Trae Young‘s late-season struggles have put Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Kentucky’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on even terms with the much-hyped Oklahoma freshman for the status of top point guard in the draft. That’s one of the observations made by ESPN’s Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Givony in a look at first-round prospects whose teams were knocked out early in the NCAA tournament.
Missouri forward Michael Porter will have to show more than other players projected in the top half of the lottery during predraft workouts to solidify his status after a back injury sidelined him most of the season, according to Givony. Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s poor and abbreviated performance against Syracuse Sunday didn’t help the Michigan State freshman’s cause in comparisons to the draft’s other top big men, in Givony’s opinion.
In other news:
- The BIG3 league will hold a combine on April 11th and its draft the following evening, according to a league press release. Approximately 100 players will compete for 19 available roster spots at the combine. All but two of the league’s eight teams will fill three roster spots during the draft. Championship team Trilogy must retain its existing roster to defend its title, while runner-up 3-Headed Monsters exercised its option to retain Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Kwame Brown and elected to place Eddie Basden back into the draft pool.
- San Diego State freshman forward Jalen McDaniels will declare for the draft but won’t hire an agent, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. He averaged 10.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG this season.
- Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill provided insights on the Spurs, Wizards and top prospects in the NCAA tournament in his weekly mailbag column. Check it out here.
Trae could use another year of seasoning and work but as a lottery pick, he has to go pro unfortunately.
Trae Young shot 36% from the 3? What about all the steph curry comparisons? Even Lonzo shot better than that.
Kentucky is strong because Alexander can dominate the ball from the point to point-blank range. He is willing to push & get physical and has an easy stroke. He can overwhelm and stay that way without having to be fiery. Sexton & Young are small but could shock an NBA opponent off the bench… unless they pull an IT! The league is deep at PG already.
Teams discounting the ncaa trny will discount this frosh’s development.
JJJ does have a fouling issue.
Coach K made Bagley stay in the post. He didn’t like that after hitting a 3. Bagley #1!
I don’t see Jackson as an impact player. He was 3rd team all Big Ten. He wasn’t an impact player at Michigan state. He benefited from Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston, and Nick Ward. I’m not spending a high draft pick and $5 million a year on a guy who plays one year of college and averages 11 points and 8 rebounds a game.