Duke small forward Brandon Ingram is the new No. 1 crowning the list of top 2016 draft prospects that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles. Questions that dog LSU combo forward Ben Simmons about his shooting, competitiveness, character and whether he prefers to make highlights over sound fundamental plays have led Givony to make the change to Ingram, as the scribe details in a piece for The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. It’s a fluid process, naturally, and more than three months remain until the June 23rd draft. Still, given the hype surrounding Simmons, it’s a significant development. See more on the player Givony now lists No. 2 amid news on the draft:
- Simmons plans to sign with Klutch Sports and agent Rich Paul, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. That comes as no surprise in the wake of a recruiting effort that’s gone on for years, as Wojnarowski details. Emily Bush, Simmons’ older sister, has been a Klutch employee since 2014, Wojnarowski notes.
- Top-10 prospect Kris Dunn is leaning toward Roc Nation Sports to represent him, according to Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link). The Providence point guard is No. 5 in Givony’s rankings and seventh with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
- Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops looks at Dunn as well as other key prospects who took part in last week’s Big East tournament. A 38-point game from Dunn’s teammate, power forward Ben Bentil, stole the show, and one Eastern Conference executive told Scotto he’s hearing that Bentil would go in the late first or early second round if he declares.