Scotty Pippen Jr. Makes Final NBA Draft Decision

Late on Wednesday night, Vanderbilt guard Scotty Pippen Jr. announced his final NBA Draft decision, revealing that he’ll be back in Nashville for his junior season.

Pippen Jr., the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen, waited until close to the deadline to withdraw his name from the pool of draftees. Instead, he’ll return to play for Jerry Stackhouse at Vanderbilt in the 2021-22 NCAA season.

“After testing the waters of the NBA Draft process, I have decided to return to Vanderbilt for my junior season. Run it back,” Pippen Jr. wrote on Twitter, just over an hour before the deadline.

Pippen set Vanderbilt’s single-season scoring record during his sophomore year averaging 20.8 points per game, while shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. He added 4.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Commodores, who went 9-16 during 2020-21 campaign.

Pippen Jr., 20, figured to be a strong a strong NBA prospect after his All-SEC sophomore year. With his ability to score at an elite level as well his strong play-making, the 6-foot-3 guard will surely figure into the mix come 2022.

For the time being, Pippen will need to help Stackhouse out at Vanderbilt after the program underwent some dramatic changes this offseason. The Commodores lost their second-leading scorer, Dylan Disu, who transferred to Texas. Seven other Vanderbilt players joined him in the transfer portal.

Stackhouse did pick up graduate transfers Liam Robbins from Minnesota and Dayton’s Rodney Chatman this spring. Along with four-star recruits Gabe Dorsey and Peyton Daniels, Vanderbilt could be in for the best season of its third-year head coach’s tenure.

But the Commodores will only be able to go as far as Pippen Jr. can take them.

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