Neemias Queta Should Return To Utah State

LOGAN, Utah – After two days of the NBA Draft Combine, it is evident that Neemias Queta would have a better NBA career by returning to Utah State for his sophomore season.

Queta was one of the 66 players to be invited to the Draft Combine that was full of executives and coaches from every NBA team in Chicago, Illinois.

He finished his freshman season at Utah State with a shelf full of awards, winning the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman Player of the Year. He was also named to the conference first team and defensive team.

MORE:

• Queta Measures Well, Struggles In Game Action At NBA Combine Day 1
• Queta Has Strong Defensive Game, Poor Offensive Showing In Day 2 Of NBA Combine
• USU’s Neemias Queta ‘Looked Pretty Good’ In Workout For Jazz

Combine Performance

On the first day of the combine, Queta recorded 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 assist and 1 turnover, while being held scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting from the field in 19 minutes.

His measurements were good though as he was the fourth-highest in several categories, including standing reach, height without shoes and wingspan.

His second day on Friday was better as he had 4 blocks to go with his 3 points and 6 rebounds.

Queta has until June 10 to return to decide whether to keep his name in the Draft and forgo his eligibility at Utah State or to return to Logan and play in his sophomore season for the Aggies.

Neemias Queta (@nemi1599) of @USUBasketball talks to media postgame! pic.twitter.com/mYJp5AYhB3

— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) May 17, 2019

Why He Should Stay In School

Utah State not only took the state of Utah by surprise this past season, but they shocked the country with how talented they were at the start of the season under first year head coach Craig Smith. They ended up winning a share of the regular season title in the Mountain West Conference and won the conference tournament in Las Vegas.

Queta’s impact has not gone unnoticed as he led the Aggies to one of the best defensive teams in the conference. USU will return some key players, including conference Player of the Year Sam Merrill, Brock Miller, Justin Bean, Diogo Brito and Abel Porter.

Utah State has a great chance to win the conference again in 2019-2020.

It was clear by Utah Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin after Queta worked out for the Jazz on May 12, that he is still a raw prospect and would benefit his game by returning to school.

“He’s still, he’s still a young kid, so he’s still got some things he’s got to work on,” Perrin told the media.

Coach Smith clearly has found a gem in Queta and did a fantastic job in developing him during his freshman season. He is only going to get better and that bodes well for Utah State too. It wouldn’t hurt Queta to stay at Utah State for two more seasons, but if he wants to have a successful career at the next level, returning to Logan for his sophomore season is the best option.