Thursday night’s NBA Draft was mostly written, so much so that in our preview we hit the top 5 picks and 8 of the top 10 and Charlotte’s decision to call #2 Brandon Miller instead of Scoot Henderson as assumed was taken at last.
In the meantime, scrolling through the players called up shows how the NBA franchises look primarily for talent, then for 3-point shooting, athletic skills and finally age, while low post players and rebounders are not interested.
This can be understood if we look at the Centres. Assuming that Wembanyama has repeatedly clarified that he wants to play as No. 4, the only ones were Derek Lively II and James Nnaji.
Lively was named #12 not for 5 points and 5 rebounds this season at Duke but for being #1 on the ESPN100 for the class of 2022 as NBA team systems are very different from almost all collegiate ones and he made a good impression in pre-draft matches.
Nnaji represents a bet: he is the typical modern center who does not reach 7′ but has an excellent physique, moves well on the pitch and has long arms while in attack he needs to be completely shaped given that in the Euroleague he played less than 7 minutes making 2 ,7ppg shooting with 46% on free throws.
The NCAA season’s leading centers, Adama Sanogo who led UConn to the title on post play and Oscar Tshiebwe who was the top rebounder for 2 years, went undrafted.
The 3-point shot is fundamental in today’s NBA and by now reliability from beyond the arc is the contractual minimum for which it is sought combined with something else and this is why Gradey Dick, the best shooter on the discharges and Jordan Hawkins the best out of blocks were named after Jarace Walker and Taylor Hendricks because, despite having better percentages, they are less athletic and therefore tactically less fungible.
It is no coincidence that the players called earlier than expected are mainly shooters such as Ben Sheppard of Belmont at 26 (41.5% from 3pts and 36th in the ESPN ranking), Julian Strawther of Gonzaga at 29 (40% and 48th) , Missouri’s Kobe Brown (45.5% and 44th), Penn State’s Jalen Pickett in 32nd (38% and 64th), Clemson’s Hunter Tyson in 37th (40.5% and 49th), and Furman’s Jalen Slawson (39.4% and 72nd).
On the other hand, we have the disappointed ones, certainly led by Cam Withmore called at No. 20, but who many considered to be in the top 10 and dropped when some doubts arose about his physical fitness, and Rayan Rupert at No. 43 expected instead around the middle of the first round which instead pays for not having a reliable jump shot.
Together with them we can not put Nick Smith Jr called at 27 and Gregory Jackson II at 45; both are serving bad seasons with Smith Jr who was No. 3 in the ESPN100 of the 2022 class but in Arkansas he disappointed, while Jackson made the wrong choice both to go to the NCAA a year early (it’s 2004) and to go to the weak South Carolina.
Jaime Jaquez and Brian Podziemski were also chosen in advance of forecasts by Miami and Golden State who saw in them the characteristics suitable for their game system.
Jaquez is one of the 4 Seniors called in the first round, therefore an expert player, who can immediately cover various roles under both baskets and despite not having the characteristics of a top player, on the pitch he knows how to do everything well, while Podziemski is a guard with ‘excellent 3-point shot and good game vision that allows him to be in the right place at the right time for a shot on the offload or a rebound.
The most surprising name, even more so when associated with position no. 24, is that of Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a winger who was the team’s third scorer in Marquette, shot 34% from 3pts, did not reach 5rpg and was not in any mock draft. Then when matches began he showed an excellent shot from outside and surprising athleticism that attracted the attention of scouts earning him invitations to individual sessions from different franchises.
Among the undrafted, in addition to the names of the centers mentioned, the names of Terquavion Smith and Drew Timme stand out.
Smith’s non-call is surprising because we said that 33% from 3 would have been a problem but at North Carolina State he showed excellent penetrating skills that few others had while Timme’s was foreseen as defensively he does not represent an intimidator and in attack is undersized.
2023-06-27 07:00:01
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