The structure of the college basketball schedule allows for top NBA prospects across the nation to get off to hot starts with relatively easier non-conference schedules out of the gate. This is before they face an uphill climb the rest of the way once the real action begins. It isn’t until the entire season is complete that we find out which top prospects are for real and which are not, but at this point we do have enough information to make an educated prediction on what to expect. Here is a look at the top NBA prospects that are off to hot starts that we are buying right now:
C – Jakob Poeltl, Utah Utes
Sophomore
After scoring 20 points in a game only once in his freshman season, Poeltl has taken his game to another level this year, including hitting that mark on four different occasions now as a sophomore. His improvement in the post has made him a much more dynamic offensive player, and his overall touch and athleticism make him a prime candidate to put up big numbers at Utah this season. Poeltl showed how good he can be with 19 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and an assist in the Utes’ 77-75 overtime win over Duke on Saturday, and that outstanding performance is just one more reason we are buying in to his stock as a legitimate NBA prospect. As of right now, many scouting services have Poeltl as a lottery pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and the logic is quite simple. There are a lot of teams that like a quality big man – especially one that draws comparisons to Andrew Bogut. If he can keep this up and guide Utah to a decent run in the NCAA Tournament, his stock will continue to rise.
PG/SG – Denzel Valentine, Michigan State Spartans
Senior
Valentine had never received much hype as a top NBA Draft pick through his first three seasons at Michigan State, but he has shown gradual improvement with every passing year and he has been outstanding through the first month of his senior season. Valentine has averaged an outstanding 18.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game while leading the Spartans to five straight wins to open the season and the combination of his size, athleticism, shooting ability and handle on the ball have made us buy in on his NBA Draft stock with the potential for him to become a first round pick following an incredible start to this season.
PG – Wade Baldwin IV, Vanderbilt Commodores
Sophomore
Baldwin has emerged as Vanderbilt’s leading scorer this season with an average of 15.3 points per game and while he hasn’t exactly delivered in terms of assists that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the potential to be an elite scoring point guard at the NBA level. Baldwin is 6’3’’ and 194 pounds with a massive wingspan and the ability to attack the basket so while he will need to work on his overall game as a point guard in order to thrive at the next level he has all of the skills that NBA teams will be looking for in the first round of the NBA Draft once he arrives.
PF – Ivan Rabb, California Golden Bears
Freshman
Rabb is still a freshman and will have a lot of work to do to become an elite NBA power forward but the raw talent is there and he has been outstanding at California early on this season. Rabb has averaged 19.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per 40 minutes this season, and the fact that he is already 220 pounds at just 18-years-old is downright impressive. Rabb should continue his hot start with a dominant freshman year and it won’t be a surprise when his name is talked about a lot this year as his NBA Draft stock continues to climb.
