Gonzaga freshman big man Chet Holmgren goes No. 1 to Houston in Jonathan Givony’s latest mock draft on ESPN. Givony projects Orlando taking Auburn freshman Jabari Smith with the second pick and Detroit selecting Duke’s Paolo Banchero in the No. 3 slot. Purdue guard Jaden Ivey and Iowa forward Keegan Murray round out the top five in the post-NCAA Tournament mock.
We have more draft-related notes:
- As it did last year, the NBA will require fourth-year college seniors to declare themselves eligible for the draft, Givony confirms (via Twitter). Players can withdraw by June 1 in order to retain their NCAA eligibility.
- Gonzaga junior forward Drew Timme has declared for the draft, he announced on Twitter. Timme, who is ranked No. 57 overall on ESPN’s Best Available rankings, averaged 18.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 2.8 APG this season for the Bulldogs. His announcement doesn’t say anything about maintaining his college eligibility, so it sounds like he’s prepared to go pro.
- Toledo sophomore Ryan Rollins is entering the draft and will hire an agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. A shooting guard, Rollins is ranked No. 70 on ESPN’s Best Available list. He averaged 18.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.6 APG this season.
- VCU forward Vince Williams has declared for the draft, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein tweets. Williams is ranked No. 92 on ESPN’s prospects list. He averaged 14.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.0 APG as a senior.
- New Orleans guard Derek St. Hilaire has declared for the draft and will forgo his final year of eligibility, he revealed in a tweet. He averaged 20.1 PPG in his senior year.
- Houston guard Marcus Sasser will test the draft waters but won’t hire an agent, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. The junior averaged 17.7 PPG in 12 games for the Cougars before a toe injury sidelined him.
Don’t link to paid content. That’s some BS
Athletic is well worth the tiny amount….Espn is another story…..
I can’t see Houston passing on Jabari Smith
Rockets already got Wood Sengun at C
Wouldn’t be surprised if they traded Wood.
I think they are better off keeping him drafting Smith
Im.not that high on Holg
You should be, Jabari Smith is gonna be good, but… Chet is gonna be a generational talent, you pick him over Smith every day of the week & twice on Sundays!
A generational talent who shoots 71.7% from the FT line. You should listen to frankm.
Giannis gets around the same, Duncan & Shaq way below that, Wilt even worse… but yes don’t let the truth get ever in the way of your narrative!
Maybe you should listen to me!
BTW, I have Nikola Jovic as the #3 after Holmgren & Banchero… I really believe that all the teams that are gonna pass on him will really regret it, that’s for sure!
Smith is a better shooter and passer than Chet. Plus, he plays in a tougher conference.
Lol….that means zilch. Imagine passing on curry, Ja, Kawhai, PG13, etc etc because they played in mid major weaker conferences…..
Jovic is not a top 3 prospect.
But it should be!
Whether Holmgren, Smith or Banchero, Wood will lose playing time. Likely, he will be traded for a complementary piece in the young Houston roster. Perhaps Harris fron Nets. Or Robinson from Heat. Both are above average threats from deep and will make space for Green’s athletic penetrations.
Panchero is overrated. Weak shooter and weak on the defensive boards. Typical Duke player. Jayson Tatum is the only successful player to come out of Coach K’s system in recent years. A player with his size who’s an elite FT shooter is something special
I am concerned about Banchero’s lack of physicality and I wonder if it can be corrected in the NBA. And I am not so fond of Tatum either! Maybe too Duke?— of course this is a debate about #1 so there is room for error.
Williams, Griffin, the guards, iffy. Not sure Coach K “finished” them. But maybe their prospects should not be shorted in analysis for the retirement circumstance.
Kyrie & Zion are better than JT… but of course, for BOS fans they can only see green, might be for envy???
I don’t get how they automatically assume Rockets get the number 1 pick. They still have to draw their position out of a hat with several other teams. It’s ridiculous to assume they have the number 1 pick. It’s a game of Russian roulette for the number 1 pick