Bruce Pearl knew when JT Thor first arrived on campus he was eventually going to the NBA.

Thor took the first step toward his goal of the NBA on March 23rd when he announced plans to enter the NBA Draft with the option to return to college.

For Pearl — who’s trying to build his 2021-22 roster — it’s a careful balance of building a championship roster at Auburn and trying to get his players to the next level.

“There's a balance between -- look, my job is to help them get there,” Pearl said. “My job is also to win championships. My job is to try to graduate. My job is to serve the community -- a lot of different jobs. And I try to balance all those things -- that's them great challenge. But as long as you put at the top of the list what's best for the student-athlete and work your way down from there, then you go at it accordingly.”

Even during the season when Thor was going through some up-and-down periods and Sharife Cooper was lighting up college basketball, Pearl said Thor may be his “best pro prospect.”

Towards the second half of SEC play, Thor began to find his groove and develop.

Now, as Thor works his way through the draft process, Pearl is one of the many people around to help him make his decision.

“I think JT is going to be a great NBA player. I think JT is absolutely a pro,” Pearl said. “It's up to them to decide when and how soon and how high and all those different things. I have no doubt of his ability. He was great to coach, so on and so forth… The question just comes into when, and I'm one of many voices that he has to be able to kind of work his way through.”

The 2021 NBA Draft is slated for July 29th, with players able to keep their name in the draft all the way until July 19th.

Mock drafts have ranged from Thor being a late first-round pick to going undrafted.

But Pearl sees Thor getting drafted if he chooses to stay in the draft.

“If JT stays in the draft, he's going to get drafted,” Pearl said.

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