It seems like every year, the topic of tanking for the top pick in the next NBA Draft starts earlier and earlier. This year, we’ve had some clear frontrunners for that race with the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks doing their best.
We’re still several months away from the actual draft in late June, but here are the four best NBA prospects currently playing college basketball and we won’t include Emmanuel Mudiay in this list, even though he’ll be among the top choices, as he opted to play pro ball in China rather than join the NCAA.
Jahlil Okafor, Duke Blue Devils (Comparison: Al Jefferson)
Okafor is the likely No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and a top choice for player of the year in the college ranks. The 6 ft. 11 in., 270-pound center is putting up big-time numbers in his own right and on his own terms, but the stats are especially gleaming for a freshman who has so much upside. Okafor is posting 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and he’s shooting 65.2 percent from the field while playing just under 31 minutes per game. That’s a pretty big workload for someone so new to the college game.
Sure, Okafor would have to work very hard to adjust to the speed of the pro game relative to college basketball, but his physical skills are so great that he’d very likely be able to blossom into the kind of big man who can be very productive on a pro roster for many years to come. When he’s just 22 or 23, he’ll most likely have learned enough about the pro game to flourish and his body will have developed a lot by that time.
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Stanley Johnson, Arizona Wildcats (Comparison: Ron Artest)
It is true that the Arizona Wildcats are a defensive-oriented team but in Johnson, they have a 6 ft. 7 in., 245-pound small forward who can shoot well from the perimeter and play a strong brand of defense at the other end of the court. Johnson averages 14.5 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three-point range in just under 29 minutes per game. Johnson gets extended minutes and is very productive with them. He’s a very solid two-way forward and has a considerable wingspan. That’s going to get Jay Bilas very excited come draft day.
D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State Buckeyes (Comparison: Brandon Roy)
The 6 ft. 5 in., 180-pound guard has carried Ohio State this season. The Buckeyes often have trouble scoring but not because of Russell. He’s averaging 19.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 32.9 minutes per contest. Russell hits 47.3 percent of his shots and makes 44.6 percent of his threes. He’s just under 79 percent from the foul line and he hands out an average of 5.2 assists per game. When you consider that he’s a high-volume three-point shooter – at least six attempts in each of his last five games – his shooting percentages are that much more impressive. He’s been great – not just good – and he’s also a freshman.
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Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky Wildcats (Comparison: Andrew Bogut)
The seven footer is averaging 8.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, but he plays less than 20 minutes per game, so if you turned this into a per-40-minute measurement, Towns would be averaging 17 points and 12.2 rebounds. That’s fantastic for a big, bruising center of his size. Towns also hits his foul shots, making 75.7 percent of his tries from the charity stripe. Big men who can take care of business with the freebies are worth their weight in gold since they will draw and create so much contact on a regular basis (and not cripple their team like Dwight Howard). Towns has a great future ahead of him.
