CHICAGO - Louisville star Jordan Nwora hoped this would be the week he would turn heads among NBA scouts while playing at the league's combine.

A strong performance here could help him move into the late first round, or at least earn a promise of a guaranteed contract from a team that wanted to draft him in the second round. Those goals are still on the table, but a sprained calf kept Nwora from participating in drills or 5-on-5 games at the combine.

Instead of playing, Nwora is meeting with teams at the combine in advance of setting up individual workouts in the 10 days between the end of the combine and the NCAA's May 29 deadline to make a decision on whether to stay in the draft.

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The injury has only added to the uncertainty about his final decision.

"I’m still 50-50," Nwora said. "Just going to be the feedback I’m getting. Obviously, I wasn’t able to play this week, I wanted to play really badly. It happens. I should be good to start doing stuff next week, work out a little. If I hear what I want to hear, I’ll stay and if not I’ll go back to school."

As a sophomore, Nwora averaged 17 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He shot 37.4% (77 for 206) from 3-point range and 76.5% from the free-throw line.

ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony projects Nwora as a second-round pick (No. 40 overall) for the 2020 draft, projecting a return to Louisville this season.

"He has such deep range on his jumper and is very versatile with them, too," Givony told the Courier Journal in February. "He can shoot in a lot of different ways and that's very appealing for a guy who's his size. He's improved his body a lot and worked on becoming more athletic and improving defensively. He's just a very, very good all-around basketball player.

"... I do think he's going to have to find a position because he's not the tallest, not the longest, not the most explosive. I do think that's one of the things scouts are looking at the most when they're projecting him to the NBA level."

The potential to return to school and work his way into a surefire first-round prospect is one of several reasons Nwora is tempted by a third season at Louisville. The arrival of the Cards' top-10-ranked 2019 recruiting class is another as the influx of talent could lead to a deep NCAA Tournament run and brighter spotlight for Nwora to shine as the team's veteran leader.

But there is no guarantee going back to school would improve his draft stock in a year. That decision always brings with it the risk of injury or struggles that might drop his stock lower than it is now.

"It’s stressful," Nwora said. "A lot goes into that. It’s going to be a bigger decision I make. That’s why it’s tough. That’s why it’s really split right now, 50-50."

Nwora's agent plans to set up visits with teams showing the most interest in combine interviews in the coming days. Nwora expects to be cleared by doctors to resume playing next week.

Then the countdown begins.

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Louisville coach Chris Mack traveled to Chicago on Friday to visit with Nwora at the combine and do his part to gather more feedback about the 6-foot-7 forward's options.

Nwora credited Mack for coaching him to the point where the draft is even a possibility after just two college seasons. And after just one year with Louisville's current staff, Nwora is certain Mack and his assistants can continue his development if he returns to school.

"Of course he wants me to come back, but he knows if I leave and I get something guaranteed or somebody says they’ll take me in the first round he knows that’s going to be great for me, too," Nwora said. "He really just wants me to do what’s best for me. He’s told me that. He said if some team is going to guarantee me something, I’m going to go first round, why would I pass that up? He knows what he’s talking about. He’s helped me out a lot."

It's easy to see why Mack would want Nwora to return.

His scoring ability and veteran presence as a junior leader would be key in helping the Cards, ranked No. 4 in CBSSports' early 2019-20 top 25, bring along a freshman class that includes five-star McDonald's All-American Samuell Williamson and three other top-100 recruits according to the 247Sports Composite.

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"There’s plenty of reasons to go back," Nwora said. "Go back to the tournament. We have a great class coming in, great coaches. I’ll get to learn another year, polish my game, make a deep run in the tournament hopefully, win a lot more games, a national championship. There’s so many reasons to go back to school and there are so many reasons for making the jump.

"... I think we’ll be really exciting. Even if say I do stay here, they’re still going to be an exciting group to watch. Like I said, we’ll see."

Jon Hale:jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter:@JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today:www.courier-journal.com/jonh.