At 7-foot-2 and 290 pounds, Isaac Haas is the biggest prospect on our draft board this year. He is a huge man, with an NBA-ready body and an old-school game. This past season as a senior, Haas capped off a solid career at Purdue by averaging 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. He also shot 61.7 percent from the field, the 10th-best percentage in school history.
Chandler Hutchison is a relative unknown to most casual basketball fans, but after two straight stellar seasons at Boise State, he has a good chance to not only be the first mid-major player to be drafted this year, but also to be the first senior selected. Hutchinson made steady progress in his four seasons with the Broncos, capping his college career off by being named the Mountain West Player of the Year this past season.
Bonzie Colson doesn’t have the prototypical look or style of a star basketball player, and even if you have watched him many times, he still manages to surprise with his productivity. Many would call him an overachiever, but given that he possesses many of the intangibles needed to succeed, it may be more accurate to say that he is underestimated.
As a junior in 2016-17, Jeffrey Carroll had a stellar season, ranking third in the Big 12 in scoring (17.5), eighth in rebounding (6.6) and third in 3-point percentage (44.4), becoming just the fourth player in league history to finish in the top 10 in each of those categories. He also shot 54% from the floor and 81% from the free-throw line, and he finished the season with an outstanding PER of 25. As a result, he began his senior season as a serious NBA Draft prospect.
Ray Spalding is a long, athletic four, who excels on the defensive end of the floor, and is slowly evolving into a reliable scorer as well. He produces where you would expect a mobile, 6-foot-10 player with a 7-foot-6 wingspan to produce – around the basket. He rebounds and blocks shots. He is a terrific target on cuts to the basket, finishes impressively above the rim, and has a post game that is shaping up nicely.
Most hoops fans have probably never heard of him, but Kevin Hervey has been one of the best players in college basketball since 2015. Such is life in the Sun Belt Conference. Hervey is arguably the most accomplished player in UT Arlington basketball history, leaving the program as the all-time career leader in total rebounds and double-doubles, second all-time in points scored, and fifth all-time in 3-point field goals made.
Over the last eight years, Alize Johnson has gone from being a virtual unknown to a draft prospect that is on everyone’s radar, and the path that he has traveled has been anything but straight and easy. He’s made it this far with hard work, determination, and grittiness, and those traits show up in his game.
The NBA’s deadline for early entries declaring for the draft is fast approaching (April 22). Many have already declared or announced that they are staying in school, and this year, like every year, I am surprised by some of the decisions because the chances for failure appear to far outweigh the chances for success. Of course, it is not fair of me to judge anyone’s [ . . . ]
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