2025 Mock Draft - NBADraft.net

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Posted on: Mon, 07/22/2024 - 2:00am #1265004

JazzP
Participant
This upcoming year’s draft seems really exciting. I think it might be one of the best of all time, but only time will tell.
I was a bit conservative with some college freshman right now, although I think it’s likely there will be more who stand out and declare.
This is what I put together so far:
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke
2. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor
3. Bassala Bagayoko, Spain (no team yet – rumored to draw Bilbao’s interest but it seems unlikely he’ll be there right now)
4. Ace Bailey, Rutgers
5. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (unconfirmed)
6. Drake Powell, North Carolina
7. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin
8. Dylan Harper, Rutgers
9. Khaman Maluach, Duke
10. David Mirkovic, SC Derby
11. Michael Ruzic, Joventut Baladona (unconfirmed)
12. Jahlil Bethea, Miami
13. Egor Demin, BYU
14. Robbie Avila, Saint Louis
15. Tre Johnson, Texas
16. Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane
17. Bryson Tucker, Indiana
18. Jayden Nunn, Baylor
19. Aaron Bradshaw, Ohio St
20. Asa Newell, Georgia
21. KJ Evans, Oregon
22. Elhadji Dame Sarr, Barcelona (unconfirmed)
23. Tyrese Proctor, Duke
24. Alex Karaban, Connecticut
25. Johnell Davis, Arkansas
26. Joson Sanon, Arizona St.
27. Great Osobor, Washington
28. Michael Ajayi, Gonzaga
29. Roman Siulepa, Tasmania
30. Jeremy Fears, Michigan St
31. Will Riley, Illinois
32. Kanaan Carlyle, Indiana
33. Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky
34. DJ Wagner, Arkansas
35. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm
36. Dink Pate, Mexico City
37. Jarin Stevenson, Alabama
38. Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St
39. Coleman Hawkins, Kansas St
40. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech
41. Kylan Boswell, Illinois
42. Noah Penda, Le Mans
43. Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas
44. Mouhamed Faye, Reggio Emilia (unconfirmed)
45. JT Toppin, Texas Tech
46. Jamir Watkins, Florida St
47. Zacharie Perrin, Nancy
48. Otega Oweh, Kentucky
49. Kobe Johnson, UCLA
50. Malique Lewis, South East Melbourne
51. Owen Freeman, Iowa
52. Mark Sears, Alabama
53. Melih Tunca, Turk Telecom
54. Cedric Coward, Washington St
55. Maliq Brown, Duke
56. Bogoljub Markovic, Mega MIS
57. Achor Achor, Kansas St
58. Izan Almansa, Perth
59. Johni Broome, Auburn
60. Kadary Richmond, St. John’s
I do think there are plenty of other noteworthy freshman, but I feel as though many of them might be a bit roadblocked for playing time. I think I’d rather just update this list to include “breakouts” (whether or not it was much of a surprise after the fact) as the season moves along.
There are guys I’m unquestionably high on- Bagayoko and Avila, who I don’t think are in the lottery on most other mocks, if they are even included at all. Bagayoko had a career-threatening injury and I fully understand the caution to see how he returns (or who he plays for).
But if he returns to even the same impact he had as a 16 year old in the ACB before his injury, he’ll probably be a lottery pick. I’d like to fall on the side of optimism here because I think it’s more likely than not and I think his talent is substantial enough that it shouldn’t be discounted.
As for Avila, his stats and the rapid growth of his game are highly impressive to me. There are probably question marks I’m ignoring as someone who doesn’t watch much tape, but I can’t see how he isn’t a legitimate prospect to some degree. While I very well may be off the mark, I still have to guess Avila’s true NBA value lies somewhere in between myself and the consensus, and I’m sticking to my guns about how high I think his potential is, at least for now. That would also likely mean he would have to more than replicate his production from Indiana St and take over the A10 in a manner similar to DaRon Holmes with his new team.
As a sidenote, there might be too many Centers in this class for Owen Freeman to feel comfortable about declaring for 2025, I’m not sure what the likelihood of that is. But I do want to throw a hat tip to the really productive freshman season that he had last year without a ton of buzz, and to the fact that Iowa might actually be pretty decent this year- which he will likely be a big part of. I think he’s in the mix, at least.
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Posted on: Mon, 07/22/2024 - 4:24am #1265005

NorrinRadd
Participant
Looks good atm, although imo the biggest omission is Collin Murray-Boyles. I like him maybe top 20. I guess I’m still higher on HanSen Yang than some too.
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- Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:05pm #1265103
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I have to admit I’m low on Murray-Boyles as a 2025 draft prospect. I think he was amazing and his game really grew as the season went along last year–
  But I have seen the NBA often not be too pleased about the idea of a combo forward who can’t shoot well, regardless of college productivity. I can’t ever seem to guess NBA interest right, though. I was shocked that Trayce Jackson-Davis fell to the end of the draft in 2023. And yet, I liked Mogbo as a prospect but I would have never expected his stock to rise to where it did last year (though to be fair, I think he had a *bit* of a budding jumper at the JUCO level, it just doesn’t seem San Francisco was interesting in operating with him that way).
  I also don’t feel too high on South Carolina’s prospects as a team that much, I don’t think they’ll be as good as last year so I think there will just be less opportunity for Murray-Boyles’ play to shine in significant moments.
  But hey, I see that he’s been pretty consistently mocked in the mid first round and I definitely think he has the talent for it, I really don’t mean to be a hater. I do definitely think he’s a future NBA pro somehow. I’m just a bit more skeptical that it’s 2025 at this stage, but GENUINELY who knows?!? I am not gonna sit here and say that I think he’s going to individually play his way OUT of distinction as a prospect.
  I’ve very long been a fan of Hansen Yang!!! I heard there were some complications with him declaring as a prospect early and that could even be why he never declared for 2024, but I never actually heard what those complications were and I have no idea if there is any truth to that claim. But if there are, I wonder if it’s even feasible that he declares for 2025 regardless of how he is considered as a prospect. He did not look particularly good with the Chinese National Team in Summer League, but I don’t know how much that’s worth, nobody on his team really did. I certainly don’t mean to write a potential unicorn off, I hope the way I consider Robbie Avila as a prospect should highlight that, but I do personally think that Yang is still on the more unlikely side to be in the 2025 mix at this moment. But hey, we’ll see! He fell off a bit towards the end of the season but he was HIGHLY productive in the CBA in a way that I don’t think teenagers ever really are– any of the prospects that I recall from China only really broke out with productive pro seasons as the age equivalent of college seniors.
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  - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:14pm #1265105
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    I get it… to each their own, but Collin Murray-Boyles for me doesn’t have a broken shot… he doesn’t have the most range yet, but he does literally everything else. He plays good defense, bully ball and runs the offense. And if one uses FT% and form as an indicator whether a shot will come around or not (I often use that metric for prospects) we could conclude the probability of the shot coming around can come into fruition… Especially considering he showed improvement in his game throughout the year. (meaning he works hard to get better) But if you don’t buy the shot, I can see him slipping to the second. I’m buying his range (eventually), just hasn’t got there yet.
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Posted on: Tue, 07/23/2024 - 4:29am #1265006

Hitster
Participant
I had to look up who Bassala Bagayoko was, he was the guy I was thinking of. A lot would depend on how well he recovers from his injury but he was playing at a very young age prior to that. He needs minutes to showcase what he can do.
I’m not arguing who is a few places either way on the long list. But CMB was a name I was looking for on it. Yang it all depends on what the authorities will let me do so until he declares or becomes auto eligible I’ll not put him on my lists.
Talking of C’s would Moustapha Thiam be an option to declare next year if he shows some promise with UCF in Florida. He is raw but he has great size.
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- Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:13pm #1265104
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  As of like 1 day ago, it seems that Bassala Bagayoko to Surne Bilbao has become official!!!
  I am probably going to post a quick update to my mock, though I’m not sure it’s all that substantial (I don’t think I’m changing Bassala Bagayoko’s spot much).
  I certainly agree that he has a lot yet to prove, especially in recovery, but he was generally outpacing any of the actually draft eligible NBA prospects in Spain back when he was last healthy. He was more “effective” than “dominant” and his team was frankly absolute garbage, but I think it’s worth pointing out that they were 3-4 in the games he played in (though he only played 1.5 minutes in one win so idk how much that counts)– and they were 1-26 in the games he did not play.
  I’m extremely excited for the guy to return. I think Bilbao signed a few other bigs too, I haven’t really looked at their whole current roster yet so I don’t know what Bagayoko’s role would be and I would expect that they aren’t too heavily dependent on him and his recovery, but I definitely think he could be one of the biggest difference makers in even a ridiculously talented draft.
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  - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:18pm #1265106
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    Very talented class for sure, in fact there’s a possibility that 2025 and 2026 will have modern day similar impacts as the 1984 and 1985 back to back drafts… I’m posting a big board probably beginning of next month
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Posted on: Fri, 07/26/2024 - 8:23pm #1265014

NorrinRadd
Participant
I admit I haven’t seen a ton of Drake Powell, but it seems to me this guy has some serious athleticism and good quickness to go with it. I like his defensive instincts on video at least too. I’m eager to see guys in a college setting. Powell is pretty high on boards – if his shot is real he should be a high pick… Not sure I buy the shot – so not sure he’s top 5 material or not. If it is though – wow! Can’t teach his athleticism.
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Posted on: Sat, 07/27/2024 - 6:42am #1265019

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
UNC is going to be a tough rotation to crack, especially for a guard or wing. RJ Davis is a returning All-American. Elliot Cadeau is a returning All-Freshman ACC. Cade Tyson would seem to be their replacement for Cormac Ryan. Seth Trimble returns and offers experience with his elite athleticism. At the 4, they brought in Ven-Allen Lubin and return 6th year Jae’Lyn Withers. Reality says Ian Jackson and Drake Powell will not both be getting big minutes. It is rare for highly touted freshmen to displace accomplished returning players. Omaha Biliew couldn’t get into the Iowa State rotation. Tobe Awaka had a small role at Tennessee. Sean Stewart and TJ Power struggled to get on the floor in Duke’s front court with Filipowski, Mitchell, and Young. Baye Fall couldn’t get on the floor at Arkansas when they were trying out every combination possible to find something that might work. Xavier Booker was behind the vets at Michigan State. Aday Mara was behind everyone at UCLA. We had this conversation about Bronny probably not starting at USC due to Collier, Boogie Ellis, and Kobe Johnson.
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Posted on: Sat, 07/27/2024 - 7:09am #1265021

Hitster
Participant
Coaches will rarely put a junior or senior starter to the bench the next season to start a freshman and with the transfer portal now when they bring in proven college guys on Nils deals they will likely start ahead of freshmen unless they are some cannot miss prospect. But even the Kentucky guys who were top 10 picks last season didn’t start.
I can see a lot of good HS prospects waiting until the transfer window has closed then deciding where to go in the future as decommitting just wastes time and effort.
Great point Norrin – athleticism is like size you cannot teach it,.
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Posted on: Sat, 07/27/2024 - 7:34am #1265023

NorrinRadd
Participant
I guess being a top 5 pick for Powell is more of an idea still than probable… But there are some known sites that have him pretty high, including this site.
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Posted on: Sun, 07/28/2024 - 8:10am #1265032

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
It is fine to think that, but there are spots where guys have an easy chance to take on a major role and those where they will really have to impress to have a significant one. It is a lot easier for the first years at Duke, Arkansas, Illinois, Rutgers, and Baylor to come in and take charge because they are largely newly assembled teams. I have no reason to doubt Cooper Flagg, too many NBA players and coaches have too many good things to say. I do not think especially highly of the rest of the Duke roster. The opportunity afforded Maluach could be great, but also might expose him for being more raw than many acknowledge right now. I have a hard time seeing a scenario where he is not out there. Arkansas is returning Trevon Brazile. It is a new team, and not an especially deep one in my assessment. If Karter Knox, Boogie Fland, or Billy Richmond can be great right away, they have the opportunity to show it. Even if they are not great, they will likely have a lot of minutes to show that too. Illinois is returning Ty Rodgers from its rotation. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn is back as well, but was a fringe rotation guy. This does not mean Will Riley, Tomislav Ivisic, or Kasparas Jakucionis will thrive, but they can if ready. Rutgers is a similar story. They are returning Jamichael Davis and Jeremiah Williams. They have some transfers, but nobody that would seem like leading men. Tyson Acuff has gotten a lot of shots on bad Eastern Michigan teams. Jordan Derkack had a nice season at Merrimack, and parlayed it into a chance at Rutgers. Going from the NEC to the Big Ten is a considerable jump. Zach Martini and PJ Hayes were good shooters at the Ivy and WCC levels. Zach Martini Airious Bailey, Dylan Harper, Lathan Sommerville, and Dylan Grant have an opening to take major roles. Baylor lost Walter, RayJ Dennis, Jalen Bridges, and Yves Missi. VJ Edgecombe has a great chance to play a big role alongside Jeremy Roach, Norchad Omier, Jalen Celestine, Langston Love, and Jayden Nunn. Contrast that with Gonzaga where they return everyone but Anton Watson, and bring in several really good transfers. If Ismaila Diagne can shine when the deck is stacked against him having much more than a bit role, he deserves a standing ovation. Bryson Tucker probably doesn’t have the best shot at standing out from the returnees and transfers at Indiana. Flory Bidunga and Rakease Passmore have a challenge to get big minutes at Kansas. The UNC situation is not easy. It doesn’t mean those guys can’t play, but it is a tougher lift to get to a big role.
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- Posted on: Sun, 07/28/2024 - 9:17am #1265033
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I agree, that’s kind of why I think Powell’s still more of an idea for now. He’s got great tools, but not a surefire path to maximize his potential. He has to earn his playing time. Hard for freshmen to do at UNC. I think he’ll be better than Leaky Black say though… but no guaranteed minutes.
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  - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:30pm #1265107
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I’ve seen quite a lot of praise around Drake Powell since he arrived at North Carolina– as my mock reflects (and a newer update will continue to at the moment), I do think Drake Powell is more likely to break into the rotation than I think Ian Jackson is, even though Jackson is the more highly rated recruit. But of course, that’s just a guess.
    I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson were to take some playing time out of Elliot Cadeau’s hands and RJ Davis was the primary ballhandler this year, but I certainly wouldn’t expect it either.
    It will be interesting to see how these rotations actually break down.
    I recently put together a spreadsheet of how I think the depth charts will look, but it still doesn’t really mean much of anything until we see what the actual programs themselves do.
    Though I do think that Bryson Tucker still has an opportunity to separate himself at Indiana– I did actually remove him from my latest mock simply because of the competition he has, but I think there is a fair argument that even if it’s unlikely that he is clearly preferable to the likes of Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako in talent, that he is almost certainly a better fit at the 3 than either of them. I think a fair part of Mgbako’s initial struggles were that he is not as much of a combo forward as was believed and that even though he could possibly be a rather effective PF, he was almost exclusively jammed into a not-so-great fit as a 3 next to Reneau (who is, to be fair, looking pretty stellar). Even if Tucker isn’t better than Mgbako, I think there’s a possibility that he is a better WING than Mgbako. But also, maybe not.
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    - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:37pm #1265108
      
      NorrinRadd
      Participant
      Definitely going to be some very good positional battles this year… UNC has a few going on and I hope somehow Powell and Jackson can coincide together… Arkansas is going to be very interesting. They have battles going on everywhere. Johnell Davis is a great college guard with NBA aspirations and Boogie Fland is that good – at least from what I’ve seen from him. Their frontcourt is way stacked too.
      These mocks/big boards are going to look way different soon though. The season will tell the story for sure.
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Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 8:42pm #1265109

NorrinRadd
Participant
Oh yeah, forgot to mention…
Other guys to look out for:
Ben Saraf – G – Israel
Sergio de Larrea – G/SF – Spain
Savo Drezgic – G – Georgia
These prospects will be making my future board somewhere likely. Check em’ out if you haven’t…
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- Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 9:35pm #1265111
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  Oooh awesome!
  I have certainly taken notice of Ben Saraf!!!!! I definitely want to see what this coming season with Ulm holds for him!
  I hadn’t really looked into Sergio de Larrea much, I will definitely keep tabs on him. I feel like Euroleague ACB teams don’t generally like to give much opportunity to their young guys, Valencia certainly didn’t last season– but if he breaks into their rotation I bet that would be huge.
  Drezgic is interesting to me- I think he is absolutely a budding NBA talent and maybe even one of some note, but I don’t think he’s a one-and-done. I need to watch some more of the film from FIBA I think, but the box scores gave me the impression that he is a player with some high highs and low lows, though is certainly impactful and generally quite productive.
  I definitely want to see how he looks in NCAA, I feel confident that he will get some playing time and I’m quite interested in Georgia’s team as a whole this year, they seem super fun. But I had initially projected Dakota Leffew to wind up starting over Drezgic and I don’t particularly expect that to change at this time, I think NCAA will be a bit of a steep adjustment for Drezgic (though I think it’s one that he will eventually make, I can see him becoming dominant as an upperclassman or something).
  But of course as always, that’s pure opinion and I’m not pleased at my recent track record anyways, so I think that’s worth several grains of salt.
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  - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 9:57pm #1265112
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    Sergio de Larrea might not get the playing time – but he might… and he did out play Topic. I haven’t followed him a ton either though, but believe in the little I’ve seen.
    No CMB – he way out did Kwame Evans, Jr. – but hey he’s not your guy at least yet – I get it…
    Bagayoko looks good in videos, but where he is now is a hard one to judge.
    Morez Johnson is a guy you got me watching currently now. Don’t know much about him. He’s pretty high on your board, so I’m on alert!
    Overall looks good as usual
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    - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 10:41pm #1265113
      
      JazzP
      Participant
      I don’t even remotely disagree that CMB outplayed KJ Evans last year–
      I’m probably personally higher on CMB’s potential than KJ Evans. But KJ Evans has at least signs of attempting and maybe developing a 3 point shot and is on a program that I happen to think will be better than CMBs and might provide a bit more spotlight in the immediate sense for the coming year.
      Also, KJ Evans is listed 2 inches taller. I’m not sure how much that matters, I don’t think its super relevant, but I think that NBA teams feel it is. Maybe not, I will never quite understand when they apply such logic and when they don’t, I don’t think.
      To me, no matter what CMB does this year (unless he hits like 40% on 3+ 3-point attempts), his “ceiling” as a prospect will always be considered capped by the prototypical interests of teams. Especially if his team is a long shot to even make March Madness, which I consider to be pretty huge in generating prospect buzz.
      Though I won’t deny that it seems like CMB already has NBA interest, and I certainly do think it’s deserved– I just kinda feel skeptical of whether or not it’s “real” and whether he will remain on high-profile draft boards once the season actually happens. There’s only one player in the modern NBA I can think of that’s 6’7″/240 and has established themselves in the league without much of a jump shot and that’s Zion. Which isn’t so much to say I don’t think he CAN (I’ll go ahead and say I think he WILL), but I don’t know how much teams would buy into the likelihood in advance and I think he’s better served taking the time to develop new skills and/or maybe find a better team situation (or wait for this one to improve?) to try to secure the draft position he seems to be projected at right now. Kinda like DaRon Holmes did, I guess.
      But then, here I was thinking DJ Burns might warrant a draft selection in 2024, so idk, I’m not even being particularly consistent myself in that evaluation and I’ll fully admit that.
      As sort of an extension of the last thought and also as sort of a tangent: In addition to 2025 already being an absolutely ridiculous class, isn’t this the final year where college players are allowed a free 5th year of eligibility for the COVID season? I could be wrong about that, but if it is I wonder how that affects early entry decisions to essentially have two whole classes of seniors become automatically draft eligible at once.
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      - Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 11:39pm #1265114
        
        NorrinRadd
        Participant
        I look at CMB as an Anthony Mason type player. Not a crazy ceiling, but solid and starter quality. Don’t think he hits 40% this year. I’d be happy with about 30 – 35% as a ground point. His shot may take a year or two to develop, or maybe it never does… we’ll see. Another thing to consider is his usage. If he plays within a box at South Carolina his percentages probably go up. If his usage is high like the end of last year, his regular FG% at least might go down slightly. A jumper is sure a lot in the NBA these days, but not everything… look at Ryan Dunn and Stephon Castle. If somehow he is rumored to be a second round pick though and decided to stay another additional year, he’s getting serious bank from NILs.
        I’m pretty sure you’re right on the COVID year. Being how good this draft is possibly though, not sure a lot of the seniors get drafted. Then again NILs throw a monkey wrench in how things will turn out too. Hey at least the NILs help these seniors stay in school.
        Ja’Vier Francis is another guy that popped out on your mock. I think he’ll be a 2-way contract guy, but I like that you have him there. Houston players are tough to evaluate for me, speaking of usage. Houston always plays crazy defense to the point the players over compensate on the defensive end and the percentages on offense aren’t always the best. The defense though usually wins them the games, so it’s all good.
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Posted on: Wed, 08/14/2024 - 9:25pm #1265110

JazzP
Participant
There isn’t a heck of a lot of cause to update this, but it’s slow and I think I learned a little bit. I am still not SUPER familiar with the incoming freshman class, but I’ve seen a little bit more from them and have a bit more strong personal impressions, at least for some.
I also mocked out what I think the depth charts might look like for college teams this upcoming season, and it definitely changed up my expectations for this coming season a bit, although I’m not sure that’s too drastically reflected in this mock draft.
The FIBA Euros were also interesting. I don’t think there’s too much stock to put in them other than the emergence of Ben Saraf, who I have to think was rather hands down, consistently, the top performer at any of the youth competitions that happened this summer (so far?). He earned a rotation spot in the Israeli BSL last season and I think there is a fair amount to be excited about in his performance there, but he still wasn’t particularly efficient in his debut and I think he would need to show an improvement with Ulm that may be implied by this recent FIBA showing.
I will readily admit that jumping him all the way up to the late lottery is probably far too quick of a snap decision, and I’m not too tied to the idea, but I can’t help but feel that he served notice to the basketball world that it is a clear and distinct possibility. He showed a potent and versatile offense, with some *fairly* impressive guard skills for a wing, and he was also a great defender at least at the youth level.
Anyways, here’s what my mock looks like right now!! (Still, notably, missing Collin Murray-Boyles and I really don’t know what to make of him as a prospect yet, not gonna lie, other than that he is simply a GOOD basketball playing and rather promising talent)
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 2)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 4)
4. Bassala Bagayoko, Surne Bilbao (previous: 3)
5. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: unranked)
6. Drake Powell, North Carolina (previous: 6)
7. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 8)
8. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 7)
9. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid -unconfirmed- (previous: 5)
10. Morez Johnson, Illinois (previous: unranked)
11. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 9)
12. David Mirkovic, SC Derby (previous: 10)
13. Jalil Bethea, Miami (previous: 12)
14. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: unranked)
15. Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 26)
16. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 35)
17. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 15)
18. Michael Ruzic, Joventut Baladona (previous: 11)
19. Robbie Avila, Saint Louis (previous: 14)
20. Josiah Moseley, Villanova (previous: unranked)
21. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 13)
22. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: unranked)
23. Jayden Nunn, Baylor (previous: 18)
24. Jeremy Fears, Michigan St (previous: 30)
25. Tyrese Proctor, Duke (previous: 23)
26. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 20)
27. Michael Ajayi, Gonzaga (previous: 28)
28. Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane (previous: 16)
29. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 42)
30. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 24)
31. Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky (previous: 33)
32. Great Osobor, Washington (previous: 27)
33. Jamir Watkins, Florida St (previous: 46)
34. Trey Townsend, Arizona (previous: unranked)
35. DJ Wagner, Arkansas (previous: 34)
36. KJ Evans, Oregon (previous: 21)
37. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 45)
38. Kylan Boswell, Illinois (previous: 41)
39. Johnell Davis, Arkansas (previous: 25)
40. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: unranked)
41. Mark Sears, Alabama (previous: 52)
42. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 40)
43. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 36)
44. Payton Sandfort, Iowa (previous: unranked)
45. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 59)
46. Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St (previous: 38)
47. Roman Siulepa, Tasmania (previous: 29)
48. Wooga Poplar, Villanova (previous: unranked)
49. Xavier Booker, Michigan St (previous: unranked)
50. Ja’Vier Francis, Houston (previous: unranked)
51. Malique Lewis, SouthEast Melbourne (previous: 50)
52. Kobe Johnson, UCLA (previous: 49)
53. Malik Reneau, Indiana (previous: unranked)
54. Trevon Brazile, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
55. Mouhamed Faye, Reggio Emilia -unconfirmed- (previous: 44)
56. Coleman Hawkins, Kansas St (previous: 39)
57. Cedric Coward, Washington St (previous: 54)
58. Kadary Richmond, St John’s (previous: 60)
59. Melih Tunca, Turk Telecom (previous: 53)
60. Tucker DeVries, West Virginia (previous: unranked)
Dropped from last mock:
Bryson Tucker (previous: 17)
Aaron Bradshaw (previous: 19)
Elhadji Dame Sarr (previous: 22)
Will Riley (previous: 31)
Kanaan Carlyle (previous: 32)
Jarin Stevenson (previous: 37)
Zvonimir Ivisic (previous: 43)
Zacharie Perrin (previous: 57)
Otega Oweh (previous: 48)
Owen Freeman (previous: 51)
Maliq Brown (previous: 55)
Bogoljub Markovic (previous: 56)
Achor Achor (previous: 57)
Izan Almansa (previous: 58)
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Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 4:13am #1265116

Hitster
Participant
Great mock as always I’d not be bold enough to predict it this far out. I must admit I hadn’t really heard of Derik Queen and I checked a couple of mock sites I look at and he wasn’t there. But he will be a name I will have to keep an eye on. The mocks differ greatly so a lot of it is personal opinion and it’s always good to see new names thrown in there.
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- Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 4:28am #1265117
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Derik Queen was big time in HS. He’s got the size and strength for sure
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Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 5:41am #1265118

Hitster
Participant
CMB doesn’t have to declare next year, he has only just turned 19 and has up to 3 years college eligibility left. So he has time to develop his shooting range and could make a nice amount through NILS in that time.
Derik Queen hadn’t jumped out on any mocks I’d seen but he is now 51st for this site’s 2026 draft and does have a full profile on his site page. I cannot remember seeing his name on ESPN articles but I don’t read all the college stuff everyday. So he’ll certainly be one to keep an eye on.
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- Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 6:01am #1265119
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Imo Derik Queen so far has showcased bully ball at the HS level but not sure he’ll be able to get away with that in the NCAA level quite like he did. But he has skills, I’d say I’m between the 51st ranking and the 5th… probably a borderline first imo. But it’s way early, nobody’s even played a college game yet. He’s athletic and skilled. He did kill it at the McDonald’s All-American Game though too… We’ll see
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Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 7:55pm #1265120

Hitster
Participant
With the bullyball comment about Queen where he has been able to use his superior size and power in HS games now not going to be able to do it in the NCAA where he could be up against older stronger guys. It got me thinking with 3 point era led by Steph now being nearly a decade old will more and more younger prospects coming through the age ranges be better 3 point shooters. Smaller guys will be shooting from range well before they can lay up and even bigger guys like Queen will have been growing up in this new era.
They will enjoy doing the easy layups and dunks and dominating the paint but if they have a shooting range and with their superior size and reach they would have a Wemby like 3 point shooting size advantage against smaller guys in the age ranges. It is a lot less impact on knees and body shooting a 3 than banging in the paint.
Will all players know they need a shooting range to make it in the NBA and be taught it from an early stage. Hitting 3’s will be a drill like hitting free throws. THe more players across the NBA who have the shooting range the more it will influence the younger players whatever their size to develop it in their game.
There will still be post players and guys who play in the paint especially the guys who take up the game later possibly more from outside the US or come to US to develop their game.
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- Posted on: Tue, 08/20/2024 - 8:44pm #1265138
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Been watching him again more and more and the more I see, the more I believe in his shot and passing abilities. Imo Queen will probably get playing time. I think he could be a remix of Siakam with maybe less defense and more passing eventually if he’s able to showcase all his game in the NCAA and stay in basketball shape. He should get some opportunities at Maryland.
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Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 8:26pm #1265121

NorrinRadd
Participant
Oh, my bad… I wasn’t trying to suggest Queen CAN’T use his size in the NCAA, more on the lines of it won’t be as easy. He won’t get away with just bullying in the Big Ten like he did in HS. He should do fine, just don’t think that a big predicating his game on his size and strength is a shoe in for success. And even if he is successful on the college level off of his physical traits, it’s not going to necessarily indicate how he translates. Maybe he expands his game though, maybe he becomes a star – or maybe he sits right bench for Maryland… jury is still out – nobody’s even played a game yet this year… His archetype and developing skills give him a shot. Not a bad passer or defender. Very good athlete too. He could have a Dereck Lively impact on the NCAA level or something. (no not a comp in archetype here but impact). At least that’s kind of what I’m expecting. How it translates – well we’ll see. With the amount of bigs that are in the NBA though from say just last year and ones from this year’s upcoming class with aspirations, Queen’s competition for success will be tough.
I disagree with the group think sentiment that every prospect needs to shoot now… it sure is helpful and definitely the skill most scouts look at the most, but Stephon Castle for example may or may not develop better shooting range. His shot isn’t there yet. Shooting helps, but it’s not everything. That’s why I’m higher on CMB in fact. Yes, I believe he can develop shooting range still for example, but his floor is pretty high considering he does everything else well, is a Charlie hustle player and can do this on a tournament team with high usage.
Totally agree with size still being needed – absolutely and on all levels. Queen’s likely an NBA player, just not 100% he’s a one and done. Probably is, but we don’t know yet, especially with the other good big prospects in this class. He’s another guy that if he was rumored to slip to the 2nd round or something, he could do the Filipowski route but get paid big to stay in school.
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Posted on: Thu, 08/15/2024 - 9:43pm #1265122

Hitster
Participant
I had been thinking about how the game has evolved and the Steph era being a decade old almost a decade old. With the previous generations growing up on the paint dominant men and the likes of Kobe, AI etc. THe current crop of HS guys are all in the 3 point era so certainly the backcourt and swingmen would be expected to have a 3 point range.
A lot of guys from HS moving to the NCAA and playing against 22 year old more experienced stronger guys is something which gives them a good grounding for when they get to the NBA or any senior leagues. Queen might be a bit older than some freshmen but he doesn’t have to be one and done. A lot depends on what playing time he gets in his rookie year.
Castle is such a good all round player and apart from his shooting there is no weakness really in his game. He was a perfect fit for the Spurs as rhey have their focal point already in place with Wemby. I’d have been interested to see what would have happened if he had stayed in college and been UConn’s main player this season. But when you are a top 5 pick you don’t turn down the chance to be drafted especially when Pops wants to select you.
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Posted on: Thu, 08/22/2024 - 5:04am #1265149

Hitster
Participant
I’ve had a look at Derik Queen’s highlights too, I’m not bothered about dunks and put backs. But he does have some nice post moves, can put the ball on the ground and dribble it for such a big man. Has a nice hook shot, looks a pretty good passer and reader of the game too plus has hit some shots from near the 3 point line.
A few of his highlights it does look as if he is powering his way to the basket against less physically strong players a la Shaq in the NBA at his peak so I discount those. He does look strong physically so should be able to hold his own in college. But I still want to see him in a match up against an experienced returning senior to get a stronger feel about him.
If I had to do a long term 2025 mock I’d have to have him in the first round maybe about no 20 at the moment.
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Posted on: Sun, 09/15/2024 - 7:47pm #1265243

JazzP
Participant
Well, even though not a lot has happened yet a few more international rosters are formalized and some preseason games/cup games have been played. I’m sure there is still much to change about this, but I did get around to adding CMB :S.
Ah, the offseason is too long. I can’t wait to see which takes end up bad and which ones look prescient.
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 7)
3. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 2)
4. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 8)
5. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
6. Drake Powell, North Carolina (previous: 6)
7. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
8. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 26)
9. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 21)
10. Jalil Bethea, Miami (previous: 13)
11. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 11)
12. David Mirkovic, SC Derby (previous: 12)
13. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 37)
14. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 5)
15. Bassala Bagayoko, Surne Bilbao (previous: 4)
16. Morez Johnson, Illinois (previous: 10)
17. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 16)
18. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 17)
19. Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest (previous: unranked)
20. Sergio de Larrea, Valencia (previous: unranked)
21. Michael Ajayi, Gonzaga (previous: 27)
22. Jayden Nunn, Baylor (previous: 23)
23. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: 9)
24. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 42)
25. Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 15)
26. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 30)
27. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: unranked)
28. Alex Toohey, Sydney (previous: unranked)
29. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 22)
30. Brice Dessert, Strasbourg (previous: unranked)
31. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous; 43)
32. Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky (previous: 31)
33. Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane (previous: 28)
34. Johnell Davis, Arkansas (previous: 39)
35. Kylan Boswell, Illinois (previous: 38)
36. Michael Ruzic, Joventut Baladona (previous: 18)
37. Jamir Watkins, Florida St (previous: 33)
38. Josiah Moseley, Villanova (previous: 20)
39. Great Osobor, Washington (previous: 32)
40. Mark Sears, Alabama (previous: 41)
41. Sion James, Duke (previous: unranked)
42. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: unranked)
43. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 40)
44. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 29)
45. Trevon Brazile, Arkansas (previous: 54)
46. Trey Townsend, Arizona (previous: 34)
47. Lachlan Olbrich, Illawarra (previous: unranked)
48. Kobe Johnson, UCLA (previous: 52)
49. Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St (previous: 46)
50. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 45)
51. Andrej Jelavic, Mega MIS (previous: unranked)
52. Cedric Coward, Washington St (previous: 57)
53. Zacharie Perrin, Nancy (previous: unranked)
54. Kadary Richmond, St John’s (previous: 58)
55. Zeke Mayo, Kansas (previous: unranked)
56. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: unranked)
57. Norchad Omier, Baylor (previous: unranked)
58. Ja’Vier Francis, Houston (previous: 50)
59. Cliff Omoruyi, Alabama (previous: unranked)
60. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: unranked)
Dropped from last mock:
Ben Saraf (previous: 14)
Robbie Avila (previous: 19)
Jeremy Fears (previous: 24)
Tyrese Proctor (previous: 25)
DJ Wagner (previous: 35)
KJ Evans (previous: 36)
Payton Sandfort (previous: 44)
Roman Siulepa (previous: 47)
Wooga Poplar (previous: 48)
Xavier Booker (previous: 49)
Malique Lewis (previous: 51)
Malik Reneau (previous: 53)
Mouhamed Faye (previous: 55)
Coleman Hawkins (previous: 56)
Melih Tunca (previous: 59)
Tucker DeVries (previous: 60)
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- Posted on: Sun, 09/15/2024 - 8:50pm #1265244
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Good mock as always, although at this point in the not even started year it’s probably more like a big board. Only little surprises are Zikarsky is low and Saraf is out… and I see you have Avila dropped out. Maybe he stays in college another year? My biggest omission I would have done is not put in Boswell that high. Imo he’s the outer skirts of fringe.
  I like where you have Liam McNeeley and Dink Pate. You must have liked what you’ve seen on Sergio de Larrea… fun mock for a fun upcoming draft year! I’m looking forward to this draft process too… this draft downtime is taking a while isn’t it? Seems like a long time during a good year. Can’t wait for more competitive setting games.
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  - Posted on: Sun, 09/29/2024 - 12:34am #1265352
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I think a lot of the international reactions were snap decisions from preseason playing time.
    I dropped Ben Saraf because he had a slow first preseason game and sat out the second one, and I thought they might demote him to the 2nd team or something. I think given the actual start to the season, clearly that wasn’t the case. He’s the starter and perhaps most potent player on the team.
    Saraf strikes me as the top international prospect all over again, I have him back in the top 5. I think I’m still just a bit all over the place right now.
    I do like what I see from de Larrea, although part of it was the opportunity I saw him getting. He has a torn calf muscle now, so it’s hard to say what his role will actually be. I dropped him from my mock all over again, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on him.
    I don’t know what to make of Zikarsky. He still isn’t getting a ton of playing time and he doesn’t seem like he improved much over the past year, either. I kinda think his situation might be similar to where Motiejus Krivas was last year (and may still be this year too tbh). But that could just be wrong.
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Posted on: Mon, 09/16/2024 - 2:13am #1265245

Hitster
Participant
Great long range mock/big board as always. I agree with Norrin Radd that Rocco Zikarsky is a bit low. But to judge someone in the Aussie League this far out from the draft gives a pretty wide range. He could end up being a Clingan level prospect or falling to where Ulrich Chomche did this year so at the moment it is just a personal opinion.
Harper and Ace playing together is something I’m looking forward to seeing as we should get an idea who looks the better prospect. .
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Posted on: Sun, 09/29/2024 - 1:20am #1265353

JazzP
Participant
I’m not sure why I wanted to update this so soon. International leagues have finally started but I’m not sure how much to read into the first few games.
I only added/dropped a few international prospects, and didn’t try to move the NCAA players around too much since nothing has happened yet there.
I dropped some of the more noteworthy international prospects, mostly for concerns of playing time:
Hugo Gonzalez has not appeared in either of Real Madrid’s Super Cup games and hasn’t appeared yet in their ACB debut game either (still in progress in the 3rd quarter as I’m writing this). Even if he DOES get some playing time, it probably won’t be a lot and I sincerely doubt they’re going to play him in the Euroleague *more* than they play him in the ACB. He might not be a one-and-done after all.
Bassala Bagayoko is still recovering from an injury two years ago now. I haven’t seen anything about a timetable or where his progress is at. I’m as high on him as anybody, but I resign that it’s probably wise to keep him out of the conversation until he returns to the floor and then start projecting him.
Elhadji Dame Sarr isn’t even on Barcelona’s main roster. Don’t know what else to say about that.
Sergio de Larrea is out for the time being, and I think he probably has some left to prove upon his return to genuinely warrant a spot in the middle of the draft conversation, but I definitely do think that’s within the realm of reason.
Rocco Zikarsky is in Brisbane’s rotation, but barely. I think he has a few things to figure out, still. He’s still almost certainly in the conversation this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t a favorable year for him to declare and I don’t feel too ridiculous putting him on the outside looking in, though I do think he’s almost certainly one of the top 60 highest potential prospects.
Michael/Mihail Ruzic IS playing in his team’s rotation, but it seems like his role is smaller than it was last year and he’s getting off to a bit of a sluggish start. I wonder what his ceiling is, to be frank. Dropping him from this list is almost certainly an overreaction, but it’s the overreaction I’m going to make. He definitely has the opportunity and I do think he’s a capable player, but I’m not quite as sold on him being a one-and-done as I was a few weeks ago.
But anyways, here’s what I have now:
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
3. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 3)
4. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: unranked -_____-)
5. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 5)
6. Drake Powell, North Carolina (previous: 6)
7. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 7)
8. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 4)
9. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 11)
10. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 17)
11. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 9)
12. Jalil Bethea, Miami (previous: 10)
13. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 13)
14. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 8)
15. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 14)
16. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 18)
17. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 27)
18. Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 25)
19. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 24)
20. Morez Johnson, Illinois (previous: 16)
21. Jayden Nunn, Baylor (previous: 22)
22. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 29)
23. David Mirkovic, SC Derby (previous: 12)
24. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 26)
25. Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest (previous: 19)
26. Michael Ajayi, Gonzaga (previous: 21)
27. Bogoljub Markovic, Mega MIS (previous: unranked)
28. Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky (previous: 32)
29. Johnell Davis, Arkansas (previous: 34)
30. Mark Sears, Alabama (previous: 40)
31. Jamir Watkins, Florida St (previous: 37)
32. Great Osobor, Washington (previous: 39)
33. Kylan Boswell, Illinois (previous: 35)
34. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 31)
35. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 44)
36. Josiah Moseley, Villanova (previous: 38)
37. Daniil Sypalo, BC Dnipro (previous: unranked)
38. Cedric Coward, Washington St (previous: 52)
39. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 60)
40. Alex Toohey, Sydney (previous: 28)
41. Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St (previous: 49)
42. Brice Dessert, Strasbourg (previous: 30)
43. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: 42)
44. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 56)
45. Kadary Richmond, St John’s (previous: 54)
46. Trevon Brazile, Arkansas (previous: 45)
47. Johann Gruenloh, SC Rasta Vechta (previous: unranked)
48. Kobe Johnson, UCLA (previous: 48)
49. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 50)
50. Trey Townsend, Arizona (previous: 46)
51. Lachlan Olbrich, Illawarra (previous: 47)
52. Zeke Mayo, Kansas (previous: 55)
53. Zacharie Perrin, Nancy (previous: 53)
54. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 43)
55. Norchad Omier, Baylor (previous: 57)
56. Ja’Vier Francis, Houston (previous: 58)
57. Andrija Jelavic, Mega MIS (previous: 51)
58. Thijs de Ridder, Surne Bilbao (previous: unranked)
59. Cliff Omoruyi, Alabama (previous: 59)
60. Sion James, Duke (previous: 41)
Other fairly high profile international prospects worth noting: Hansen Yang, Thierry Darlan, Mouhamed Faye, Izan Almansa, Ousmane Ndiaye, Filip Jovic, Jack Kayil, Mohamed Diawara
A few first year intl prospects that might be lower profile but will/should probably enter draft conversations: Hannes Steinbach (Wuerzburg), Joan Beringer (Cedevita Olympija Ljubljana), Mario Saint-Supery (BAXI Manresa)
A few breakout older intl prospects: Mihailo Petrovic (Mega MIS), Luka Scuka (Lowen Braunschweig), Luka Bogavac (SC Derby), Musa Sagnia (BAXI Manresa), Saliou Niang (Dolomiti Energia Trento)
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Posted on: Sun, 09/29/2024 - 2:20am #1265354

Hitster
Participant
Great mock and I fully agree with your method of keeping the NCAA guys static and looking to move the International guys up and down. If Rocco Zikarsky cannot crack the rotation in the Aussie League then I fully agree he needs more time to develop before he declares unless he was stashed for a year or two and picked on upside.
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- Posted on: Sat, 11/23/2024 - 9:55pm #1265692
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I’m wondering what the updated version looks like after the college start…
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Posted on: Sun, 09/29/2024 - 11:43pm #1265361

NorrinRadd
Participant
Agree, great mock and love the method… I would say though that this early in a season it’s hard to grasp evaluating a prospect with little playing time. Zikarsky to me is playing within a box and only doing it in 6 minutes… Against his age group however he dominates, so yeah hard to properly get a good judge in prospects still yet. I’d still have him pretty high, but I get it. Same with Hugo Gonzalez as another big name not getting minutes.
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Posted on: Mon, 09/30/2024 - 6:34am #1265366

Hitster
Participant
Guys who aren’t really in rotation in a decent overseas league are hard to judge so teams take a risk on them or maybe chose a more proven guy they have far more knowledge of. A guy like Rocco will always have interest due to his size and if he is pretty mobile it only needs on GM to like him.
But I’m not really looking at players until NCAA season starts and we can see how the top prospects there are shaping up.
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- Posted on: Mon, 09/30/2024 - 6:14pm #1265371
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  For sure, it could be tricky… AJ Johnson was a first round pick last cycle and has some talent but didn’t get a ton of playing time last year. The NCAA will give us a ton more too.
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Posted on: Tue, 10/01/2024 - 12:40am #1265372

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
Different teams have different ways of applying weights to assessments of players. Milwaukee is quite extreme in its belief in developing young players with high end traits with its first rounders. They took Giannis, but also Jabari Parker (injuries had its role in that not working out), Thon Maker, Rashad Vaughn, DJ Wilson, MarJon Beauchamp, and most recently AJ Johnson. The only deviation from Giannis to now was Donte DiVincenzo who is the only recent pick they could feel they were right on even if they ultimately traded him for post-prime Ibaka.
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Posted on: Tue, 10/01/2024 - 1:00am #1265373

Hitster
Participant
The Bucks had a reputation for taking big/tall players under John Hammond and he carried this on with the Magic. Giannis was missed by Philly, OKC, Dallas and Boston possib;ly IMO. People on here were saying in his rookie year on a team that sucked Giannis was going to be a superstar. In 2014 the Bucks had a straight choice between Jabari and Embeast and in hindsight took the wrong one.
Some teams in the draft are more Euro friendly – the Spurs spring to mind. Charlotte under MJ tended to go for more proven college guys etc so I fully agree each team has their own style when it comes to drafting. Also we never know who has final say – HC, GM, Team President, CEO, Team Owner, Star Player we could make a case for them all having imput and maybe all coaching and Execs mentioned being in the Draft Room.
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Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 2:43am #1265703

JazzP
Participant
I moved things around quite a bit with the NCAA season actually underway, and I’m sure I’m making plenty of rash decisions. I did include both Hugo Gonzalez and Rocco Zikarsky, actually right next to each other- it always seems like there are guys who barely play internationally but still excite NBA teams (like Rayan Rupert or AJ Johnson), so I felt like these guys were the most likely- but I could just as easily see them wait a year or two. I feel sure I forgot a few reasonably high profile players, this feels incomplete at the moment, but I feel ok with it as a reasonable update for this moment in time.
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 5)
4. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 11)
5. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 7)
6. Will Riley, Illinois (previous: unranked)
7. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 16)
8. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 3)
9. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 9)
10. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: unranked)
11. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 13)
12. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 15)
13. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 4)
14. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 14)
15. Bogoljub Markovic, Mega MIS (previous: 27)
16. Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: unranked)
17. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 8)
18. Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana (previous: unranked)
19. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 24)
20. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: unranked)
21. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: unranked)
22. John Blackwell, Wisconsin (previous: unranked)
23. Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: unranked)
24. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 22)
25. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 34)
26. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: unranked)
27. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 10)
28. Tyrone Riley, San Francisco (previous: unranked)
29. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 17)
30. Joson Sanon, Arizona St. (previous: 18)
31. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: unranked)
32. Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane (previous: unranked)
33. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: unranked)
34. Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
35. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: unranked)
36. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 54)
37. Kobe Sanders, Nevada (previous: unranked)
38. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 44)
39. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 49)
40. Owen Freeman, Iowa (previous: unranked)
41. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 19)
42. Tyler Harris, Washington (previous: unranked)
43. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 35)
44. Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina (previous: unranked)
45. John Mobley, Ohio St (previous: unranked)
46. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: unranked)
47. Johann Grunloh, Rasta Vechta (previous: 47)
48. Jamir Watkins, Florida St (previous: 31)
49. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: 43)
50. Mohamed Diawara, Cholet (previous: unranked)
51. Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (previous: unranked)
52. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: unranked)
53. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 39)
54. Cedric Coward, Washington St (previous: 38)
55. Otega Oweh, Kentucky (previous: unranked)
56. Mouhamed Faye, Reggio Emilia (previous: unranked)
57. Filip Jovic, Mega MIS (previous: unranked)
58. Paulius Murauskas, St. Mary’s (previous: unranked)
59. Ante Brzovic, Charleston (previous: unranked)
60. Chase Hunter, Clemson (previous: unranked)
Dropped Out:
Drake Powell (6)
Jalil Bethea (12)
Morez Johnson (20)
Jayden Nunn (21)
David Mirkovic (23)
Hunter Sallis (25)
Michael Ajayi (26)
Jaxson Robinson (28)
Johnell Davis (29)
Mark Sears (30)
Great Osobor (32)
Kylan Boswell (33)
Josiah Moseley (36)
Daniil Sypalo (37)
Alex Toohey (40)
Keshon Gilbert (41)
Brice Dessert (42), he and Ryan Nembhard probably should be on here (again for Dessert) at some point though
Kadary Richmond (45)
Trevon Brazile (46)
Kobe Johnson (48)
Trey Townsend (50)
Lachlan Olbrich (51)
Zeke Mayo (52)
Zacharie Perrin (53)
Norchad Omier (55)
Ja’Vier Francis (56)
Andrija Jelavic (57)
Thijs de Ridder (58)
Cliff Omoruyi (59)
Sion James (60)
Maybe it’s too drastic to have switched out an entire half of the mock, but maybe not. That’s the fun of playing this guessing game this far out, I suppose.
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- Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 3:30am #1265704
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Awesome, thanks for sharing!!! I like roughly where your prospect are too – Demin I prefer over the Rutgers guys myself atm. This season’s been awesome prospectly…
  Btw off subject, but UConn’s on upset alert!!! Tyrese Hunter is having a game!
  1+
  - Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 3:48am #1265705
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    Wow, going to OT… UConn came back. McNeeley did about nothing – until it mattered.
    1+
    - Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 4:21am #1265706
      
      NorrinRadd
      Participant
      Crazy ending – Memphis pulled it off… Anyways, had to circle a guy on your list there JazzP… That’s Jeremiah Fears… Off of numbers alone I had to move him up drastically, as I thought he was a sophomore for some reason and had him way lower. Haven’t seen Oklahoma games yet, so I’ll look for videos for now I guess… Wondering if you got a comp for him???
      1+
      - Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 5:07am #1265707
        
        JazzP
        Participant
        I’ll fully admit I don’t know too much about Jeremiah Fears other than watching some of the box scores, so I don’t think I have any comps that would be worth any value yet. But if I remember correctly, he’s not only a freshman but he was a top-25 prospect in the high school class of 2025 who reclassified and signed onto Oklahoma pretty last-minute. I didn’t really think he’d be a factor but IMO he’s been their best player outright so far. I really don’t know what to make of him yet, it’s an utter and complete guess as to whether or not he passes the eye test as a 2025 lottery pick, but I sure think he’s playing like one to start off the season!
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        Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 5:33am #1265710
        
        NorrinRadd
        Participant
        Yeah, you’re right I just mixed him up I guess. He’s pretty athletic and quick and has that 3&D potential.
        1+
        Posted on: Fri, 11/29/2024 - 12:22pm #1265751
        
        NorrinRadd
        Participant
        I figured it out the other day… I though Jeremiah was Jeremy who’s his brother who was in college a few games last year… funny.
        Anyways, I’ll post my board within a few days here, as the next month is coming soon… Seems like I’m confident with it about everyday – until the games start then I’m rearranging again. Hahaha…
        1+
  - Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 5:19am #1265708
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    Oh, yeah! I happen to agree with you about Demin at the moment, but I know that Bailey and Harper were consistently highly rated throughout high school and the youth exhibitions and what not- Demin was outstanding for Real Madrid U18 but had a few things to work out, so I just want to see a few more games before I’m personally sold on him being #2. But I do think he was always a pretty spectacular prospect in his own right and the way he has started this season is lights out, if he keeps this up then I would most certainly agree and would argue he might contest Flagg for #1 even!!! But time will tell.
    This draft class does seem to live up to the hype, it’s really exciting!!! I want to see if Tyrone Riley IV is legit, too. I think San Francisco is *just* good enough that he can still rather convincingly sell NBA teams on his potential off of a strong freshman season if he keeps it up. I think I have some guys here who won’t end up as genuine NBA draft prospects by the end of the season and draft process, but I am starting to convince myself he’s a true sleeper candidate.
    1+
    - Posted on: Mon, 11/25/2024 - 5:30am #1265709
      
      NorrinRadd
      Participant
      Tyrone Riley IV is a good shooter, but not sure if he’s really good yet. He’s got good defense and rebounding for his position imo. His handle could improve. He’s got some upside though for sure.
      1+
Posted on: Sun, 12/15/2024 - 11:52pm #1265904

JazzP
Participant
Obviously this is still very much a work in progress, and I really should take some time to highlight other players that I think are certainly in the conversation. I think this year is one where there is heavy disincentive NOT to declare for early entry, and I will admit I think the players who I think do/should declare early are unusual. I also have some seniors from some small programs getting drafted at the end of my list, and I don’t know how likely that actually will be (depending on who actually DOES declare early). However, I think it looks like their cases to be considered at the end of the draft are pretty strong (at least at this point in the season) and so I included them.
I also do have Dylan Harper over Cooper Flagg right now. I’m not sure how realistic that is long term, I respect Cooper Flagg’s potential. But Harper is going off so far, he’s always been high profile himself, and I think it’s worth debating at the moment. It’s certainly not a direct parallel, but it feels like a question between Cade Cunningham or early career Ben Simmons.
Anyways, here’s what I have!
1. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
2. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
3. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 7)
4. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 8)
5. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 21)
6. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 5)
7. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
8. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 9)
9. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 12)
10. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 4)
11. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 26)
12. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 10)
13. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 27)
14. PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: unranked)
15. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 25)
16. Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 6)
17. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 17)
18. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 20)
19. Donnie Freeman, Syracuse (previous: unranked)
20. Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: 23)
21. Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 30)
22. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 39)
23. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 19)
24. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 13)
25. Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: unranked)
26. Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 15)
27. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 14)
28. Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: 16)
29. Rasheer Fleming, St Joseph’s (previous: 46)
30. Samet Yigitoglu, SMU (previous: unranked)
31. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 24)
32. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 29)
33. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 11)
34. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 35)
35. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 38)
36. Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas (previous: 34)
37. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 33)
38. Johann Grunloh, SC Rasta Vechta (previous: 47)
39. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: unranked)
40. Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga (previous: unranked)
41. Kobe Sanders, Nevada (previous: 37)
42. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 53)
43. Owen Freeman, Iowa (previous: 40)
44. Jahmyl Telfort, Butler (previous: unranked)
45. Cedric Coward, Washington St (previous: 54)
46. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 43)
47. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 41)
48. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: 49)
49. Enoch Cheeks, Dayton (previous: unranked)
50. Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: unranked)
51. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 36)
52. Brice Williams, Nebraska (previous: unranked)
53. Mouhamed Faye, Reggio Emilia (previous: 56)
54. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 52)
55. Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: unranked)
56. Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St (previous: unranked)
57. Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: unranked)
58. Jacari White, North Dakota St (previous: unranked)
59. Darius Hannah, Bradley (previous: unranked)
60. Oscar Cluff, South Dakota St (previous: unranked)
DROPPED OUT:
Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana (18)
John Blackwell, Wisconsin (22)
Tyrone Riley, San Francisco (28)
Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (31)
Rocco Zikarsky, Brisbane (32)
Tyler Harris, Washington (42)
Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina (44)
John Mobley, Ohio St (45)
Jamir Watkins, Florida St (48)
Mohamed Diawara, Cholet (50)
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (51)
Otega Oweh, Kentucky (55)
Filip Jovic, KK Mega Basket (57)
Paulius Murauskas, St Mary’s (58)
Ante Brzovic, Charleston (59)
Chase Hunter, Clemson (60)
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- Posted on: Mon, 12/16/2024 - 2:27am #1265905
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Great to see a mock again!!! I’ve seen Dylan at the top before now, although I’m not quite there yet at least. Imo the biggest obvious controversy is Ace falling to 7…
  1+
Posted on: Mon, 12/16/2024 - 5:05am #1265908

Hitster
Participant
Great mock, I’d still have Cooper top and maybe Ace a place or two higher but it is all personal perspective and a lot of guys could go between 3 and 10 IMO.
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Posted on: Mon, 12/16/2024 - 7:06am #1265909

OhCanada-
Participant
Great mock draft. I’d probably have Demin in the 3-7 range and drop Fland outside of the top 10.
I like Fland alot but 6’0-6’1 can get real small at the next level. Tahaad Pettiford is another smaller guard I think is a great prospect but alot of their draft stock will depend on combine measurement results.
I don’t think McNeely would enter the draft if he was projected as a late 1st early 2nd pick. He could probably get paid more staying at Uconn. What had you drop him so low he’s been playing well.
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Posted on: Mon, 12/16/2024 - 9:30pm #1265910

Hitster
Participant
Great point Oh Canada about a player like McNeely stopping and him getting as much on NILs as he might on the first year of his deal. Does NILs go towards recruiting guys from HS or is it more about those transfering or remaining in college.
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Posted on: Wed, 12/18/2024 - 1:57am #1265926

NorrinRadd
Participant
Michael Rataj is a good prospect I’d have updated on my bb, I bet he makes your next mock.
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- Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 12:01pm #1266144
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I probably should. I’m still not loving the TO rate and I still think of him as a bit streaky of a shooter, but his scoring efficiency is getting pretty dang good and his defense is fantastic.
  He still isn’t on my mock, I’m really bad at guessing who declares early and who doesn’t but I’m not sure Oregon St. is an ideal early entry environment so I don’t think he does. But I definitely think he should be in the mix, especially if he winds up entering the 2025 draft after all.
  0
Posted on: Mon, 12/23/2024 - 9:06pm #1265973

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
I tend to believe McNeeley will become more popular as a prospect closer to the draft. He fits what teams want. Dylan Harper is having a better college season than Ace Bailey, but Bailey will go off the board first. Cooper Flagg is not going to be behind Harper either. Egor Demin is going to go before Derik Queen. Small guards who aren’t out of this world athletes aren’t going to go before the 6’7″ to 6’10” guys.
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- Posted on: Tue, 12/24/2024 - 1:39am #1265975
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Glad you’re back!!!
  0
Posted on: Tue, 12/24/2024 - 5:45am #1265977

Hitster
Participant
McNeeley in the right situation could go inside the top 10 but I want to see how his defence plays out.
I did have Ace ahead of Harper but had to change my view based so far on what I’ve seen.
Demin I agree will be gone well before Queen.
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Posted on: Wed, 12/25/2024 - 1:02am #1265980

Hitster
Participant
Do you all see Alex Karaban as a first rounder or not. I have him between about the 20th and 35th spot at the moment. A lot will depend on who is picking where but contending teams looking for extra depth would be a no brainer to take an intangibles guy to give bench depth or possibly become a longer term starter and be on a rookie deal too.
We of course don’t know if Alex might return for his senior year at the Huskies as he’d make good NILs money and in the unlikely scenario he did move schools would be one of the highest if not the highest NILs earner. The Huskies already have some good recruits for next season and with some decent returners and likely transfers could put another contending team around Alex for his final year.
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- Posted on: Wed, 12/25/2024 - 5:58am #1265981
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I think it’s going to depend on who declares and who stays of course, but imo he’s a second round pick likely. Probably a fringe top 45 prospect. But then some scouts are pretty high on him, it’s not totally out of the question that he would go in the first round. Would you pick him ahead of Yaxel Lendeborg or Johni Broome or Michael Rataj? Or if you think he could get away with playing the 3 (I don’t) is he better than Malique Lewis as a prospect? Depends on the team at that point considering drafting Karaban. If I’m Karaban I’d collect the NIL money and hope to contend next year. Chances of getting drafted are likely 2nd round either in the 2025 or the 2026 drafts.
  0
Posted on: Wed, 12/25/2024 - 6:52am #1265982

Hitster
Participant
I just look at teams Memphis, Dallas, Boston with likely late first rounders and Spurs and Minny with likely early 2nd rounders who might like a guy such as Karaban who is a proven team player and could slot in and take minutes from the get go. The guys you’ve listed may well have more upside but would have a higher risk than Karaban.
I agree he could make huge NILs money if we consider Great Osobor is making something like $2 million from his NIL deal this season.
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- Posted on: Wed, 12/25/2024 - 7:20am #1265983
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Actually, I think a majority of the guys I listed are in the same boat as Karaban… Rataj is a JR, Yaxel leads his team in most statistical categories and does a bit of everything. He’s a SR. Johni Broome is probably the Wooden Award favorite atm… Karaban fits right in the battle of those other prospects’ draft range imo.
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Posted on: Wed, 12/25/2024 - 7:59am #1265984

Hitster
Participant
Some of the guys you have listed I see more as very good NCAA players like say Sanogo was at UConn. With Karaban I’m stuck between is he a legit NBA prospect or just a very good NCAA player.
Johni Broome I see as a likely 2nd rounder he is a prolific rebounder, good blocker has developed a 3 point range and is having an outstanding college season so far.
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- Posted on: Wed, 12/25/2024 - 8:12am #1265985
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  He’s a very good NCAA player, unless of course he gets a perfect fit… if he gets somehow an opportunity to play minutes as a stretch 4 for a team that desperately needs one, then yeah by all means he’s a legit guy to have for a few years. Not sure he’s any better than Rataj or Lendeborg though. Very comparable actually. Those guys have just as much chance to me… it’s all about fit once your past the top 40. But you have Karaban in your top 40… he’s just outside mine, more like a top 50 for me… and that’s projecting guys stay in school. I’ve seen him higher on big boards though, so it depends on the team really… I’d rank him for different reasons at a different position about as high as Kalkbrenner… and those other guys more his position I named as well. Karaban might be a little easier to plug and play for some teams due to his advanced shooting, but it’s all about whatever the team is looking for in the prospect. All it takes is one team to like him at 25 and he’s their guy.
  1+
- Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 11:49am #1266142
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I do tend to occasionally overrate college production, and I’ve long since been high on Broome.
  I think he’s just too good all-around, even if he’s older and sort of lower upside. He’s not a top tier scorer but he’s consistent with veteran moves and developed a 3 point shot. He’s also become more of a pivot passer.
  His defense is amazing and it always has been. I could see teams considering him more of a second round prospect, I think that’s what he’s always been. But to me, that’s what he’s ALWAYS been, and he’s really taken a step forward this year.
  He’s an absolute anchor for the 2nd best team in the nation and I think he has been the anchor for that team longer than some might care to realize or credit him for.
  Also I could just be drawing the wrong conclusion here, but I think he’s remarkably durable. The only times he’s ever been at risk of an injury were that he twice dislocated his shoulder– and promptly popped it back in. I forget if he missed any time at all the first time it happened, but when it happened this year he was back for the very next game, and was stellar. Insane.
  I’m just high on him, and I’m well aware of that. Partly, this far out, I’m not exactly projecting where I think these guys will go as much as where I think they SHOULD go right now– and my list has been pretty fluid, but I do think Broome will stick around as a mid-to-late first rounder right now for me.
  I know teams always care about potential, but if I were one of them I would not be worried about him being ~3 years older than the rest of the prospects in that draft area and I wouldn’t worry about his like 9% body fat percentage. He isn’t a balloon, if anything I think that’s almost a good thing. Centers miss like 20-30 games a season.
  But I’m not an NBA team, maybe for good reason, I sure have some hot takes sometimes. Especially with bigs.
  0
Posted on: Thu, 12/26/2024 - 12:01am #1265989

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
I would think Karaban is likely to go in the 1st. He think Tristan da Silva going 18th and holding his own bodes well for Karaban as an option is the back half of the 1st. They are similar sized, heady players. Karaban is the better shooter. He doesn’t get credit for being a decent defender, but I don’t think he is going to get played off the court.
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Posted on: Thu, 12/26/2024 - 12:38am #1265990

Hitster
Participant
I’d always thought of Tristan as more of a scorer than Karaban and this year’s draft won’t be as deep as next years. If Karaban had declared this year I think he’d have gone well inside the first round. Next year as I’ve said I’ve got him in the 20 to 35 draft range. ESPN have him at 25/26 and this site has him a second rounder and I can see some good fits for him.
As regards contenders making best use of their picks I used to be maybe they can risk taking a flyer but now I seem to have become more of they take a guy who can contribute from day one. Guys who are works in progress may not benefit from not getting a lot of minutes and they will need to go to the G League whilst say someone like Karaban is there and can play when required and will still have his skillset fairly well developed.
Also with the cap I think teams will look to fill out their rosters with NBA ready draft picks if they don’t have cap issues or have used up all their exemptions.
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Posted on: Sat, 12/28/2024 - 3:28am #1266024

OhCanada-
Participant
Another sleeper to keep an eye on is Moustapha Thiam playing for UCF. He’s starting to get minutes and be a bit more consistant. He’s a very coordinated and athletic 7’2 player with huge defensive upside.
2+
Posted on: Sat, 12/28/2024 - 7:44am #1266025

Hitster
Participant
Moustapha Thiam will certainly get interest as you cannot team size and he already has a 3 point range and looks a decent FT shooter which are often weaknesses for guys of his size.
Being from Senegal would make his NIL earning opportunities limited so he could well decide to throw his hat into the draft this year. He’d be someone to slot into the 2nd round and could be the sort of player who could be given time to develop.
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- Posted on: Sat, 12/28/2024 - 7:40pm #1266027
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I had coined Thiam as a NIL guy on my freshman watch list on the big boards thread, but now that OH CANADA has been evaluating him a little, I’m on the lookout for Thiam again… Another freshman improving his stock a little is Magoon Gwath from San Diego State. They did lose last night in a close one to Utah State, but Gwath has shown some flashes of good 3&D rim protection too. Maybe another NIL guy for now, but he’ll probably make the league someday one way or another.
  0
Posted on: Sat, 12/28/2024 - 8:39pm #1266028

Hitster
Participant
Gwath has a good 3 point shooting percentage especially for a 7ft guy. I don’t know if he is able to get off uncontested shots against smaller guys or not but another one for the notebook. He seems a prolific blocker but his rebound numbers are only 4 RPG so is he playing purely as a rim protector?
His 3 point range suggests he is comfortable on offence away from the basket so I don’t quite get his low rebound numbers for a guy his size?
Gwath being US born will give him more NILs opportunities than Thiam wouldn’t it. So he could be a guy who sees what his draft stock is like and enters pottal at same time to see what offers he might get.
3+
- Posted on: Sat, 12/28/2024 - 9:11pm #1266029
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  Yeah dont really look into the numbers much with Gwath right niow. During conference play he’s averaging 8.5 rebounds per game. SDSU has always been a rebound by commitee team as well.
  3+
Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 12:40pm #1266146

JazzP
Participant
A new mock for the new year!!!
I don’t have too much to add. I suppose a lot of people are higher on McNeeley than I am. I am worried a bit with the latest injury (although I didn’t change where I had him ranked from the last mock I posted here), but I’d like to see how he returns from it. I still think he’s a pretty surefire one-and-done, and I can definitely see an argument to have him higher. I think the talent is there, and I can buy that he’s a bit better than his (already solid) statlines. He certainly has an NBA frame.
Speaking of injuries, I don’t really know how much Cedric Coward has been on NBA radars to begin with, but his shoulder injury was pretty serious, I know he’s done for the whole rest of the season following the surgery. Betting on a prospect who hasn’t returned from a major injury yet is hard, and I wonder if he’ll be ready for the combine at all. But I think there’s reason for NBA teams to still have some interest in Coward. He still never quite had a lot of high-major opportunity, but it seemed like going from low-major competition to mid-major competition wasn’t slowing him down much in the early season. I think there’s a lot to like there, so I still have him as a late 2nd round pick. I guess we’ll see.
1. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 1)
2. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 2)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 7)
4 Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 3)
5. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 6)
6. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 8)
7. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 24)
8. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 11)
9. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 12)
10. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 27)
11. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 5)
12. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 15)
13. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 13)
14. Ian Jackson, North Carolina (previous: unranked)
15. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 4)
16. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 22)
17. Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 25)
18. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 10)
19. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 29)
20. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 9)
21. Donnie Freeman, Syracuse (previous: 19)
22. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 33)
23. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 18)
24. Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: 28)
25. Joson Sanon, Arizona St. (previous: 21)
26. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 17)
27. Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 16)
28. Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern (previous: unranked)
29. Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 26)
30. Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: 20)
31. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 31)
32. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 32)
33. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 23)
34. PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: 14)
35. Otega Oweh, Kentucky (previous: unranked)
36. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 37)
37. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: 48)
38. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 34)
39. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 46)
40. Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 55)
41. Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: unranked)
42. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 47)
43. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 42)
44. Bruce Thornton, Ohio St. (previous: unranked)
45. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 39)
46. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 35)
47. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 51)
48. Johann Grünloh, SC Rasta Vechta (previous: 38)
49. Bennett Stirtz, Drake (previous: unranked)
50. Ruben Dominguez, Bilbao Basket (previous: unranked)
51: Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: 50)
52. Cedric Coward, Washington St. (previous: 45)
53. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 54)
54. Brice Williams, Nebraska (previous: 52)
55. Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 57)
56. Reynan dos Santos, Pinheiros Sky (previous: unranked)
57. Melvin Council, St. Bonaventure (previous: unranked)
58. Thijs de Ridder, Bilbao Basket (previous: unranked)
59. Chance McMillian, Texas Tech (previous: unranked)
60. Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga (previous: 40)
DROPPED OUT:
Samet Yigitoglu, SMU (previous: 30)
Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas (previous: 36)
Kobe Sanders, Nevada (previous: 41)
Owen Freeman, Iowa (previous: 43)
Jahmyl Telfort, Butler (previous: 44)
Enoch Cheeks, Dayton (previous: 49)
Mouhamed Faye, Reggio Emilia (previous: 53)
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St. (previous: 56)
Jacari White, North Dakota St. (previous: 58)
Darius Hannah, Bradley (previous: 59)
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota St. (previous: 60)
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Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 7:00pm #1266148

NorrinRadd
Participant
Very solid mock, biggest surprise for me would be Johni Broome’s a little high, but he is a good basketball player…
I also see you’re a Dylan Harper guy!!! Wondering what the gap if any is there within your first 3 picks. I haven’t dropped Demin that much yet, but I see the trend and wouldn’t be surprised if he fell.
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- Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 8:49pm #1266152
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I am definitely high on Broome, I think that will probably drop in time. But I think of him as perhaps the highest floor player outside of the lottery, even if his ceiling probably isn’t incredible at the NBA level.
  I do think there’s a pretty decent chance he’s a first round pick, whether or not he winds up as high as 16th. I get kinda Al Horford vibes out of Broome’s game, if perhaps more akin to the 2nd half of Horford’s career.
  I think the potential Demin has might preclude him from dropping that low, and perhaps he’s just a bit slow coming back from injury. However, on the flip side, I don’t think things are going to get any EASIER for him in Big 12 conference play, so I could see him dropping a bit amidst the other crazy talented freshmen. Maybe it would be wise to flip him and Broome, they’ll probably both be adjusted a bit in the next mock I post.
  I think Dylan Harper is more likely to be the kind of ball-dominant player that a team who wins the lottery and needs a franchise superstar would be interested in, but I still think it’s essentially a coin flip between him and Flagg. I also think most are still higher on Flagg, which seems understandable to me.
  IMO the gap is the top 2. Ace Bailey does seem like a pretty clear #3 at this point after all, and I’d consider a clear gap between #3 and the rest, though I think they’re all pretty fantastic too. I think Boogie Fland is somehow underrated. I think Maluach is similar to Dereck Lively was as a prospect but with perhaps higher potential still. I think Kasparas Jakucionis has the same kind of potential Egor Demin does and has adjusted his shot selection and 3 point touch extremely well, he’s just still a bit turnover prone, but I mean he’s a teenager who’s transitioning to USA basketball from abroad. I think Thomas Sorber has been slow to gain steam because he wasn’t a top high school recruit and Georgetown has been a miserable program the past half decade or more, but he looks like the real deal to me. VJ Edgecombe has really struggled offensively but his Olympics qualifiers performance was stunning and at the very least his defense has been stellar so far this season for Baylor. I think the top NCAA-guys (Ben Saraf, Dink Pate, Noa Essengue) are as strong as any of the top foreign prospects in recent memory with the exception of Wembanyama.
  I mean I think it’s unlikely that ALL of these guys are going to pan out and fulfill their potential in the NBA, it’s an unforgiving league, but I can’t get over how extremely good this draft class looks. I really believe it will be top 3 in NBA history, and it very well not be as low as #3 on that list, but that’s something we can’t know for another decade or more.
  So for like a gap after the top 3, I do think there’s a CLEAR top 3 and I was absolutely wrong to drop Bailey to 7th in the last mock, but like… I certainly don’t think any team should feel shorted if they drop to the #4 pick or anything. They’ll have options.
  1+
Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 9:03pm #1266154

NorrinRadd
Participant
Broome has improved a lot over time since his days at Morehead State. He does have NBA defense.
1+
- Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 9:11pm #1266155
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  Heck, I think he looked good at Morehead St too, but getting familiar with high major competition was probably extremely useful, that would’ve been a pretty rough transition for him.
  I did edit my last reply to talk about Harper/Flagg and the top 3 gap too, I forgot to mention that and go on my rants the first time lol. Sorry!!!!!
  1+
  - Posted on: Sat, 01/04/2025 - 9:30pm #1266156
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    Yeah, I get what you’re saying for sure… Boogie Fland is solid, I have to admit that I have a bias towards prospects the more the prospect is shorter than 6’4″… anyone that short gets dropped down a peg, that is unless they have the athleticism of Edgecombe, the handle of Fears or something – someone like Ja Morant’s talent… I have Fland in the 20s, but from other boards/mocks I’ve seen that’s on the lower side.
    Kasparas is maybe the mirror opposite to me compared to Fland. He’s a jumbo guard so I’d bump him up. He has the numbers. (To me they’re a little inflated, but he’s still a great shooter) I’m lower on him because to me he doesn’t have elite quickness or athleticism. Most people have him in the 3-7 range. In a loaded class, I’d want more of that. I’m a big defense guy too and am not impressed with him defensively yet. It’s not terrible, but I want more. I will say though he’s around the top 10 because of his IQ and ability to read the game, play off of screens, etc.
    If Johni Broome develops a more consistent jumper, I can see him being productive. Al Horford would be a great player to somewhat replicate if that were to come to fruition.
    1+
Posted on: Sat, 01/18/2025 - 1:01am #1266364

JazzP
Participant
It’s update time! I’m back with Cooper Flagg as #1 right now.
Norrin, I finally came around to mocking Rataj, that was prescient advice. I do still feel hesitant about dropping shorter guards– I know NBA teams have always been hesitant to draft shorter guys, the taller guards certainly have more potential. However, I don’t think the results have very consistently justified how extreme that preference is, and I think there is genuine utility in having at least one or two smaller guys on a team, even if they do not carry the same versatility. Plus, if a guy can play, he can play. I have definitely always felt that way, it’s sorta different scenario because my analogy is not about a guard, but I still can’t believe Trayce Jackson-Davis dropped so far merely because he is 6’9″ without much of a jump shot. No, he probably won’t ever be able to guard Victor Wembanyama and the Warriors need to get someone who’s taller to be able to at least try to do that. But for most other scenarios, Jackson-Davis is fine. They can get a specialist for the fringe cases.
Same deal for short point guards IMO — especially if they HAVE shown to be solid defensively in their prior experience (I’m not saying that’s necessarily the case for Boogie, but for someone like Braden Smith, yeah). Or if they’re super fast and/or have crazy footwork, something that’s generally much easier for shorter guys.
I mean, imagine not drafting Jalen Brunson, Stephen Curry, or Chris Paul because they’re too short. But then, I thought Kennedy Chandler should’ve been a lottery pick at the time, and that certainly didn’t pan out, so I do understand the hesitation. There probably does have to be a bit higher of a bar for the resume of a shorter guard. In the case of Boogie, he’s been a bit more inefficient in conference play and his team certainly is struggling as a result, so I did drop him a bit, but I’m still rather impressed with what he’s shown (at least for now), so I still have him in the lottery.
Anyways, here’s what I have!!! I do only have 59 players this time, and moving forward, because the Knicks forfeited a draft pick (I had forgotten about that).
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 2)
2. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 1)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
4. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 6)
5. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 4)
6. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 11)
7. Ian Jackson, North Carolina (previous: 14)
8. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 7)
9. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 10)
10. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 15)
11. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 8)
12. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 13)
13. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 5)
14. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 19)
15. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 9)
16. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 26)
17. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 31)
18. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 18)
19. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 47)
20. Jase Richardson, Michigan St. (previous: 17)
21. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 20)
22. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 23)
23. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 36)
24. Sergio de Larrea, Valencia (previous: unranked)
25. Joson Sanon, Arizona St. (previous: 25)
26. Donnie Freeman, Syracuse (previous: 21)
27. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 12)
28. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 16)
29. PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: 34)
30. Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: 24)
31. Braden Smith, Purdue (previous: unranked)
32. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 32)
33. Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 33)
34. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 53)
35. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 22)
36. Michael Rataj, Oregon St. (previous: unranked)
37. Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 29)
38. Cedric Coward, Washington St. (previous: 52)
39. Oumar Ballo, Indiana (previous: unranked)
40. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 38)
41. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 46)
42. Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 40)
43. Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga (previous: 60)
44. Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern (previous: 28)
45. Bruce Thornton, Ohio St. (previous: 44)
46. Arthur Kaluma, Texas (previous: unranked)
47. Johann Grünloh, SC Rasta Vechta (previous: 48)
48. Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: 42)
49. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 39)
50. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 43)
51. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: 37)
52. Owen Freeman, Iowa (previous: unranked)
53. Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 55)
54. Bent Leuchten, UC Irvine (previous: unranked)
55. Brice Williams, Nebraska (previous: 54)
56. Chucky Hepburn, Louisville (previous: unranked)
57. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 45)
58. Vladislav Goldin, Michigan (previous: unranked)
59. Reynan dos Santos, Pinheiros (previous: 56)
DROPPED OUT:
Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 27)
Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: 30)
Otega Oweh, Kentucky (previous: 35)
Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: 41)
Bennett Stirtz, Drake (previous: 49)
Ruben Dominguez, Bilbao (previous: 50)
Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: 51)
Melvin Council, St. Bonaventure (previous: 57)
Thijs de Ridder, Bilbao (previous: 58)
Chance McMillian, Texas Tech (previous: 59)
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- Posted on: Sat, 01/18/2025 - 4:50am #1266369
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Looks like Florida is handling Texas atm, so I’m finally taking time to slowly read your mock more… The player you have the highest that I’m not sold on is Traore. Yaxel – that’s the highest I’ve seen him. He is a good player, though Queen I’d put higher. The biggest omission is probably Danny Wolf and actually I could even see Wolf switching in the range of Traore. He has holes in his game, but Wolf brings a lot to the table. Hansen Yang I just don’t know if he will declare or not. I really like Sergio de Larrea, glad to see him in that range. I like where you got Haggerty too. It’s great that you included Javon Small – he’s been pretty good… I seen a headline saying Michael Rataj had a game in the Gonzaga upset. Enjoyed the mock a lot, thanks!!!
  2+
  - Posted on: Sat, 02/01/2025 - 12:19am #1266642
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I’m not sold on Traore either tbh, but I do think he’s looking a bit better (and better than some of his cumulative stats would indicate so far). I know others are high on him, but I really don’t know what exactly to make of him yet. I don’t think he’s going to pan out like Killian Hayes, but I’m not sure he’s going to become the future star he looked like heading into the season either.
    I’m definitely high on Yaxel, and I think he’s going to gain steam heading into the draft. He isn’t young and he is in a mid-major conference but he’s just so good all-around and he has an NBA frame for sure. I do think he’s going to need to work on his shooting a bit, but he seems like a very prototypical modern 4 to me. I could be wrong but I do very much see a possibility where he is a first round pick, and perhaps even quite safely.
    I 100% think Danny Wolf has NBA potential but I don’t know if this is the year for him, I think he’s still a bit turnover prone at a high level and that he’s being outshone by Goldin a bit at the moment. I know he has a fair bit of NBA buzz and could certainly opt to declare this year, but I’m just kinda guessing that he doesn’t.
    Same with Hansen Yang, I think he’s profound but his season stats aren’t too much of an improvement from last year, where he did not opt to declare. Not sure if he does this year, or if he decides to be an early entrant at all. Maybe he does, and he should probably be mocked if so- but with how deep this class is, I can certainly understand a better argument for him choosing not to than even last year.
    Thanks for your commentary as always!!!!!
    1+
    - Posted on: Sat, 02/01/2025 - 12:43am #1266643
      
      NorrinRadd
      Participant
      I think with Hansen Yang it’s a geo-political thing. It’s whether the Chinese government okays Hansen Yang to declare… I think that’s the hang-up, otherwise he might have entered already.
      I’m a huge Yaxel fan too, just haven’t seen him that high. He is carrying an underrated UAB team though.
      0
Posted on: Tue, 01/21/2025 - 9:01pm #1266474

NorrinRadd
Participant
Looks like Boogie Fland is out for the season… I think he probably stay in college because of that, but not sure… if he enters, his stock is lower…
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Posted on: Tue, 01/21/2025 - 10:50pm #1266478

Hitster
Participant
Boogie;s draft status varies from No 7 on this site to barely a first rounder on ESPN’s so that impacts hugely on whether he stays. I’d have him inside my top 20 and possibly lottery but not top 10 now.
The Razorbacks have a very similar sized Darius Acuff coming in next season so could him and Boogie play as a duo? or would they hamper each other? Might Darius look to transfer his commitment if Boogie stays. Cal will have had a year with his team and a returning Boogie could make them a stronger contender next year.
Boogie is very quick and a talented scorer but is he a bit on the small size for NBA guards?
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Posted on: Wed, 01/22/2025 - 1:34am #1266483

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
I pointed out how Egor Demin has performed against major competition the other day, Boogie Fland was not much better. In 9 games against the SEC, Illinois, Michigan, Baylor, and Miami (technically major and his best game of the bunch), Fland played 34 minutes per, 14 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 3.4 RPG with shooting splits of 30.6/32.1/90. He isn’t that big or that athletic. I don’t know if he was on the path to the 1st round if he stayed healthy. Also, I am not so sure Arkansas might be better off with Nelly Davis having a bit more of the ball. He is a proven college scorer.
Everything that could have gone wrong for Arkansas has. Fland, Davis, and Wagner all need the ball and struggle off it. Ivisic and Aidoo can’t play together, and have such different ways of playing it struggles to find consistency. Thierro can’t shoot, and needs the ball to get down hill to be effective on offense. With the recruits Arkansas is bringing in, I don’t know how they can also bring back Fland and Wagner. They actually have to try to assemble a roster that makes sense.
4+
- Posted on: Wed, 01/22/2025 - 2:34am #1266486
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  That kind of brings me back to the point I was making in the other thread. With NIL deals putting more money into the top athletes getting better training supported and the amount of super seniors throughout leagues like the SEC specifically a typical Coach Cal recruited team can’t get by just off talent in todays college basketball and I love it. Not only is it better for the sport but a player like Boogie Fland is going to benefit from this longterm as he is forced to find solutions. Well I mean who knows what he’s going to do now that hes injured.
  1+
Posted on: Wed, 01/22/2025 - 3:30am #1266487

Hitster
Participant
Just as a fun scenario would Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach on the same team as Ace and Dylan with half a dozen solid college guys who are decent rotational players be good enough to win the NCAA title?
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- Posted on: Wed, 01/22/2025 - 3:52am #1266488
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  It’s very possible. Cooper Flagg has a punchers’ chance of doing it this year with Maluach and Knueppel.
  2+
- Posted on: Wed, 01/22/2025 - 5:18am #1266491
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  I think Rutgers would be worse then they are now with just a swap between those 4 players although I also think Duke would be worse but still good just not contenders. Maluach would’nt even be in the draft conversation for this year imo. Flagg would still be doing fine sort of like how he played early in the seasojn but I doubt he would have had his breakthrough. Rutgers guard play is horrendous without Harper.
  2+
Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 12:08am #1266843

JazzP
Participant
I’d been mixing it up for each of the last few mock-ups I’d made since I last posted this, so I think this latest one is bound to look pretty different. There are definitely some “hot” takes on here but I don’t think they’re all that unreasonable. I’m back on the Dylan Harper #1 train, though that might be recency bias. Rutgers really does look like a different team with him at the helm, though. Here’s what I’m thinking right now:
1. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
2. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
4. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 10)
5. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 9)
6. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 5)
7. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 11)
8. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 4)
9. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 12)
10. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: unranked)
11. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 6)
12. Will Riley, Illinois (previous: unranked)
13. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 16)
14. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 19)
15. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 23)
16. Moustapha Thiam, UCF (previous: unranked)
17. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 21)
18. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 17)
19. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 8)
20. Magoon Gwath, San Diego St (previous: unranked)
21. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 15)
22. Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: unranked)
23. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 18)
24. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 14)
25. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 32)
26. Ian Jackson, North Carolina (previous: 7)
27. Donnie Freeman, Syracuse (previous: 26)
28. Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 20)
29. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 28)
30. Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 13)
31. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 35)
32. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 34)
33. PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: 29)
34. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 22)
35. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 27)
36. Bennett Stirtz, Drake (previous: unranked)
37. Nique Clifford, Colorado St (previous: unranked)
38. Braden Smith, Purdue (previous: 31)
39. Bruce Thornton, Ohio St (previous: 45)
40. Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 25)
41. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 57)
42. Sergio de Larrea, Valencia (previous: 24)
43. Coleman Hawkins, Kansas St (previous: unranked)
44. Solo Ball, Connecticut (previous: unranked)
45. Amael L’Etang, Dayton (previous: unranked)
46. Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 53)
47. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 50)
48. Chase Hunter, Clemson (previous: unranked)
49. Michael Rataj, Oregon St (previous: 36)
50. Curtis Jones, Iowa St (previous: unranked)
51. Johann Grünloh, SC Rasta Vechta (previous: 47)
52. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 40)
53. Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 37)
54. Brice Williams, Nebraska (previous: 55)
55. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 41)
56. Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 42)
57. Reynan dos Santos, Pinheiros (previous: 59)
58. Oscar Cluff, South Dakota St (previous: unranked)
59. Kadary Richmond, St. John’s (previous: unranked)
DROPPED OUT:
Labaron Philon (previous: 30)
Alex Karaban (previous: 33)
Cedric Coward (previous: 38)
Oumar Ballo (previous: 39)
Ryan Nembhard (previous: 43)
Brooks Barnhizer (previous: 44)
Arthur Kaluma (previous: 46)
Darrion Williams (previous: 48)
Noah Penda (previous: 49)
Tomislav Ivisic (previous: 51)
Owen Freeman (previous: 52)
Bent Leuchten (previous: 54)
Chucky Hepburn (previous: 56)
Vladislav Goldin (previous: 58)
1+
- Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 12:24am #1266844
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  The hottest take was definitely Dylan Harper at 1… I’m guessing you did your mock draft by who you think will enter and who won’t. I can see some of those guys dropping out, so it makes more sense to drop out guys you don’t think will be in it… such as Philon, Karaban and Coward. Noah Penda dropping out – idk haven’t thought about that one… Overall it’s better than the ESPN one imo. Watch now – Beringer and Knueppel will finish off the season on tirades!
  1+
  - Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 1:40am #1266847
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    Certainly a bit. I think Philon is losing his role quite a bit with Alabama as of late and I don’t think he’s going to take it back from Youngblood. He had quite a start to burst onto the radar, though.
    Yeah, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before, but Coward is eligible for a medical redshirt for his senior year and I honestly don’t know why he wouldn’t take that. I bet he would have some pro interest but it would probably be an uphill battle to try to convince teams that his shoulder is a-ok in a combine when he can do so with a whole season next year. Heck, it might not even be fully healed by then.
    I could definitely see Karaban declaring but I could also see him not doing so, he didn’t last year. Kinda hard to get a read on Penda’s stock, his defense is excellent but his shot is still rough. I have no idea how much scouts would value or disregard that.
    1+
  - Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 1:41am #1266848
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    Also, thanks for the comparison to ESPN! I think they’re incredibly knowledgeable but I do think they’ve been a bit lazy with their mocks throughout the season until it gets close to draft time.
    1+
Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 2:11am #1266850

Hitster
Participant
Great mock as always JazzP, I don’t agree with your number 1 choice but the rest of it I could argue looks very valid and good picks.
2+
Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 3:03am #1266851

OhCanada-
Participant
I wanna hear the case for Asa Newell at 5th. Please someone convince me hes a top 5 pick in this draft. I just wanna know how you could possibly pick him over Queen, Sorber and Wolf.
2+
- Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 7:38am #1266855
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I think it really depends on the team and their strategy going forward. Imo Queen and Wolf are the best players of that group right now. That’s tough though, because it’s not always about the best now but Asa’s case is that of all the bigs in the draft imo he is the best long-term prospect. Also it’s hard to ignore that since the summer Asa has improved his game. That’s – yes the same summer he destroyed Maluach. Khaman Maluach has the most upside if he figures it out, and is very prototypical. With Sorber, his floor is pretty high that he’ll be as good as a rotation guy. Rasheer Fleming is a more ready category prospect than Sorber. So as for Asa Newell, he’s truly a guy I want to see how he measures. If his wingspan is something like 7’0″ I’d move him down. If it’s in the 7’3″ or above range, he probably is a top 5 pick. At times he looks like one – at times he looks like he should be a bottom feeder of the guys I mentioned. Offensively he’s figuring out how to dribble/pass/shoot better, although they’re a work in progress – it’s progressing over the long haul since summer. He did just have a rough game, which is possible he hit a freshman wall. Or maybe he’ll bounce back, we’ll see… But as for the 5th pick – I’d want a combination of a good measurement and an improvement continued trajectory from here on out. Who’s picking would be relative to the outcome as well of course.
  2+
  - Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 9:14am #1266859
    
    OhCanada-
    Participant
    Like I say before I don’t really wanna trash any of these players because they all put in so much hard work and are very talented but I’m just not using a top 10 pick on a floor spacing big with a 7’0 wingspan and a developing jumpshot. Not to say I think he is a bad player because thats not the case. I just feel a developing player thats developing his skillset should not be picked in the top 10.
    To me Newell is a mid teens kind of talent.
    2+
    - Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 11:06am #1266862
      
      NorrinRadd
      Participant
      If his wingspan measures out 7’0″ then that range is pretty good. If he measures well then, I’d move him up. He’s been listed height anywhere from 6’9″ to 6’11″… it’s all relative for sure…
      1+
- Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 8:20pm #1266885
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  It might be a bit high, I don’t think he has the same star potential that quite a few of the guys you mentioned have. I think it’s absolutely fair if he winds up being more of a late lottery pick. But here’s my take on it:
  Newell has been the main point of attack for Georgia this season and has been highly consistently good, even if he’s essentially never quite dominant.
  He also does a bit of everything, and while his jumper would certainly need to improve to fulfill this idea, I think he’s more versatile then a lot of the rest of the available bigs: I think he’s probably more naturally a PF and could even play SF. 5 might be a bit high since this is a talented enough class that a team might be looking for their franchise superstar even at that position, but I think having a guy who you know will show up, who can cover multiple positions, and give you a bit of everything is still highly valuable and he’s proven he can thrive as the main point of attack (even if that’s probably not what he’s going to be at the NBA level).
  2+
Posted on: Wed, 02/12/2025 - 8:22am #1266857

Hitster
Participant
Danny Wolf has looked good at Michigan and if he has a first round promise I could well see him declaring. His overall stats don’t jump out at you but he is playing alongside another 7ft guy in Vladislav Goldin so time in the paint and shots have to be shared.
Derik Queen was awesome vs Rutgers putting up 29pts, 15 reb and 5 assists he is on the verge of cracking my top 10. I’ve still got Maluach and Newell above him but the gap is really closing.
2+
Posted on: Thu, 02/13/2025 - 7:22am #1266886

Hitster
Participant
I’d see Newell as a PF in the NBA but able to play some C or even SF. Does a guy like Asa’s measurements really matter as the scouts will have been watching his game inside out and know his ability. Does having a couple of extra inches wingspan really matter as it is more about how a player uses his skillset on court surely?
I could understand the measurements possibly being a swinging factor if two guys were very equal skill sets and pretty much same height and weight.
1+
- Posted on: Thu, 02/13/2025 - 8:55am #1266887
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Wingspan and standing reach matter a lot
  1+
Posted on: Tue, 02/18/2025 - 8:28pm #1266962

Hitster
Participant
I’ve decided to do a quick early mock draft of the lottery based on BPA and not any landing spots or team needs.
1. Cooper Flagg –
2. Dylan Harper
3. Ace Bailey
4. VJ Edgecombe
5, Tre Johnson
6. Khaman Kaluach
7. Kasparas Jakucionis
8 Asa Newell
9 Liam McNeeley
10 Egor Denim
11 Derik Queen
12 Kon Knueppel
13 Noa Essengue
14 Nolan Traore
Guys just missing out are Boogie Fland, Jeremiah Fears, JT Toppin, Thomas Sorber, Jase Richardson, Johnni Broome.
Ace and Dylan have flip flopped in recent weeks but I’ve stuck with my earlier views. Cooper and VJ I think are pretty good locks to go where I’ve put them. 5 to 10 will move around and we might see a 5 to 8 group emerging with the next tier than being the rest of the lottery.
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- Posted on: Tue, 02/18/2025 - 9:34pm #1266963
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  That’s more of a big board to me, but I like it… I have a top 10 and then 22-33 depending on who declares atm…
  The only guy that’s not in those top tiers to me is Nolan Traore of your list… I have him a tier below. But then more people are higher on him than me, and if San Antonio falls in love with Traore, who knows? Oh, and of the guys that just missed, I still have Toppin as a likely 2nd round pick to big NIL pay day guy. His game is great on the college level, but it’s just not designed for a successful NBA career imo. I’m sticking with the Brandon Clarke comp.
  Ace and Dylan are still in the same tier, and I have Edgecombe 4th too. I’m glad Essengue is finally getting some traction. Idk, I think Broome is winning me over more… I had him lower, but he’s been playing really well and showing more stuff lately – like the ability to pass the rock. I’m probably moving him up a peg.
  I’m wondering… who do you realistically hope the Suns pick atm?
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- Posted on: Wed, 02/19/2025 - 2:52am #1266969
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  Thats pretty much how I have it too in response to Hitster. I recently have had Kasparus dropping on my list.The one player I have on my top 14 range that isn’t on yours would be Danny Wolf, He just has the skills and athletisism that NBA teams work so hard to develop into their bigs like shooting, dribbling and passing. I also feel like Rasheer Fleming is going to be picked high because of his package of rim protection, shooting and length but he’s recently dropped out of my top 14.
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Posted on: Tue, 02/18/2025 - 10:17pm #1266966

Hitster
Participant
I have talked about guys being 5 to 10 etc but decided to put some names to numbers. I cannot properly mock until we have had the draft lottery and know who picks where apart from Cooper going to go number 1 regardless.
With tiers it depends how you break them up – Cooper could be one tier, Ace/Dylan 2nd tier, VJ maybe on his own in 3rd tier and then so on. I prefer to have 1 to 4 as one tier, 5 to 10 another one and then the rest of the lottery.
Phoenix at 12 I’d love to get Queen but think he may be gone by then. If it was next big off the blocks then Sorber might be best fit but a shooter like Kon could make sense as with KD and Booker he’d get some open shots.
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- Posted on: Tue, 02/18/2025 - 10:29pm #1266967
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Phoenix would be in the 28-30 range I think… don’t they have Cleveland’s pick??? And doesn’t Houston have Phoenix’s pick??? Say your picks were #30 and #55???
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Posted on: Wed, 02/19/2025 - 2:47am #1266968

Hitster
Participant
I was going by the picks on this site’s draft but 12th pick is Houston apparently. Assuming Phoenix are 28 to 30 and 55. With the late first rounder I’d take Alex Karaban if he was available or even risk Rocco Zikarsky. With the 55th pick I’d take Mark Sears if he was still there or maybe risk Baba Miller.
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Posted on: Wed, 02/19/2025 - 3:50am #1266970

Hitster
Participant
I’d have Danny Wolf as a first rounder between 20 to 30 as he is a junior and was playing in the Ivy League for a couple of years I don’t have him as high as the freshmen. The same with Rasheer Fleming who I’d have as a late first rounder.
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Posted on: Sun, 03/02/2025 - 9:50am #1267121

JazzP
Participant
I figure it is time for an update! I added Blake Harper, I don’t know if he would consider declaring this year or how teams will feel about him. I think teams would probably want to see how he plays at a higher level first, but I have to imagine that he certainly has some interest and intrigue, and some guys have been drafted without any college experience whatsoever (like Shaedon Sharpe), albeit they were top ranked high school prospects. I think as a project who might need a year to transition but has legitimate potential, he could draw some late first round/early second round interest, but it’s really hard to tell. I chose to add him there now though, because even though it’s “just” the MEAC, he’s been pretty phenomenal all season, he did not fall off. Also, Nolan Traore is starting to *really* come online, even though it’s only just the past few games, so I have him pretty high right now in spite of his earlier struggles.
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 2)
2. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 1)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
4. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 6)
5. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 5)
6. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 13)
7. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 4)
8. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 8)
9. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 19)
10. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 7)
11. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 11)
12. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 9)
13. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 17)
14. Moustapha Thiam, UCF (previous: 16)
15. Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 28)
16. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 14)
17. Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 12)
18. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 23)
19. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 15)
20. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 21)
21. Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 25)
22. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 18)
23. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 29)
24. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: 10)
25. Bennett Stirtz, Drake (previous: 36)
26. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 24)
27. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 31)
28. Ian Jackson, North Carolina (previous: 26)
29. Blake Harper, Howard (previous: unranked)
30. Isaiah Evans, Duke (previous: unranked)
31. Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: 22)
32. Magoon Gwath, San Diego St (previous: 20)
33. PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: 33)
34. Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 53)
35. Bruce Thornton, Ohio St (previous: 39)
36. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 35)
37. Zvonimir Ivisic, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
38. Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (previous: unranked)
39. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 34)
40. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 52)
41. Joan Beringer, KK Cedevita Olimpija (previous: unranked)
42. Nique Clifford, Colorado St (previous: 37)
43. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 47)
44. Kadary Richmond, St, John’s (previous: 59)
45 .Thierry Darlan, Delaware G-League (previous: unranked)
46. Sergio de Larrea, Valencia (previous: 42)
47. Richie Saunders, BYU (previous: unranked)
48. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 32)
49. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 55)
50. Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 46)
51. Oscar Cluff, South Dakota St (previous: 58)
52. Michael Rataj, Oregon St (previous: 49)
53. Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 56)
54. Keonte Jones, Cal State Northridge (previous: unranked)
55. Hayden Gray, UC San Diego (previous: unranked)
56. Filip Jovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: unranked)
57. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 41)
58. Brice Williams, Nebraska (previous: 54)
59. John Tonje, Wisconsin (previous: unranked)
DROPPED OUT:
Donnie Freeman, Syracuse (previous: 27)
Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: 30)
Braden Smith, Purdue (previous: 38)
Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 40)
Coleman Hawkins, Kansas St (previous: 43)
Solo Ball, Connecticut (previous: 44)
Amael L’Etang, Dayton (previous: 45)
Chase Hunter, Clemson (previous: 48)
Curtis Jones, Iowa St (previous: 50)
Johann Grünloh, SC Rasta Vechta (previous: 51)
Reynan dos Santos, Pinheiros (previous: 57)
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- Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 3:19am #1267136
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  I like this mock, Saraf seems a bit high. I’ve also been moving Traore up on my mock. He’s just so quick.
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  - Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 6:41am #1267142
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I keep flip-flopping with Saraf. He’s quite a good PG, he’s got great size for the position and he’s a good defender, but his jump shot is a concern and I don’t know why he sat out in Ulm’s last game, I haven’t seen any news on it.
    I’m not quite sure he’s remarkable, but I’m not sure he isn’t either. He is certainly one of the most accomplished players his age, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a future star.
    I am still rather impressed with his FIBA U18 results though and I don’t think his season with Ulm is disproving any notions from that tournament.
    I could very easily see Saraf going like 10-15 picks later, but I could see him winding up towards the back half of the lottery too.
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Posted on: Sun, 03/02/2025 - 10:26pm #1267129

NorrinRadd
Participant
Hey, I’ve been working been in the works too with my big board… going to release it later today. Anyways, there’s some bold moves, but I like them… Moustapha Thiam seems a bit high, but I’d like it if he did declare and get that high…
Yeah, Blake Harper is solid. He’ll stay on mine, but Adrian Wooley I like a little better as a mid-major guard. Kennesaw State just upset Liberty last night as a matter of fact. That’s Conference USA’s juggernaut this year it seems… Another freshman mid major guard to look at is Martin Somerville out of UMass-Lowell. I like Richie Saunders in this mock, he’s been playing like the best player on a red-hot BYU team. With the NILs being as big as it is, it’s hard to grasp who will declare, but it’s a great list! I’m higher on Jeremiah Fears again since he’s been on a hot streak. Interesting you have Sorber still in the top 10 despite the foot injury.
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- Posted on: Sun, 03/02/2025 - 11:06pm #1267130
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  It definitely might be a bit of a reach for Thiam, but a 7’2″ guy who can block shots and may become a pretty good shooter in time seems potentially valuable. There’s still quite a bit for him to work on, but he’s still quite young too. I can see a Myles Turner-esque profile for him, though that may be optimistic, he could certainly pan out the way Mo Bamba has so far too. Still, I think the potential is there.
  Ooh, Adrian Wooley is a great shoutout. I had seen him in box scores but I did not realize he was a freshman. I probably still would tend to slightly favor Harper (6’7″ and a bit better ast/to ratio) but that’s a very interesting comparison, both seem like real hidden gems- Wooley does seem a bit more polished as a scorer.
  As far as Richie Saunders, I’m not sure he would declare but since he is certainly older for a junior (i’m guessing he took two years for missionary work or something? Idk) and he’s been on fire lately as the main engine behind BYU’s hot streak, I think this year would probably be more favorable for him to declare if he chose to and I certainly think he’s a viable draft candidate even though he’d still probably be a mid-late second round pick as far as I can tell right now.
  I should probably be higher on Fears again too. It’s such a deep class though. I want to be higher on McNeeley too.
  I knew Sorber was injured, I did not realize it was a *foot* injury that required surgery. I still think if the medicals look promising by July, his stock won’t be hit too hard. I think he’s a talented enough prospect to garner a team’s interest in thinking long term, but I know foot injuries are definitely heavy caution for bigs so I do think that in retrospect that puts his stock rather high at this stage without much information on his pending recovery.
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  - Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 12:11am #1267132
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    Wooley gets a lot of turnovers, but he often is playing the 1 while I think he’s more of a CJ McCollum type. He’s just athletic enough to be more athletic than mid majors and he has some of the best creativity in college basketball. I’d put his handles up there with Philon. He also gets to his spots whenever he wants and is an underrated defender. I’d like him to transfer next year to his hometown Tuscaloosa at Alabama and have him get at least 20 minutes a game there. He’d get noticed if that were the case, but it might take 2 years… I think he enters in 2027 or 2028. He passes the eye test to me. Blake Harper is similarly built on the offensive end and – haven’t seen a ton of him though – he seems to pass they eye test but is playing even weaker competition than Wooley imo. That’s why I have him higher, but it’s close. I haven’t seen a full Howard game, but I’ve seen limited footage of Harper. I guess that’s what makes me lean towards Wooley…
    I forgot to mention, St. Louis has been on a terror and your guy Robbie Avila has been a big reason since he returned.
    Hey Moustapha Thiam, I totally get it… I like him better than Beringer, just have them the same due to hype around Beringer for example…
    As for Richie Saunders, it’s weird but if I watch a BYU game, he’s the guy that’s the best player on the court. He’s been the reason they’re beating Kansas by 34 and eeking out a tough game at Arizona, etc. He and other high end juniors that test the waters will likely enter the draft it they’re in that top 20-30 range. I can see things like that happening with a great combine scrimmage or something.
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    - Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 3:24am #1267137
      
      OhCanada-
      Participant
      I’m very high on Thiam. He is supposed to be a highschool senior right now. He may still be growing. His last measurement was 7’2 with a 7’7 wingspan. Hes the same class as Cooper Flagg. He has no clue how dominant he can be right now. I saw a press conference with Thiam his coach and Keyshawn Hall when he got his first double double and they were saying they want him to be more dominant and he was being very modest about it and in a way shy. He didnt even speak until 4 minutes into the conference and his first thing he said was he was just trying to help his team win.
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    - Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 7:02am #1267143
      
      JazzP
      Participant
      That totally makes sense, I do often mention turnovers and I do think it makes for a tough transition to the pro level if someone is turnover prone at a semipro level but it certainly isn’t a be-all-end-all. I quite like PJ Haggerty and his ability to draw fouls and he’s very turnover prone. For a guy who’s a freshman with a lot of skills to be high on, I think it fully makes sense if there’s a thing or two he’d need to work on too.
      Chris Youngblood went from Kennesaw St to Alabama (with a stop at South Florida in between), I could definitely see Wooley making a transfer like that!
      I do think Howard is weaker than Kennesaw St too, though I do remember that Bryce Harris from Howard had a few eyes on him heading into this season. I was following Harris and this season absolutely didn’t pan out for him but I do think Harper justifiably stole what attention was already there away. I think he is in a situation like Wooley where pro orgs would probably want to see him do it at a high major, but it does seem hard to pass up if he did declare. That really is a great comparison IMO.
      Aww yeah Avila!! I don’t have the impression Avila will declare this year and I think I had him much higher to begin with than he would go if he did, but I still do feel very confident he will be a draft pick next year.
      Is there a lot of hype around Beringer other than ESPN? I think he’s way better than the surface level stats would indicate, but he still strikes me as a defensive specialist role player. I think what some of these guys (especially those in their first year of draft eligibility) have shown progress on NOW is not always a clear projection on what they can/will become, but even as works in progress I just think there is more to build from in Thiam’s game. But I could be underestimating nuances in Beringer’s game like footwork and body control at the rim that I am not trained enough to spot.
      Saunders is already the same age as most 5th year seniors. He still has another year of eligibility, I suppose that certainly doesn’t force him out of the door and he still does only have 3 years of college experience, in which he’s been growing rather rapidly. But all the same I feel like his junior status is a bit different from like Rasheer Fleming’s junior status, who is about 3 years younger than him lol.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 12:56am #1267134

Hitster
Participant
Moustapha Thiam could be a wildcard type guy. He’s bigger than Queen, Sorber, Fleming etc and has had a decent freshman year. He’s 7ft 2ins, is a shot blocking machine and can hit 3 pointers so if he measures out well he could literally go anywhere from later lottery downwards.
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- Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 3:33am #1267138
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  Right so Fleming is someone I’m very high on as a unique/high level role player. Alot of people want Fleming to be a small ball Center although he says he wants to develop into a forward and compares his game now to Jaden Mcdaniels. Fleming is 21 playing in the A10. Thiam is 19 playing in the Big 12 and he does everything you ‘want’ Fleming to be able to do. Obviously he has not got the experience of Fleming and lacks the polish but I always hate to compare age although I gotta ask if Thiam played 2 more years and then transfered to the A10 what would that player look like? I’d imagine he would be unstoppable. I think Thiam is gonna rocket up the draft boards.
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  - Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 7:06am #1267144
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I do think Rasheer Fleming is a much better shooter and a better man-to-man defender at this stage of their development, although of course Fleming has the benefit of a few extra years to figure out the college game.
    But also I think Thiam’s shot is a bit better than the season % shows right now too, and the rim protection is still a premier defensive skill all the same. And he still has a lot of years to improve further, he would be 19 for the majority of his rookie NBA season if he winds up being a one-and-done.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/03/2025 - 3:47am #1267139

Hitster
Participant
Thiam has a very good coach in Johnny Dawkins who as well as having been a college HC for over 15 years was Mike K’s deputy at Duke for nearly a decade so Thiam has an excellent guy to guide him. If Thiam is quiet and modest I’d guess he’d be very coachable and this would aid his NBA prospects.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 12:56am #1267260

JazzP
Participant
It’s only been like 2 weeks, but I’ve changed some things around. With the tournament field set, it felt like it was time to post another update.
I added Hansen Yang back onto my mock- I’m not sure how long this has been the case to be honest, it might have been true all year, but I noticed that he has signed with Rich Paul as his agent. Just from my meager understanding of how Rich Paul operates, I do not think this is going to be a slow play, I think that makes it far more likely that Yang will declare this year, although I suppose that’s still a hefty assumption.
Here’s what I have:
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
3. Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
4. Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 4)
5. Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 12)
6. VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 7)
7. Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 6)
8. Moustapha Thiam, UCF (previous: 14)
9. Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 20)
10. Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 5)
11. Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 19)
12. Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 8)
13. Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 13)
14. Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 15)
15. Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 17)
16. Carter Bryant, Arizona (previous: unranked)
17. Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 11)
18. Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 10)
19. JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 27)
20. Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 22)
21. Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 18)
22. Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 9)
23. Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: 24)
24. Collin Murray-Boyles (previous: 21)
25. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 26)
26. Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: 31)
27. Bennett Stirtz, Drake (previous: 25)
28. Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (previous: 38)
29. Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 23)
30. Nique Clifford, Colorado St (previous: 42)
31. Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 36)
32. Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 16)
33. Ian Jackson, North Carolina (previous: 28)
34. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 48)
35. PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: 33)
36. Isaiah Evans, Duke (previous: 30)
37. Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 49)
38. Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 34)
39. Alex Condon, Florida (previous: unranked)
40. Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: unranked)
41. Joan Beringer, KK Cedevita Olimpija (previous: 41)
42. Milos Uzan, Houston (previous: unranked)
43. Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 39)
44. Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 43)
45. Braden Smith, Purdue (previous: unranked)
46. Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: unranked)
47. Richie Saunders, BYU (previous: 47)
48. Thierry Darlan, Delaware G-League (previous: 45)
49. Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 40)
50. Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: unranked)
51. John Tonje, Wisconsin (previous: 59)
52. Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: unranked)
53. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 57)
54. Kadary Richmond, St. John’s (previous: 44)
55. Vladislav Goldin, Michigan (previous: unranked)
56. Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 53)
57. Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 50)
58. Norchad Omier, Baylor (previous: unranked)
59. Chucky Hepburn, Louisville (previous: unranked)
DROPPED OUT:
Blake Harper (29)
Magoon Gwath (32)
Bruce Thornton (35)
Zvonimir Ivisic (37)
Sergio de Larrea (46)
Oscar Cluff (51)
Michael Rataj (52)
Keonte Jones (54)
Hayden Gray (55)
Filip Jovic (56)
Brice Williams (58)
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- Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 1:33am #1267261
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Wow! Great to see a mock again! Got to admit Moustapha Thiam at 8 made my head turn a little, but I can really see it too. He does check a lot of boxes for his position and has a great combination of size and skill.
  1+
Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 3:02am #1267262

OhCanada-
Participant
I’ve watched plenty of UCF games this year and watched Thiam very closely this year and I’m also very high on him and veiw him as a top 20 prospect maybe even lottery. Problem with Mo Thiam and the reason I have him lower than Khaman Maluach is his mobility. If you look at his highlights you wont catch it but I would encourage you to watch some of UCF’s full game highlights, especially the games they lost.
He has alot of really bad moments guarding in space. Sometimes hes just watching. This is not anything surprising for a player his size though and he is actually exceptional compared to other players his size but its still a liability at this stage of his development. So take this with a grain of salt because he may measure out to be as tall and long as Zach Edey. He was last measured at 7’2 with a 7’7 wingapan and if I’m not mistaken just a year earlier he measured at 7’0 with a 7’5 wingspan so now that hes just turned 19 theres a good chance hes grown even more. If we use Zach Edey as a comparison he measured at 7’4 with a 7’10 wingspan and Thiam is arguably a bit more mobile than him at a much younger age,.
It should be interesting to watch his stock during the predraft process. I’d love to see Maluach and Thiam go head to head in workouts but I highly doubt that happens unfortunately.
Although Maluach is an absolute monster switching onto guards. Not only is he not a liability but its probably his greatest skill. He’s a legit weapon switching onto guards and he can rotate from guarding the ball handler into a help defender position and box out multiple times a game.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 3:12am #1267263

OhCanada-
Participant
I also have Demin outside of the lottery and probably outside of the top 20. I dont think he enters the draft though I agree someone probably gambles on him around 20-30 if he does, probably Utah.
If you take out those first 7 games he played against weak non conference teams for the most part, he averaged 9 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds but on 3 turnovers, 36% FG, 21% 3PT and 70% FT. At this point it would just be dumb for him to leave BYU and jump into the pro game he clearly is not ready for. And if I’m an NBA team I would not touch him, literally in the top 40 theres tons of talent even if I want a project theres plenty of players I’d rather gamble on.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 6:35am #1267271

Hitster
Participant
I’d have Maluach ahead of Thiam but teams are going to work them both out if they are looking for that sort of player. If one goes high the other could go soon after.
I think Maluach edges it on defence and all round game but Thiam is the better 3 point shooter.
Denim I really want to return to BYU and play with AJ next season. They have an excellent coach in Kevin Young and a fair few of the team should return. With AJ there it will be an appealing place for guys to transfer too. But I don’t know what their NILs offers would be like given they are a religious university. But I’d figure they would have some rich benefactors.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 8:19am #1267275

Hitster
Participant
With a guy like Hansen Yang if he declares how high could he go if someone decides to take a punt and stash him away for a few years. Utah and Brooklyn have the 29th and 30th picks currently and 7 first rounders between them before we factor in all the future picks they own. So could one of them roll the dice on him.
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- Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 8:44am #1267276
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I think he could sneak into the first round, he’s very big and skilled.
  2+
Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 9:44am #1267277

Hitster
Participant
Yep, with him only turning 20 around the time of the draft and him being a bit of an unknown quantity its not like a guy who has used up his college eligibility. Teams might think they can snap them up undrafted or via Summer League/Training Camp etc.
Plus as Yang has signed with Rich Paul I’d assume the “powers that be” in China are happy for him to come to the NBA. It has been a while since Yao and co were household names and reigniting the NBA in a country the size of China must be something the League would love to do.
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Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 9:10pm #1267282

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
If a team wanted to stash Yang off the roster, I would think they take him in the 2nd round. The question then is “where to develop him?” He looked really slow in the summer league last year. He won’t be able to adapt to the pace of the NBA game by continuing his career in China with where that league is at the moment. Could a team set him up in Australia for a year or two? Would he play in the G-League without a two-way deal?
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Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 9:12pm #1267283

NorrinRadd
Participant
Ben Saraf had a great summer and beginning of fall. He hasn’t been the same player since according to the statistics. He doesn’t exactly wow me if I watch videos of him… Could someone sell me Ben Saraf if I’m a GM? I’m not liking his draft range right now – the consensus has him at 18. Jazz P has him at 22. That’s a little better, but imo he’s more of a top 45 guy than a top 25 guy… don’t know if he should even declare if it weren’t for hype… anyways, does anyone have any appeal for Saraf being drafted high still? Sell me the idea of his draft range!!!
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- Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 9:51pm #1267284
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I don’t think his stats are all that bad, especially for a 18 year old playing in a pro league and Eurocup- I think his stats generally compare favorably to any of the other international prospects in their first year of draft eligibility (like Traore, Essengue, Gonzalez, Ruzic, Beringer, etc), though I do think videos might tell a different story.
  I think he also looked pretty solid playing for the senior national team in the Eurobasket Qualifiers.
  I don’t really know what to make of his future prospects or development trajectory, but I do think he’s currently ahead of his class and he did sure show it when he was playing in the youth tournaments last year.
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  - Posted on: Mon, 03/17/2025 - 10:48pm #1267285
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    Honestly, I get what you are saying but I’m not high on any of those guys other than Essengue. I get the intrigue of Traore – and he scored 45 points in a game during the summer… he’s draftable but he’s too high for me. Hugo I liked as much as most of the prospects mentioned before really early in the beginning of this draft cycle, but he’s been pigeonholed into this small role. Not sure how I feel about him atm. Ruzic and Beringer I like the ideas of, but more just ideas at this point. Beringer is way too high for me to draft likely as he’s considered pretty high by guys like Givony. I could see him getting picked higher than I like. Egor Demin is a guy I’m lower on than some. I was about as high on him as Hugo in the beginning of this draft cycle, but I’ve cooled off since months ago once Big12 Conference play was in fruition. I like all of these guys, but don’t love any for where they are projected. With NILs, I feel like most the top prospects in the draft are actually playing college. No Ignite team, and there’s just a big stage on the college level that’s right here in front of us. It would be interesting to see how these prospects would have done in college… I bet Beringer would be similar to Bidunga. The international class overall to me that’s outside the NCAA isn’t as strong as I thought it was in the beginning. In contrast, I’d take Jeremiah Fears over Nolan Traore and I’m not sure it’s close. I go back to say Wooley who we talked about earlier… Why is Ben Saraf better than say Adrian Wooley – a kid with now very little traction as opposed to none like before… Ben Saraf seems like he’s hyped up enough for a first-round pick… yet Wooley (to me is the better player) has little traction… or Hugo Gonzalez better than Blake Harper… or is Beringer any better than Bidunga? Either one of those guys gets a jumper there a monster but can also be lost in the shuffle if they don’t. Like I said, I get the Essengue appeal of a long guy that’s already productive with the potential to guard 5 positions… But the guys mentioned mostly aren’t there yet – or ahead of guys that have been able to showcase more of their skills against I’ll say this year slightly lighter competition. Only slightly better as some of these college guys are 25 years old. I think I’m punting on Saraf as a guy I would take in the first. He might be picked there though. It would probably be better if all the guys mentioned but Essengue maybe test the waters and return… Oh yeah and on a side note, one of the better international prospects this year is Avdalas, but I think he’s going for next year…
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Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 3:12am #1267290

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
The good and bad of Joan Beringer is that he started playing basketball in 2021. The good is that he has the physical makeup and athleticism to play basketball at a pro level less than four years after starting to play. The bad is that he is expectedly raw, and getting him to operate at a NBA level given where he is at and how little he has played is a huge haul. Bruno Caboclo will always be famous for being “two years away from being two years away.” A decade or so later, he became a decent player at the Olympics and FIBA World Cup. The NBA gave up on him by the time he might be good enough to hang. Real Madrid is littered with guys who probably went to the NBA too young to succeed, but might be able to now: Mario Hezonja, Edy Tavares, and Dzanan Musa. Taking someone who is 18 but so inexperienced that he has no chance to succeed for a half decade is a waste of a pick. He won’t be on your team by the time he is good, and if you are taking that guy in the lottery then the guy who took him will likely be out of a job.
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- Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 3:47am #1267291
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I can see him being that, but don’t think he’ll be a homerun swing. I don’t think he’s a lottery guy but fringe first – eh maybe if you want to swing and have the right coaching staff I suppose.
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- Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 5:01am #1267294
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  Bruno’s problem was more or less being a professional consistently. His day to day routine and habits. He always had the skill and athletisism to play at the NBA level but he didnt put enough into being a pro off the court. Took him forever to learn english, he was always downtown Toronto partying, wasnt coachable, stuff like that. I’m guessing he eventually ran out of money and was forced to take it seriously.
  He’s a perfect example of why its so risky to draft a Bruno Caboclo in the first round. You give a kid like that guaranteed money without having any background check on his porfessionalism or habits theres no telling how it will turn out. But on the other hand it worked out well wih Giannis.
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- Posted on: Wed, 03/19/2025 - 6:55am #1267308
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I don’t think Beringer is lost out there, he genuinely warrants minutes in a high level league and I do think it seems like he’s getting a bit better across the course of the season (although he isn’t improving by leaps and bounds or anything, and improvement is something I tend to personally value very highly- both within a season and over the span of seasons where applicable).
  I’m kinda shocked he started playing so recently, because I do think he’s reasonably close to being an NBA contributor.
  I just don’t think his skill set at the moment projects as a high impact contributor. He really isn’t much offensively as of yet. I think he’s been pretty good at finishing plays when his card IS pulled in the ABA, but I don’t think he can create his own offense very much and I don’t think he’s particularly great at even getting open or drawing looks for lobs or anything.
  But as far as I can tell, his defensive awareness seems like the real deal, which is pretty remarkable against seasoned, skilled, and adult-sized pros in his league and in Eurocup. Even if he is a *bit* of a project, I think he’s a pretty safe bet. I’m sure there’s a higher ceiling with some dedicated development, but it’s the ceiling that I have trouble getting behind.
  Even some of the guys with shakier efficiency are pushing the needle and learning what works/what doesn’t (and ideally why it doesn’t and what it takes to correct it) at higher levels, and it seems like Beringer is kinda staying within a smaller box of what works (although it IS working, and I do think that’s still impressive at this level with his experience)
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Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 4:02am #1267292

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
If he goes in the first round, it typically means he is coming over. He is not ready to come over, but the clock starts. That is a recipe for failure. The idea of Pacome Dadiet is great. He is young, tall, and athletic. He gets to NY, and is at best mediocre in Westchester. He screams of a guy who is going to be an add-on in a deal a year from now to some rebuilding team spinning it as “another young guy they can develop.” Beringer would be better off in the long term by going to UCLA, Illinois, or whatever other college that figured out how to get NIL to international players before they arrive on student visas. He might not even be good if he goes to college right away, but would still be a 19 year old freshman with plenty of time. I get that there are only so many athletic people his size, but it is silly to think of him as a draft prospect who can be on an NBA roster next year.
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- Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 4:59am #1267293
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I agree.
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Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 6:06am #1267295

BothTeamsPlayedHard-
Participant
My point on Bruno is that just because a team is aware of the gap between where he is and where he can get, it doesn’t mean there is a plan to get him from where he is at to where he can go. The ABA youtube page posts full games. Beringer is not without promise. He is big and coordinated, and doesn’t embarrass himself out there. That said, if you offered me one guess as to which of those guys on the court started playing in 2021, he wouldn’t be hard to pick out.
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Posted on: Tue, 03/18/2025 - 7:05am #1267296

Hitster
Participant
Some on US guys drafted late first round don’t come over straight away. It all Didn’t Jonas Valanciunas wait a year and he was drafted 5th. It all depends what sort of level they can play at if they don’t come to the NBA and how they can develop. A team with several draft picks could take a swing on a long term big with a late first rounder and factor in they won’t play much the first year. The teams have huge coaching staffs and can almost devote a guy to work one on one with the prospect as well as having him around the team.
I’d hope teams would do background checks on all players especially if there is less known about them. Someone in a new country with more money than he dreamed of, becomes a celebrity and can easily start living the high life. But like any other sports teams the players would likely be on curfews on days before games. What a player does off season is another matter of course and no doubt guys have turned up for pre season out of shape.
A non US guy getting a college NILs deal would need the same discipline of course as would any player. Luckily I’ve not heard too much of guys trying to emulate the amount of women that Wilt was reputed to have had.
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Posted on: Wed, 03/26/2025 - 11:55am #1267408

JazzP
Participant
I made an update for this!! I decided to start accounting for teams. I don’t think the draft rights that NBADraft has are entirely accurate as of yet, but it doesn’t really matter yet. The standings aren’t finalized anyway. But thinking about what teams might want or how they generally draft definitely mixed things up for me a bit. But the transfer portal finally opened up and so has early entry, so we’re starting to get some news!!!! Bennett Stirtz said he’s going to Iowa, Joson Sanon said he’s going to St. John’s, and Alex Toohey declared for the draft. I wanted to adjust accordingly.
Also, there are some guys in the transfer portal that are seniors?? Quimari Peterson and Oscar Cluff jumped out to me, I’m excited to see where they transfer to and what they do. But what happened to the COVID year policy??? I thought that the option for a 5th year was only extended to players who played during the 2020-2021 season, which *no 4th year senior who didn’t redshirt has*. I guess that’s out the window, huh? Whatever.
Also, I wanted to include Elhadji Dame Sarr in my mock. He basically had no playing time for Barcelona other than a few spare minutes every now and again until the beginning of March. But they’re finally gave him some playing time this month and he is reliably KILLING IT in the games he gets extended minutes. He was a top prospect heading into the season.
As usual I might be making too much of a snap decision on a small sample size, but I mean, it’s exciting and I’ve seen NBA teams go crazy over the way international prospects finish the season strong (see: Tidjane Salaun, Bilal Coulibaly). I think Dame Sarr will qualify for such distinction.
1. Utah Jazz- Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Washington Wizards- Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
3. Charlotte Hornets- VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 6)
4. New Orleans Pelicans- Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 3)
5. Philadelphia 76ers- Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 4)
6. Brooklyn Nets- Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 7)
7. Toronto Raptors- Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 9)
8. Miami Heat- Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 17)
9. San Antonio Spurs- Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 12)
10. Portland Trailblazers- Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 13)
11. San Antonio Spurs (from Chicago)- Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 11)
12. Dallas Mavericks- Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 14)
13. Orlando Magic- Moustapha Thiam, UCF (previous: 8)
14. Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento)- Carter Bryant, Arizona (previous: 16)
15. Houston Rockets (from Phoenix)- Elhadji Dame Sarr, Barcelona (previous: unranked)
16. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta)- Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 15)
17. Los Angeles Clippers- Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 10)
18. New York Knicks (from Milwaukee)- Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 24)
19. Utah Jazz (from Minnesota)- Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: unranked)
20. Detroit Pistons- Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 31)
21. Golden State Warriors- Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 18)
22. Indiana Pacers- Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: 26)
23. New Orleans Pelicans (from LAL)- JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 19)
24. Memphis Grizzlies- Nique Clifford, Colorado St (previous: 30)
25. Orlando Magic (from Denver)- Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 22)
26. New York Knicks- Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 44)
27. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Houston)- Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 5)
28. Boston Celtics- Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 20)
29. Utah Jazz (from Cleveland)- Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 21)
30. Brooklyn Nets (from OKC)- Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: 32)
31. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Utah)- Thierry Darlan, Delaware Blue Coats (previous: 48)
32. Washington Wizards- Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 25)
33. Charlotte Hornets- Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (previous: unranked)
34. San Antonio Spurs (from NOP)- John Tonje, Wisconsin (previous: 51)
35. Charlotte Hornets (from Philadelphia)- Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (previous: 28)
36. New York Knicks (from Brooklyn)- Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 46)
37. Dallas Mavericks (from Toronto)- Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 38)
38. Brooklyn Nets (from Miami)- Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: unranked)
39. San Antonio Spurs- Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 37)
40. Sacramento Kings (from Portland)- Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 29)
41. San Antonio Spurs (from Chicago)- Joan Beringer, KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (previous: 41)
42. Dallas Mavericks- Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 43)
43. Orlando Magic- Richie Saunders, BYU (previous: 47)
44. Sacramento Kings- Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 56)
45. Washington Wizards (from Phoenix)- Alex Condon, Florida (previous: 39)
46. Portland Trailblazers (from Atlanta)- Alex Toohey, Sydney (previous: unranked)
47. Los Angeles Lakers (from LAC)- Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 34)
48. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Milwaukee)- Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 53)
49. Atlanta Hawks (from Minnesota)- Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 49)
50. Detroit Pistons- Otega Oweh, Kentucky (previous: unranked)
51. Golden State Warriors- Jacksen Moni, North Dakota St (previous: unranked)
52. Indiana Pacers- Kadary Richmond, St. John’s (previous: 54)
53. Los Angeles Lakers- Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: 40)
54. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Memphis)- Jonas Aidoo, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
55. Denver Nuggets- Milos Uzan, Houston (previous: 42)
56. Memphis Grizzlies (from Houston)- Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 57)
57. Orlando Magic (from Boston)- Norchad Omier, Baylor (previous: 58)
58. Cleveland Cavaliers- Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: 52)
59. Oklahoma City Thunder- Vladislav Goldin, Michigan (previous: 55)
DROPPED OUT:
Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: 23)
Bennett Stirtz, Drake (previous: 27)
Ian Jackson, North Carolina (previous: 33)
PJ Haggerty, Memphis (previous: 35)
Isaiah Evans, Duke (previous: 36)
Braden Smith, Purdue (previous: 45)
Joson Sanon, Arizona St (previous: 50)
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville (previous: 59)
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- Posted on: Wed, 03/26/2025 - 6:44pm #1267410
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Now I gotta revisit Dame Sarr…
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- Posted on: Wed, 03/26/2025 - 10:09pm #1267411
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Ok… got to admit… don’t see it with Sarr… what do you see in him that warrants a first round pick? To me he looks like a young draft and stash guy basically for a team with too many picks at this point. He doesn’t play much, I can’t tell what he is as a shooter but his FT% hasn’t been great. He’s athletic enough but doesn’t wow me there exactly the way say a Thompson twin or even Castle from last year. If you’re not an elite athlete and you don’t shoot the ball and you’re not a huge guy that runs the floor, etc. it’s going to be hard to find a role. I think he’d get lost in the shuffle if he tried to go to the league this year… but maybe you know something I don’t? Seems like his videos from a year ago are more flashy than his ones today… but he’s in a box while at Barcelona for sure.
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  - Posted on: Thu, 03/27/2025 - 11:41am #1267426
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I could be making something out of nothing, and it seems like Barcelona is giving him a *bit* more time in Euroleague but not really anywhere close to enough–
    But these are the games he’s played in the Spanish ACB (which in my opinion is the best national league, in international play) since the beginning of March:
    3/2 vs Rio Breogan– 23.5 minutes, 21 points: 8/10 FG, 3/5 3PT, 2/4 FT, 1 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO
    3/9 vs Lenovo Tenerife– 17 minutes, 10 points: 4/6 FG, 2/4 3PT, 0/0 FT, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO
    3/16 vs Andorra– 22 minutes, 14 point: 5/9 FG, 1/2 3PT, 3/5 FT, 3 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO
    3/23 vs Zaragoza– 16.5 minutes, 10 points, 4/6 FG, 2/3 3PT, 0/0 FT, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 2 BLK, 3 TO
    Average: 19.7 minutes, 13.8 PPG (67.7 FG%, 57.1 3PT%, 55.6 FT%), 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG, .5 SPG, .8 BPG, 1.5 TOPG
    It’s a super small sample but he really hasn’t had any opportunity to do anything else all year to either further prove, nor disprove, this sample. The ONLY thing he’s done is come in lately and be a *super* efficient scorer at a reasonable volume every single game he’s had substantial playing time in a top level league, with some interesting defensive potential as a wing IMO.
    I don’t think he’s been quite dominant, he isn’t winning like a League MVP like Luka did or anything…. but he’s starting to make a significant impact consistently in a league with a reasonably high ceiling and extremely high floor. There are a few college players who are simply higher skill, but there is a WAY lower floor in college (and less experience) and I think it is a fair bit harder to put up those kinds of numbers in the ACB than it would be in the NCAA, though perhaps that is a bit context dependent too.
    It’s also just 4 games, Egor Demin looked like an entirely different player in his first 4 games at BYU.
    But I think it is signs of a breakthrough in adjusting his skills to the overseas pro level. He very well may be a stash pick but I think he could be rather valuable as such. The FT% is definitely concerning but I do see some parallels to Tre Johnson and I think his defensive potential may be better, though Tre Johnson is of course far more proven as an absolutely standout shooter and scorer.
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Posted on: Thu, 03/27/2025 - 3:10am #1267415

Hitster
Participant
Great mock as always Norrin. Can I just query Maluach to the Spurs is this as a safety net in case Wemby takes longer to recover. I was looking at them going twin towers last year with either Clingan or Edey with the then traded 8th pick but people thought Wemby played far better as a C than a PF. Would we not be in this situation again.
Thiam to the Magic I love, he just jumps out as their type of supersized guy, Wolf to the Pacers looks a perfect fit too.
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- Posted on: Thu, 03/27/2025 - 5:16am #1267416
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  This is Jazz P’s mock, but yeah it is a nice one… Just not sure about Sarr…
  2+
- Posted on: Thu, 03/27/2025 - 11:23am #1267425
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  I’ll fully admit it doesn’t really make much sense to me even though I’m the guy who made the mock but if the Bulls fall out of the top 10, the Spurs have like 6 or 7 picks in this draft. To a certain extent I feel like they’re gonna trade some or at least just take the best player available a lot of the time (I think their team is pretty surprisingly well-rounded too even if there’s room for improvement).
  I’m taking heed of people saying that Maluach is an extremely skilled perimeter defender for his size and since Wemby is too, I feel like they could theoretically share the floor. I don’t think it’s necessarily ideal, but it feels like the pick that would garner the most trade value or would otherwise be the player most likely to be picked by another team here. Nobody else really jumped out at me, I don’t really love it but it’s too early still for me to spend too much time worrying about it, I already do enough of that lol.
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  - Posted on: Thu, 03/27/2025 - 11:50am #1267427
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    There’s definitely going to be some trades… and I think there’s a chance the Nets even trade back despite having a lot of picks… Orlando I expect to trade up…
    1+
Posted on: Fri, 03/28/2025 - 1:49am #1267429

Hitster
Participant
There will be teams looking to get into the draft and those with multiple first rounders looking long term to spread their picks and cap liabilities out. I still think Danny Ainge, Sean Marks and Pops are the key guys in this year’s draft as they control a lot of the picks, cap space or tend to be the 3rd team in any deal.
Brooklyn I could see looking to move up they have future assets and cap space and whilst no team will pass on Cooper there are teams with guys in situ who could be picking at 3 or 4 and for the right deal might move down a spot or two. Is there a top player the Nets could trade for with their cap space as the FA market doesn’t look great this summer.
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- Posted on: Fri, 03/28/2025 - 2:41am #1267430
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Brooklyn can go in so many directions… the way their roster is constructed for the next 2 seasons will be mostly new faces on the team. They could move up, back or hang tight where they’re at… they have options. You are right though about who has the keys to the draft.
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Posted on: Fri, 03/28/2025 - 5:04am #1267431

Hitster
Participant
Brooklyn could sign short term guys to keep cap space for when a top FA becomes available. Also next year’s draft looks very good too so another lottery visit would do no harm. and landing an AJ or a Cooper would attract FAs too.
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Posted on: Fri, 03/28/2025 - 6:46am #1267434

JazzP
Participant
I wonder if Hannes Steinbach declares this year, I think he could be another reasonably strong draft candidate. I don’t think he has the prototypical NBA skillset but he’s a very good player who’s pretty far ahead of the curve for his age group nonetheless.
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Posted on: Fri, 03/28/2025 - 7:46am #1267435

Hitster
Participant
I’d figure Hannes’ draft stock would rise over the next year or so as he’d likely be a 2nd round stasher at the moment. He’s not even 19 yet and is getting decent playing time in Europe already. He could throw his hat into the ring and wait a few years so he can then come over on a better contract.
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Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 1:11am #1267570

JazzP
Participant
I made an update to my mock yesterday- I did adjust a bit for Dame Sarr, and I did include Steinbach because he’s been solid all season but he’s been stepping up a bit more lately. I remember that Johann Grunloh was playing decently in the German BBL and lighting it up in the Pro B league last season (his first draft eligible season), but I think what Steinbach is doing is on another level still. He is absolutely DOMINATING the Pro B league (for whatever that’s worth, but his numbers are still absolutely crazy- 25.1 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 2.5 bpg on 56/32/71% efficiency) and he is starting to look pretty core for Wuerzburg in the BBL too – he did just give them 17 points in his latest game. Not sure Steinbach will actually declare, but I think he probably should attract attention if he does.
I also have Chaz Lanier at 17, and I think that’s really more of a note of draft philosophy- I do not think Chaz Lanier is the 17th best player in this draft, I think he’s really more of a early-to-mid 2nd rounder that *might* draw some first round attention.
But I also think he fits what the Timberwolves need and might be looking for like an absolute glove. He is rather one dimensional but he does look like the best 3 point shooting specialist in this draft, and he has some experience- he isn’t a development project. I think the Timberwolves need a shooter and while they’ve had success in developing players in recent years, I think they’ve had a disappointing season on the heels of their conference finals last year and they want to win NOW. It might be a bit too much of a reach, the team might still prefer to draft the best player available and just explore the trade market for someone like Malik Beasley or something, but if the missing puzzle piece falls into your lap, would you grab it? This draft class is extraordinarily talented but how LIKELY is any one prospect available by then to become a star (even if it is a distinct possibility for some)? Would that even work for a Timberwolves team that already has an established pecking order if they found one? The draft is still months away but that particular pick in my mock gave me some food for thought. It does seem odd to me if Lanier were to be drafted in a similar spot to where Knecht was drafted last year, since I do think Knecht was the far more credentialed college player, but hey- sometimes having a niche isn’t a bad thing. We’ll certainly see what actually winds up happening, anyways.
I got the draft order from Tankathon yesterday, I’m not sure if they have all the draft rights in order either but it looks on the surface like their draft rights make a bit more sense.
1. Utah Jazz – Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Washington Wizards – Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
3. Charlotte Hornets – VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 3)
4. New Orleans Pelicans – Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 4)
5. Philadelphia 76ers – Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 27)
6. Brooklyn Nets – Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 5)
7. Toronto Raptors – Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 10)
8. San Antonio Spurs – Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 6)
9. Portland Trailblazers – Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 7)
10. Houston Rockets (from Phoenix) – Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 11)
11. Miami Heat – Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 25)
12. Chicago Bulls – Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 9)
13. Dallas Mavericks – Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 8)
14. Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento) – Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 12)
15. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta) – Thierry Darlan, Delaware Blue Coats (previous: 31)
16. Orlando Magic – Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 21)
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit) – Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 26)
18. Brooklyn Nets (from Milwaukee) – Moustapha Thiam, UCF (previous: 13)
19. Miami Heat (from Golden St) – Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 18)
20. Washington Wizards (from Memphis) – JT Toppin, Texas Tech (previous: 23)
21. Oklahoma City Thunder (from LAC) – Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 17)
22. Utah Jazz (from Minnesota) – Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: 19)
23. Orlando Magic (from Denver) – Carter Bryant, Arizona (previous: 14)
24. Indiana Pacers – Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 16)
25. Atlanta Hawks (from LAL) – Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 40)
26. Brooklyn Nets (from New York) – Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 39)
27. Brooklyn Nets (from Houston) – Dink Pate, Mexico City (previous: 20)
28. Boston Celtics – Nique Clifford, Colorado St (previous: 24)
29. Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland) – Hannes Steinbach, Wuerzburg (previous: unranked)
30. Los Angeles Clippers (from OKC) – Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: 22)
31. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Utah) – Jacksen Moni, North Dakota St (previous: 51)
32. Boston Celtics (from Washington) – Richie Saunders, BYU (previous: 43)
33. Charlotte Hornets – Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 29)
34. Charlotte Hornets (from New Orleans) – Joan Beringer, KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (previous: 41)
35. Philadelphia 76ers – Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 28)
36. Brooklyn Nets – Boogie Fland, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
37. Detroit Pistons (from Toronto) – Joseph Tugler, Houston (previous: unranked)
38. San Antonio Spurs – Alex Karaban, Connecticut (previous: 38)
39. Toronto Raptors (from Portland) – Elhadji Dame Sarr, Barcelona (previous: 15)
40. Golden St Warriors (from Miami) – Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 32)
41. Washington Wizards (from Phoenix) – Alex Toohey, Sydney (previous: 46)
42. Sacramento Kings (from Chicago) – Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 42)
43. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Atlanta) – John Tonje, Wisconsin (previous: 34)
44. Utah Jazz (from Dallas) – Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 36)
45. Orlando Magic – Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn (previous: unranked)
46. Chicago Bulls (from Sacramento) – Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 44)
47. Washington Wizards (from Detroit) – Bogoljub Markovic, KK Mega Basket (previous: 37)
48. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Milwaukee) – Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 48)
49. Los Angeles Clippers (from Minnesota) – Sean Pedulla, Mississippi (previous: unranked)
50. Utah Jazz (from LAC) – Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: 53)
51. New York Knicks (from Memphis) – Norchad Omier, Baylor (previous: 57)
52. Washington Wizards (from Golden St) – Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: 58)
53. Phoenix Suns (from Denver) – Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 47)
54. Indiana Pacers – Kadary Richmond, St. John’s (previous: 52)
55. Los Angeles Lakers – Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn St (previous: unranked)
56. Memphis Grizzlies (from Houston) – RJ Luis, St. John’s (previous: unranked)
57. Orlando Magic (from Boston) – Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 49)
58. Cleveland Cavaliers – Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 56)
59. Houston Rockets (from OKC) – Vladislav Goldin, Michigan (previous: 59)
DROPPED OUT:
-Yaxel Lendeborg (previous: 30) Supposedly transferring to Michigan
-Tomislav Ivisic (previous: 33)
-Christian Anderson (previous: 35)
-Alex Condon (previous: 45)
-Otega Oweh (previous: 50)
-Jonas Aidoo (previous: 54)
-Milos Uzan (previous: 55)
1+
- Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 1:34am #1267571
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  Ah, shoot. Literally right after posting this I looked more into it and it seems as though Steinbach committed to playing for University of Washington next season. Back to the drawing board, will update in my next mock.
  1+
- Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 1:38am #1267572
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I like how you have Essengue at 5! I think that’s the highest I’ve seen him – I’m high on him too… You got me intrigued with Seinbach, I’ll check him out… I’ve been way too distracted with the college end… The numbers look solid though – Rasheer Fleming is a guy I’d take higher. Solid mock…
  1+
  - Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 3:41am #1267574
    
    JazzP
    Participant
    I keep ping ponging with Essengue. He’s been pretty up-and-down this season, but it is a season of high highs and low lows. He was doing great at Eurocup but really struggling with the BBL so far this season, but the last few weeks he’s been doing some pretty impressive stuff in the BBL too. I think he’s also the youngest guy in the draft? I don’t really know how much it matters when we’re talking about like a matter of months, I do not think age is a clear indicator of growth especially since he has a fair amount of experience for his age, but he also meets the minimum age requirement by like… 2 weeks.
    Perhaps far more importantly, I think he does have a really high ceiling and while he’s still probably a bit more of a project than some of the other guys in that draft range, I do not think he’s behind enough that he can’t reasonably get NBA minutes from the jump. I do think there’s a lot to like all across his skill set, I think he has shown flashes of prodigious offensive capabilities (if only flashes) but he has been reliably shutting down any and everybody and generating turnovers the past month or so and I happen to think he’s been pretty good defensively the whole season. I have no idea exactly how valuable he winds up being, it will probably be somewhere in the middle of where I’ve had him the past 2 mocks but I don’t think being as high as 5 is beyond his range or anything either. I guess we’ll see, though!
    1+
Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 4:10am #1267576

Hitster
Participant
Essengue could literally have a draft range from as high as 5th to late first round. The top 4 look pretty set with Flagg first and then Harper, Ace and VJ in various orders but who goes 5th is probably the most interesting call for me at the moment.
With Essengue I’d certainly have an eye on him with regards to where the Spurs get their highest first rounder given their history and success with French players.
2+
- Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 5:50am #1267577
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Imo Tre Johnson is right there with VJ, could debate him being ahead of VJ…
  1+
Posted on: Tue, 04/08/2025 - 10:21pm #1267583

Hitster
Participant
I’ve decided to do a quick first round draft. Thanks to JazzP as I’ve used his template.:-
1. Utah Jazz – Cooper Flagg, – Logical top pick
2. Washington Wizards – Dylan Harper – runs the offence and better fit with Sarr than Ace.
3. Charlotte Hornets – Ace Bailey – BPA
4. New Orleans Pelicans – VJ Edgecombe, _BPA
5. Philadelphia 76ers – Tre Johnson – BPA
6. Brooklyn Nets – , Derik Queen, – Gives them post scoring
7. Toronto Raptors – Khaman Maluach, – Perfect fit and can be developed at his own pace
8. San Antonio Spurs – Noa Essengue, – Nice size and strong French contingent already there
9. Portland Trailblazers – Jeremiah Fears, – BPA
10. Houston Rockets (from Phoenix) – Kon Knueppel – Gives shooting option from bench
11. Miami Heat – Asa Newell – Longer term guy but goes into excellent developmental situation
12. Chicago Bulls – Kasparas Jakucionis – BPA
13. Dallas Mavericks – Liam McNeeley – Gives them shooting options
14. Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento) – Jase Richardson, – Good attitude should be a good fit
15. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta) – Egor Denim – Long term pick they will figure him out
16. Orlando Magic – Moustapha Thiam – Team likes size so natural choice
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit) – Johni Broome – Win now team so take a proven guy
18. Brooklyn Nets (from Milwaukee) – Nolan Traore – Gives them a nice backcourt option
19. Miami Heat (from Golden St) – Solo Ball – If he declares he gives Miami nice extra depth
20. Washington Wizards (from Memphis) – JT Toppin – Hada great tournament so gets top 20 birth
21. Oklahoma City Thunder (from LAC) – Thomas Sorber – Gives them inside size if Hartenstein ever moves on
22. Utah Jazz (from Minnesota) – Hansen Yang – Ainge takes a guy to annoy the Lakers
23. Orlando Magic (from Denver) – Labaron Philon – gives them a backcourt guy to compliment taking a big at 16
24. Indiana Pacers – Walter Clayton – Proven winner a typical Pacers pick
25. Atlanta Hawks (from LAL) – Carter Bryant – Hawks take a gamble on an upside guy
26. Brooklyn Nets (from New York) – Boogie Fland – If Traore is a stasher then he gives immediate NBA option
27. Brooklyn Nets (from Houston) – Joan Beringer – Nets take another possible stasher
28. Boston Celtics – Danny Wolf – Boston take a guy who gives them size and passing options
29. Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland) – Collin Murray-Boyles – CMB gives Phoenix high energy frontcourt option
30. Los Angeles Clippers (from OKC) – Alex Karaban – If he declares he is a good fit as an intangibles guy
3+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 2:52am #1267586

OhCanada-
Participant
Did you miss Radheer Fleming or is he just a 2nd rounder to you? Other than that theres not much I would change there pick for pick. I’d probably have CMB and Wolf higher but cant think of much else.
2+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 3:22am #1267588

Hitster
Participant
Rasher would be very early second round. I wanted to fit Yang in so Rasher was a guy just to miss out. CMB, Wolf and Broome are guys who could go from late lottery to into the 2nd round. It is just a personal choice. Yaxel and Kalkbrenner were also near misses as I like to have upside guys in it.
I might update it when we get the final end of regular season positions and more idea on who is declaring then next update would be after the draft lottery.
2+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 4:10am #1267589

NorrinRadd
Participant
Can you imagine Bam, Kel’el and Asa rotating in the frontcourt? Nasty!
Nice mock btw, I too have Fleming higher though.
1+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 4:59am #1267597

Hitster
Participant
I did consider Kasparas, McNeeley and Thiam for Miami. But with their coaching plus throw in Lonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem in the front office then I felt it was the perfect setting for Newell. The Heat moulded Bam into an All Star, Kel’el is developing and they would then have Newell to bring along too.
The Heat with Butler now gone may go longer term with their outlook too.
2+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 7:01am #1267599

NorrinRadd
Participant
back to the drawing board, JT Toppin’s returning to Texas Tech on a 4 million dollar NIL deal.
1+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 8:46am #1267600

Hitster
Participant
JT is getting what Jared McCain the 16th pick last year has made this season. So I can see why JT decided to stay. He only turns 20 in June so would have only just turned 22 if he used up his full 4 college years. He could potentially make even more in his Senior year and stay out of two deep drafts.
I’d likely just drop Rasher into my mock to replace JT.
2+
Posted on: Wed, 04/09/2025 - 9:44pm #1267604

NorrinRadd
Participant
You know… I got to say… you know one thing I love about all our mocks/boards is that Moustapha Thiam is in them. This guy checks some boxes in what you need in a big. He’s also young, productive… and somehow left off of every mainstream publicized big board… I honestly don’t get why he’s been omitted from these boards; I think his value should be in that back of the lottery to first round range – that is if he had traction like he should have been this whole time… I’m guessing he transfers and gets a good paycheck that way, but I hope he’s a this year guy. I just don’t get how Givony says ‘ooooh Beringer…. candy!!!” and lots of people follow suit and not do the same for a guy like Thiam on their own eyes. Weird. To me Thiam > Beringer and not just now, but probably long term too. Just using Beringer as an example, but the point is Thiam should be given his due diligence this cycle.
1+
Posted on: Thu, 04/10/2025 - 2:12am #1267606

Hitster
Participant
Thiam is bigger and has proven himself in the NCAA so that is two big selling points over Beringer.
2+
Posted on: Thu, 04/10/2025 - 11:16am #1267616

OhCanada-
Participant
I like them both. Beringer has excellent footspeed. His build and quickness is similar to Anthomy Davis. He’s got huge potential defensively. Thiam is a project. His highlights look phenomenal but he had many “deer in headlights” moments where he was a pylon on the court. It remains to be seen whether the NBA game will be too fast for him. But he’s 7’2 with a 7’6+ wingspan, moves well for his size and can shoot so he could defenitely impress in workouts and go in the lottery imo.
1+
- Posted on: Thu, 04/10/2025 - 8:13pm #1267620
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Beringer is quick footed, but not the most basketball coordinated at least yet to me. Looks a little goofy footed tbh and he also has his deer in the headlights moments. Both are pretty raw still and I think can learn the game more, however Beringer to me is 3 years away from being a decent player. There’s just more substance to work with in Thiam. He has an easy road to be a true anchor and a definitive role that checks boxes in a big that can already keep him on the floor. Solid shot blocker who can shoot. Beringer has good vertical pop, he runs the floor well and sets good screens. Then I struggle finding his fit. That’s why I believe he’s 3 years away. He might become a great player after that… if he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. I like the wingspan of both players, not sure but just for the record I think Beringer is 6’11” in shoes and 6’9″ without. At least that’s what the measurements are… Anyways, the point is that Thiam is in your mock, my board, JazzP’s mock, and now Hitster’s mock. He’s pretty high on all of them, while all the mainstreams haven’t given Thiam love all year. None have put him in a big board yet this year. As a result he’s not even in the top 60 in the consensus while Beringer who’s at a similar learning curve I feel is only as high as he is on boards because Givony said so. He has generated some buzz but is 39th. Big difference. In a perfect world, I can see Beringer being Jarrett Allen 2.0, but that could take him 4 years to get there. Thiam I think has a better path if they’re both given a fair shake.
  2+
Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 2:05am #1267623

NorrinRadd
Participant
You know… the guy who just declared that we’ve also been mentioning is Rasheer Fleming. Imo he can crack the back end of the lottery at best, but likely a first-round pick.
2+
Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 2:39am #1267624

OhCanada-
Participant
Yeah its pretty odd Thiam doesn’t get more love. He was the top ranked Center in the 2025 class before reclassifying and has played in all the top circuits so he shouldn’t be some secret. Hes played all the top teams in the Big 12 and had good performances against Houston, Kansas, BYU.. He kind of isn’t an active rebounder he’s got a bit of Roy Hibbert or Brook Lopez to him in those regards where you just wish he was more dominant there. I’m not sure why, its a real headscratcher.
My opinion on this is that his stock is very high and he will stay in the draft or he would have transfered or at least tested the portal. Mock drafts these days dont seem to be reflecting GM/executive opinions until the college season is over and the predraft combine/workouts begin. Nowadays it seems these sites use their mocks to create a narrative until we get closer to draft day and then they have to start being accurate or they lose credibility. So since Thiam played at UCF instead of Duke/Kansas and he doesnt really fit anyones narrative they will wait until reports are actually leaked to place him in their mock.
1+
- Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 7:58am #1267627
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  one of my sources says he entered the portal, haven’t officially seen him there yet… Love the Roy Hibbert comp.
  0
Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 6:53am #1267626

Hitster
Participant
UCF are a slightly under the radar college but Johnny Dawkins is a pretty good coach. He was Coach K’s associate HC for a decade before he struck out on his own. A decade of working under Mike K is a pretty good grounding for anyone and the fact Duke appointed vhim shows he must have a good feel for the game.
If teams are looking for a real defensive anchor and don’t get Maluach then Thiam would be the next logical guy for them to look at.
I’m going to throw it out there the Spurs have the pick via Atlanta at 15 or 16 at the moment just before where Orlando will pick. If Thiam does measure out well I could see Pops and co having a good look at him if they don’t take a front courter with their higher first rounder. Wemby will need to be managed and having a guy of similar size to play around him would make sense. Thiam would have Wemby to learn from and the Spurs coaching expertise. They would develop his defensive game and could keep him ticking over scoring with a few lobs.
The Spurs
1+
Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 8:37am #1267628

Hitster
Participant
Thiam is a similar height to Roy Hibbert but is about 35 lbs lighter. Big Roy had a more natural feel for the game but I think Thiam is quicker than Roy was in his NCAA games and has a legit 3 point range. Big Roy did make some NBA 3 pointers but that facet of the game wasn’t in fashion for guys of his size when he played.
1+
Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 11:15am #1267631

OhCanada-
Participant
Im not really even comparing him to Hibbert. Just saying Hibberts another guy who for stretches didnt give you the rebounding you would want. Also Thiam is 19 years old. Roy played his first NBA game at 22 so who knows how much Thioam would weight in three years and what happens to his mobility.
2+
Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 6:37pm #1267632

Hitster
Participant
Yep I can remember reading Roy Hibbert’s profile when he was a prospect and it said for a guy his size he wasn’t a prolific rebounder. But often in that era you had big men who were elite blockers but they weren’t prolific rebounders. Roy was in the running for DPoY on occasion so was a very effective defender.
His issue was a bit he needed to play half court set up and could be found out by small ball run and gun sides. Thiam is much more a work in progress.
2+
- Posted on: Fri, 04/11/2025 - 8:17pm #1267633
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  Hibbert was really solid… but for only a couple of years – then he disappeared… One of those weird cases.
  1+
Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 5:34am #1267720

Hitster
Participant
Decided to update my mock slightly :-
1. Utah Jazz – Cooper Flagg, – Logical top pick
2. Washington Wizards – Dylan Harper – runs the offence and better fit with Sarr than Ace.
3. Charlotte Hornets – VJ Edgecombe, – I just think VJ is a better fit than Ace for the Hornets
4. New Orleans Pelicans – Ace Bailey Delighted to land Ace
5. Philadelphia 76ers – Tre Johnson – BPA
6. Brooklyn Nets – , Derik Queen, – Gives them post scoring
7. Toronto Raptors – Khaman Maluach, – Perfect fit and can be developed at his own pace
8. San Antonio Spurs – Jeremiah Fears – Too good a player for Spurs to pass on
9. Houston Rockets (from Phoenix) – Kon Knueppel – Gives shooting option from bench
10 Portland Trailblazers –, Kasparas Jakucionis – BPA
11. Miami Heat – Asa Newell – Longer term guy but goes into excellent developmental situation
12. Dallas Mavericks – Liam McNeeley – Gives them shooting options
13. Chicago Bulls – Noa Essengue, – Nice size and gives them PF options
14. Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento) – Jase Richardson, – Good attitude should be a good fit
15. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta) – Moustapha Thiam – Can play around Wemby
16. Orlando Magic – Nique Clifford – Nice size and NBA ready
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit) – Thomas Sorber – Gives them frontcourt depth
18. Miami Heat (from Golden St) – Solo Ball – If he declares he gives Miami nice extra depth
19. Washington Wizards (from Memphis) – Yaxel Lendeborg – Yaxel gives them options in the frontcourt
20. Brooklyn Nets (from Milwaukee) – Nolan Traore – Gives them a nice backcourt option
21. Utah Jazz (from Minnesota) – Rasher Fleming – Ainge takes a big post guy to add muscle around Cooper
22. Atlanta (from Lakers) – Will Riley – Hawks take an upside guy
23. Indiana Pacers – Walter Clayton – Proven winner a typical Pacers pick
24. Orlando Magic (from Denver) – Joan Beringer – Just looks the sort of guy the Magic would draft
25. Oklahoma City Thunder (from LAC) – Johni Broome – A contending team takes a high intensity player
26. Brooklyn Nets (from New York) – Boogie Fland– If Traore is a stasher then he gives immediate NBA option
27. Brooklyn Nets (from Houston) – Carter Bryant – The Nets take an upside guy
28. Boston Celtics – Danny Wolf – Boston take a guy who gives them size and passing options
29. Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland) – Collin Murray-Boyles – CMB gives Phoenix high energy frontcourt option
30. Los Angeles Clippers (from OKC) – Alex Karaban – If he declares he is a good fit as an intangibles guy
1+
- Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 8:35am #1267723
  
  OhCanada-
  Participant
  Great mock draft as usual. Probably the only mock I like more than my own.
  If Ortlando stays at 16 and 24 I think Orlando will go big before they go guard so they can target Clayton at 24. This season it was very clear they lacked depth at the PG and C positions but especially the team needs to invest in a bigman. I actually think they are going to trade for Vucevic or Sabonis but thats a whole other conversation. I also bet Clayton gets a promise and gets told to shut down workouts, imagine how marketable he wopuld be for that Florioda based team.
  Sergio De Larrea is a 1st round pick. Theres reports that he’s grown to 6’7/6’8. He could go in the lottery. Right now I have him going 20th to the Nets ahead of Traore and Saraf.
  1+
  - Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 8:37am #1267724
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    I like Sergio in the first too… and yeah awesome mock there Hitster!!!
    0
Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 6:18pm #1267726

OhCanada-
Participant
Heres my full mock. No Yaxel and no Carter Bryant for now. I saw another report saying Yaxel intends to play nat Michigan so I’ll just wait and see how it plays out. Carter Bryant has a bit of buzz but I find it hard to pick him top 25 so I have him returning as well.
01. UTA Cooper Flagg
02. WAS Dylan Harper
03. CHA VJ Edgecombe
04. NOP Ace Bailey
05. PHI Tre Johnson
06. BKN Derik Queen
07. TOR Khaman Maluach
08. SAS Kon Knueppel
09. HOU Asa Newell
10. POR Dame Sarr
11. MIA Jeremiah Fears
12. DAL Kasparus Jakucionis
13. CHI Noa Essengue
14. ATL Rasheer Fleming
15. SAS Egor Demin
16. ORL Moustapha Thiam
17. MIN Liam McNeeley
18. MIA Thomas Sorber
19. WAS Jase Richardson
20. BKN Sergio De Larrea
21. UTA Collin Murray-Boyles
22. ATL Nique Clifford
23. IND Nolan Traore
24. ORL Walter Clayton Jr.
25. OKC Johni Broome
26. BKN Danny Wolf
27. BKN Will Riley
28. BOS Maxime Raynaud
29. PHO Ben Saraf
30. LAC Labaron Philon
31. MIN Joan Beringer
32. BOS Tahaad Pettiford
33. CHA Alex Condon
34. CHA Noah Penda
35. PHI Miles Byrd
36. BKN Hugo Gonzalez
37. DET Kam Jones
38. SAS Ryan Kalkabrenner
39. TOR Tyrese Proctor
40. WAS Bogoljub Marković
41. GSW Boogie Fland
42. SAC Baye Ndongo
43. UTA Adou Thiero
44. OKC Alex Toohey
45. CHI Alex Karaban
46. ORL Drake Powell
47. MIL Kobe Brea
48. CLE Chaz Lanier
49. NYK Eric Dixon
50. MEM Sion James
51. LAC Kobe Sanders
52. UTA Micheal Ruzic
53. PHO Rocco Zikarsky
54. IND John Tonje
55. LAL Amari Williams
56. MEM Dawson Garcia
57. ORL Hunter Sallis
58. CLE Micah Peavy
59. HOU Johann Grunloh
2+
Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 7:24pm #1267728

Hitster
Participant
Thanks for the feedback guys and Clayton to Miami or Orlando is a great marketing move plus the guy can play. Is Miami at 18 too much of a stretch for Clayton. It would depend what Riley and co do at 11. If they take a big or a combo forward there then Clayton at 18 could be an option. Pat Riley is in his 80’s now and may want to try and have one more run before retiring.
Sabonis and Banchero as a duo would be awesome but has Orlando the assets to pull that trade off. Vucevic with one year on his deal would be a much lower trade price. Markkanen sprang to mind but we know Ainge’s asking prices.
2+
Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 7:40pm #1267729

NorrinRadd
Participant
Great mock Oh Canada…!!!
I noticed Moustapha Thiam is in both of your mocks… I think he’s returning. He’s in the portal and I’m not sure he declared, but I didn’t get feedback he’s testing the waters… I want to put up a mock – just not quite there yet, as I just don’t know what to do with a few guys (like Dame Sarr and a few testing the waters like Eaglestaff, Gwath, etc.) that are testing the waters and in the portal or uncertain to enter. Cedric Coward’s a big time name floating around too… I think he might declare and could be flirting with the lottery. He’s getting 3-4 million dollar offers from NIL according to sources.
1+
Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 8:47pm #1267732

Hitster
Participant
I don’;t know how bad Coward’s shoulder injury was but I’d be surprised if he was a legit first rounder in this deep mock unless a lot of guys return. If his NIL offers are that good I’d think he should take them.
Thiam would get a lot of love in the portal given his size, top colleges who need a defensive anchor to really contend would be all over him.
I’m holding off doing a second round mock until we know more who is in especially with the overseas guys. Goldin could be moving all round my second rounded depending who declares.
2+
- Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 9:06pm #1267733
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  let’s just say a reliable source says that a team has him 9th on their big board. I was pretty high on him last year and even higher beginning of this year. Also, if he’s getting 3-4 million a year off of an NIL deal through offers from Duke, Florida, Alabama and Washington… NBA teams will notice and probably figure it out that he’s that good. If he goes in the top 20, he could declare. Apparently, his shoulder injury is getting better, and he’s not quite cleared for contact, but is doing drills and shooting.
  I agree with where you have Thiam, just that he transferred, and I don’t see him on the declared list at least yet… de Larrea will likely declare but hasn’t yet and neither has Traore yet. But I’m willing to be they both declare before Solo Ball. I think Solo Ball returns and flourishes in college next year. In fact, this is why I’ve been holding off on mocks… I’ll probably do one more big board – don’t know who exactly to put in – in a mock. Oh yeah and I read a report that Yaxel is leaning towards staying in the draft but is weighing his options. But playing the pool game and seeing a world where if the prospects that you have in your mock all were ones that declared – well like I said… it’s an awesome mock.
  1+
Posted on: Thu, 04/17/2025 - 9:34pm #1267734

Hitster
Participant
I use UConn as an example a lot but when they won the two titles and had a lot of guys declare they were an easy team to track and Karaban and Ball have been around the mocks. Still not sure what either will do as they could get offers but likely will have good NIL offers to remain in Connecticut.
1+
Posted on: Fri, 04/18/2025 - 2:23am #1267735

OhCanada-
Participant
Thiam being in the portal is great news. If anybody needs to stay in college its him. Bigs just take longer to develop and Thiam should stay in college until he is dominating games consistantly. He’s got all the tools to do it.
3+
Posted on: Fri, 04/18/2025 - 3:33am #1267737

Hitster
Participant
Is Maluach that much ahead of Thiam given he is likely to go 8 to 10 places higher if our mocks pan out?
But another year wouldn’t do Thiam any harm. Clingan certainly developed a lot in his soph year.
3+
Posted on: Fri, 04/18/2025 - 3:46am #1267739

OhCanada-
Participant
Yeah I do think Maluach is at least ready for the NBA. To come in and serve a role as a rim protector, rebounder, rim runner, screener. I’m not sure if Thiam is ready to serve a role in the NBA.
2+
Posted on: Fri, 04/18/2025 - 5:53am #1267741

Hitster
Participant
Maluach is better coordinated than Thiam. He could go onto a team and take decent minutes from opening night. Thiam will need a bit more work but a lot of guys are drafted on upside.
1+
Posted on: Fri, 04/18/2025 - 11:04am #1267748

NorrinRadd
Participant
Wondering if anyone caught the Jordan Brand Classic earlier? It was all team Flight in the first half and team Air in the second half. Team Air pulled off the win pretty good but AJ Dybantsa was the man in that one. He was just on another level compared to everyone else in that game. That play where he nutmegged Boozer (I think Cayden) was pretty incredible. He’s grew a little and still moves the same. Ultimately the Boozers won again, but AJ was the best player on the court. The #1 pick is going to be a dawg fight race… Darryn Peterson didn’t play in this one, but he’s on another level too… And the Boozers don’t seem to lose, so Cam Boozer has to be right there somehow. I think Meleek Thomas maybe had the dunk of the day though. Anyways, lots of talent next cycle.
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Posted on: Fri, 04/18/2025 - 7:34pm #1267754

Hitster
Participant
Cam Boozer has been described as one of the best shooters in next year’s draft which for a guy of his size is impressive. This year we had Cooper at level 1 then Ace, Dylan and CJ at level 2 for much of the year. Next year it looks like AJ is level 1, Peterson is somewhere between level 1 and 2, Cam is minimum level 2 and there looks to be a gap after Cam to the next best guy.
Cam Boozer looks to have the winning mentality and will be a low risk top 3 pick.. He may not be as flashy as AJ or Peterson but if he stays sound I see his downside being a career like his dad’s, his upside could be what Banchero promises to be. Also he could be one of those guys who is rock solid for years like Al Horford, getting all star nods and being in demand by lots of teams.
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Posted on: Sat, 04/19/2025 - 4:48am #1267763

OhCanada-
Participant
Another sleeper in this draft is Izan Almansa.I think he plays a bit like Santi Aldama. He played a season with the G League Ignite and is now with Perth in the NBL. he still struggles with his shooting but he’s omnly 19 and has spent two years playing against pro’s. Could be a sneaky 2nd rounder. Seems like Memphis or Utah kind of pick.
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Posted on: Sun, 04/20/2025 - 6:07am #1267774

Hitster
Participant
With the talk about Cedric Coward being a possible first round pick. If he hadn’t got injured and played a full season putting up the numbers he was producing across 30 odd games would he have been in the mix as a later lottery guy do you think?
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- Posted on: Sun, 04/20/2025 - 7:15am #1267778
  
  NorrinRadd
  Participant
  I think he could be in that discussion. He does everything, measures well – we’ll see what he does.
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Posted on: Sun, 04/20/2025 - 7:17am #1267780

NorrinRadd
Participant
Looks like Nate Ament chose Tennessee.
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Posted on: Sun, 04/20/2025 - 8:41pm #1267784

Hitster
Participant
The Volunteers have been elite 8 the last two seasons and have a good coach in Rick Barnes so Nate will be going into a solid situation. I haven’t checked what Tennessee have done in the transfer portal or exactly who they have returning but they should be able to assemble a decent supporting cast around Nate.
Is Tyran Stokes likely to declare in 2026 or 2027. This site has him as a top 6 pick for next year but other sites have him listed as a possible top pick in 2027. The guy has an NBA ready build so if he does have to reclassify then next year’s draft could be even more loaded.
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Posted on: Sun, 04/20/2025 - 11:08pm #1267785

NorrinRadd
Participant
I think he’s reclassifying to next year’s draft, not sure though.
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Posted on: Mon, 04/21/2025 - 4:45am #1267786

NorrinRadd
Participant
Neoklis Avdalas had declared! I think that could be a good pickup.
Also…
Moustapha Thiam is transferring to Cincinnati…Treysen Eaglestaff to West Virginia
I guess I’m really waiting for Khaman Maluach to declare along with Ace Bailey. Then I’m curious what Carter Bryant, Sergio de Larrea, Nolan Traore and Joan Beringer do…
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Posted on: Mon, 04/21/2025 - 5:27am #1267788

OhCanada-
Participant
Neoklis Avdalas is an interesting prospect. How much of what hes been able to dom in Isreal would actually translate to the NBA. Hows his english? Literally know nothing about this guy he could be a steal for an informed team.
Thiam is so frustrating. Picks his schools with his heart not his head. Hopefully it works for him at Cincinnati but I was expecting him to go to a major program.
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- Posted on: Wed, 04/23/2025 - 5:00am #1267825
  
  JazzP
  Participant
  Avdalas was playing in the Greek HEBA league (and FIBA BCL) – his home country. Peristeri is a Greek club.
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  - Posted on: Wed, 04/23/2025 - 5:15am #1267826
    
    NorrinRadd
    Participant
    I guess I owe you an apology!!! Sarr might be that out of nowhere guy…
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Posted on: Mon, 04/21/2025 - 6:18am #1267790

Hitster
Participant
Avdalas’ English is probably as good as any guy who plays abroad in a non English speaking country.
I’ll have to take Thiam out of my mock draft. I wanted him to go to a top team if he stayed in college. Wes Miller looks a fair coach but in the right program Thiam could have developed so much more.
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Posted on: Mon, 04/21/2025 - 6:21am #1267791

NorrinRadd
Participant
Never seen Avdalas interview but can tell you he’s similar to Saraf in style.
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Posted on: Wed, 04/23/2025 - 6:11am #1267827

JazzP
Participant
I updated my mock. I had taken Lendeborg out, but even though he committed to Michigan I’ve seen word that he says he is leaning towards staying in the draft and putting all his focus on the pre-draft process, so I’m gonna put him back in for now.
Thiam declared to Cincinnati according to 247. Boogie Fland entered the portal after declaring, and I’m not sure what to make of it; I’m not sure I expect him to stay another year, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea, the NBA seems fairly merciless for guards who aren’t quite ready yet even if they’re highly acclaimed high school prospects (Kennedy Chandler?) and lottery picks (TyTy Washington??). I’m taking him out, for now. I also dropped Dame Sarr because I have seen a lot of buzz that he’s looking to go to a college next year- Illinois in particular seems to be chasing him and I think Kentucky is in the mix too. Also I saw that HoopsRumors has Magoon Gwath in the “likely to remain in the draft” category right now. That surprises me but I like the idea, especially with Thiam dropping out. I think Gwath has been underrated as a 3-and-D 7 footer. Jacksen Moni entered the transfer portal and has not declared for the NBA draft (at least as of yet), so I dropped him too.
I had meant to do a whole little write up of each pick, I started to do that last week but I was really running out of energy for it around pick 30, so I’m just gonna do that sometime closer to the draft I think.
1. Utah Jazz – Cooper Flagg, Duke (previous: 1)
2. Washington Wizards – Dylan Harper, Rutgers (previous: 2)
3. Charlotte Hornets – VJ Edgecombe, Baylor (previous: 3)
4. New Orleans Pelicans – Ace Bailey, Rutgers (previous: 4)
5. Philadelphia 76ers – Tre Johnson, Texas (previous: 6)
6. Brooklyn Nets – Noa Essengue, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 5)
7. Toronto Raptors – Khaman Maluach, Duke (previous: 12)
8. San Antonio Spurs – Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma (previous: 9)
9. Houston Rockets (from Phoenix) – Thomas Sorber, Georgetown (previous: 16)
10. Portland Trailblazers – Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois (previous: 13)
11. Dallas Mavericks – Carter Bryant, Arizona (previous: 23)
12. Chicago Bulls – Derik Queen, Maryland (previous: 7)
13. Atlanta Hawks (from Sacramento) – Jase Richardson, Michigan St (previous: 14)
14. San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta) – Kon Knueppel, Duke (previous: 10)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami) – Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina (previous: 19)
16. Orlando Magic – Asa Newell, Georgia (previous: 21)
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit) – Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm (previous: 11)
18. Washington Wizards (from Memphis) – Hugo Gonzalez, Real Madrid (previous: unranked)
19. Brooklyn Nets (from Milwaukee) – Nolan Traore, Saint Quentin (previous: 8)
20. Miami Heat (from Golden St) – Thierry Darlan, Delaware Blue Coats (previous: 15)
21. Utah Jazz (from Minnesota) – Egor Demin, BYU (previous: 33)
22. Atlanta Hawks (from LAL) – Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB (previous: unranked)
23. Indiana Pacers – Alex Condon, Florida (previous: unranked)
24. Oklahoma City Thunder (from LAC) – Labaron Philon, Alabama (previous: 22)
25. Orlando Magic (from Denver) – Magoon Gwath, San Diego St (previous: unranked)
26. Brooklyn Nets (from New York) – Joan Beringer, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (previous: 34)
27. Brooklyn Nets (from Houston) – Drake Powell, North Carolina (previous: unranked)
28. Boston Celtics – Johni Broome, Auburn (previous: 25)
29. Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland) – Rasheer Fleming, St. Joseph’s (previous: 40)
30. Los Angeles Clippers (from Oklahoma City) – Danny Wolf, Michigan (previous: 30)
31. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Utah) – Miles Byrd, San Diego St (previous: unranked)
32. Boston Celtics (from Washington) – Nique Clifford, Colorado St (previous: 28)
33. Charlotte Hornets – Will Riley, Illinois (previous: 24)
34. Charlotte Hornets (from New Orleans) – Dink Pate, Mexico City Capitanes (previous: 27)
35. Philadelphia 76ers – Walter Clayton, Florida (previous: 26)
36. Brooklyn Nets – Kam Jones, Marquette (previous: 42)
37. Detroit Pistons (from Toronto) – Liam McNeeley, Connecticut (previous: 35)
38. San Antonio Spurs – Bogoljub Markovic, Mega Basket (previous: 47)
39. Toronto Raptors (from Portland) – Chaz Lanier, Tennessee (previous: 17)
40. Washington Wizards (from Phoenix) – Alex Toohey, Sydney (previous: 41)
41. Golden State Warriors (from Miami) – Milos Uzan, Houston (previous: unranked)
42. Sacramento Kings (from Chicago) – Tyrese Proctor, Duke (previous: unranked)
43. Utah Jazz (from Dallas) – Izan Almansa, Perth (previous: unranked)
44. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Atlanta) – Hansen Yang, Qingdao (previous: 50)
45. Chicago Bulls (from Sacramento) – Noah Penda, Le Mans (previous: 44)
46. Orlando Magic – Koby Brea, Kentucky (previous: 57)
47. Milwaukee Bucks (from Detroit) – Darrion Williams, Texas Tech (previous: unranked)
48. Memphis Grizzlies (from Golden St) – Eric Dixon, Villanova (previous: 46)
49. Cleveland Cavaliers (from Milwaukee) – Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton (previous: 53)
50. New York Knicks (from Memphis) – Kadary Richmond, St. John’s (previous: 54)
51. Los Angeles Clippers (from Minnesota) – John Tonje, Wisconsin (previous: 43)
52. Phoenix Suns (from Denver) – Adou Thiero, Arkansas (previous: unranked)
53. Utah Jazz (from LAC) – Neoklis Avdalas, Peristeri BC (previous: unranked)
54. Indiana Pacers – Micah Peavy, Georgetown (previous: 52)
55. Los Angeles Lakers – Maxime Raynaud, Stanford (previous: 48)
56. Memphis Grizzlies (from Houston) – Wooga Poplar, Villanova (previous: unranked)
57. Orlando Magic (from Boston) – Javon Small, West Virginia (previous: 58)
58. Cleveland Cavaliers – Sean Pedulla, Mississippi (previous: 49)
59. Houston Rockets (from Oklahoma City) – Thijs de Ridder, Bilbao (previous: unranked)
DROPPED:
-Moustapha Thiam (previous: 18) undeclared, committed to Cincinnati
-JT Toppin (previous: 20) returning to Texas Tech
-Hannes Steinbach (previous: 29) committed to Washington
-Jacksen Moni (previous: 31) undeclared, entered transfer portal
-Richie Saunders (previous: 32) undeclared, I am predicting return
-Boogie Fland (previous: 36) entered transfer portal, I am predicting return
-Joseph Tugler (previous: 37) returning to Houston
-Alex Karaban (previous: 38) undeclared, I am predicting return
-Dame Sarr (previous: 39) undeclared, likely going to Illinois
-Tahaad Pettiford (previous: 45) I am predicting return
-Norchad Omier (previous: 51) big fan but have doubts he will be drafted
-Yanic Konan Niederhauser (previous: 54) I am predicting return
-RJ Luis (previous: 56) I am predicting return
-Vladislav Goldin (previous: 59) have doubts he will be drafted
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Posted on: Wed, 04/23/2025 - 7:00am #1267828

OhCanada-
Participant
First time I seen Thierry Darlan in a mock draft. Good call. He finished the season strong and averaged like 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in his last 6 games. 6’7, 7’2 wingspan. He’s a pretty well known African prospect basketball without borders and was considered a PG at one point, he is on peoples radar. A bit older though at 21.
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