By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

DURHAM — While Josh Hall wasn’t drafted on Wednesday night by the NBA, the 6-foot-9 20-year-old with close ties to Rowan County has signed a professional contract.

Hall’s father (Quincy) and late grandfather (Clint) were basketball standouts at West Rowan High.

Hall signed with N.C. State, but elected to make himself available for the draft instead of joining the Wolfpack program. He had been projected by some experts to be drafted and to become the first North Carolina high school player to make the jump straight to the NBA since Tracy McGrady in 1997.

Instead, shortly after the conclusion of the two-round draft, Hall signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder as a free agent.

Hall trained in Charlotte with former UNC and NBA guard  Jeff McInnis prior to the draft. He’s added bulk and muscle since his high school career at Moravian Prep ended, but at 215 pounds, he still has physical maturing to do to face the rigors of the NBA.

Hall is long and has excellent shooting and ballhandling skills for a player with his height. He was frequently ranked as the No. 2 player in North Carolina high schools this season and as high as the No. 5 small forward in the country. He scored 51 points in one game.

Phenom Hoops, a scouting service, named Hall, who averaged 24 points per game for Moravian, the player of the year for North Carolina.

Hall had at least 32 college scholarship offers, including Wake Forest, Texas, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Georgetown, Maryland, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Alabama.

Hall’s deal with the Thunder is a two-way contract with guaranteed money.

The contract permits Hall to swing between the Thunder and the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s team in the NBA G-League. Hall can spend up to 45 days in the NBA while spending the rest of his time developing in the G-League.

NBA players on a two-way contract can earn $77,250 for time spent on the G-League roster.

The 2020-21 NBA season is tentatively scheduled to begin on Dec. 22.