Led the team in steals (46) and ranked 12th in the SEC in steals per game (1.44) … Was 7th in the SEC in FT made (92).

• Scored in double figures 21 times this season … Led team in scoring seven times

• Lone start for the season came at home vs Auburn (1/20)

• Had a game-high seven assists with five rebounds in the season opener

• Had 16 points and six rebounds versus North Texas • Scored his 1,000th career point (5:09 of 2nd half) versus Central Arkansas … Had a game-high 22 points, including 17 in the second half, adding three steals and six assists with just one turnover

• Versus Oral Roberts, finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, three assists and tied career-high with three blocked shots … Made a then career-high seven free throws (7-of-8)

• Scored 19 in the win over Abilene Christian, including 17 in the second half … Made two key 3-pointers —one to put Arkansas up 12 with 3:05 left and hit another to seal the win 1:23 left

• Scored 21 in the win at Auburn, including 19 in the second half … Made a then career-high seven free throws and had a season-high four assists

• Led the team with 19 points at Tennessee (season-best 63.6% shooting 7-of-11 FG) … Added four rebounds and three assists

• Led Arkansas and tied a season-high with 22 points at LSU, including 14 in the first half … Scored nine points during a 12-0 run for the Hogs

• Led the team with 19 points vs Ole Miss – 14 in the second half … Only made four shots from the field but three were 3’s … Had career-highs for free throws made (8) and free throws attempted – tied (9) … Added five rebounds for the second straight game • Scored 11 points at Kentucky, including eight in the first half and making 2-of-3 from deep in the period

• Broke a mini slump with a 12-point performance in the Alabama win, making 2-of-4 from 3-point range … His last triple gave Arkansas its largest lead (16 points with 5:22 left in the game) … Added three assists (his most in 12 games) with two steals

• Played perhaps his best overall game — including his best defensive game — in the win over LSU … Scored 18 points while tying a season-best with six rebounds (his most in an SEC game) and two steals while taking his fourth charge of the season

• Trumped that performance the next time out in the win at South Carolina with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals … The 21 points and five assists both tie his best performances in an SEC game … He became the first Razorback to have at least 20-5-5-5 in a game since Kareem Reid versus Louisville on Dec. 9, 1997 (HogStats.com)

• Only scored nine in the season finale versus Texas A&M but they all came in the second half (making 6-of-6 FT) as Arkansas completed the come-from-behnd win … Added four rebounds and three steals

• In the SEC quarters versus Mizzou, had a season-best 27 points — his best as a Hog and 4th-best overall in his career — with four assists and four rebounds

• Added three steals in SEC semis vs LSU

• Only made three 3’s versus Colgate but all three were key and added three steals … Down four, Notae scored six straight to put the hogs up two with 10:20 left … With the game tied, made a triple and two free throws and Arkansas led the rest of the way … Last 3 came with 3:21 left to put the game out of reach

• Down 10 in the first half to Texas Tech, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start a 20-8 run to end the first half and give Arkansas a 2-point lead … Only scored once in the second, a free throw with 19 seconds for a 2-point lead … Grabbed the final rebound on the defensive end to seal to win over the Red Raiders

• In the Elite 8 contest versus Baylor, tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points despite playing just 14:47 after fouling out with 13:38 left in the second half … Was 5-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point.

2019-20 (Jr. at Arkansas):

Sat out the season per NCAA transfer rules.

2018-19 (So. at Jacksonville):

Voted second team All-ASUN after averaging 15.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists; all team highs … Scoring average ranked fifth in the ASUN while ranking fourth in assists, fourth in steals (1.6) and 10th in rebounding … Posted 24 games in double figures, including nine 20-point games, with nine games of five assists or more and three games with at least 10 rebounds … Had three double-doubles, including a triple double at Kennesaw State (15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists … First double-double was the game prior to triple double, posting 12 points with 13 rebounds versus Lipscomb … Other double-double came versus Stetson as he scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds … Scored a career-high 40 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists, versus Florida Memorial … Made 16-of-22 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range … Had 29 points and five assists in the regular-season finale versus Florida Gulf Coast … Versus Indiana, posted 15 point and rebounds.

2017-18 (Fr. at Jacksonville):

Named ASUN Freshman of the Year after averaging 15.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range … Started all 28 games he appeared in until injuring his foot and missing the final five games of the year … Scored 432 points, the second-most by a Dolphin freshman in a season … Scored a then career-high 30 points vs. Middle Georgia State … Scored 20 or more points seven times, four times in ASUN play … Knocked down a season-best five three-pointers twice (at UAB, at Michigan) … Hit two free throws with one second left to lead the Dolphins to a win at Stetson … Led ASUN freshman in scoring (15.4 ppg), minutes (31.4 mpg) and steals (49) … Was the ASUN Player of the Week once and Newcomer of the Week twice.

High School:

Was a four-year starter at Newton High School … Averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game … Led his team to the 2016-17 7A Elite 8 with a 26-2 record … 2016 GACA All-State member, Region Tourney Player of the Year and All-Region 2 AAAAAA team … In AAU ball, was named the Atlanta Lightning MVP in 2014, 2016, and 2017.

Personal:

Born Oct. 27, 1998. in Covington, Ga. … Son of Stacy Notae … Has four siblings: Jeremiah, Munie, Bailey and Keyanna … Majoring in recreation and sport management.