Paolo Banchero is expected to be among the first names off the board in next month’s draft, and the Duke star did some campaigning to be the No. 1 overall pick in an interview with ESPN following Tuesday’s lottery (video link).
Banchero earned second-team All-America honors during his freshman season with the Blue Devils, averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 39 games. Possessing exceptional passing skills and offensive versatility for his 6’10” size, Banchero told the ESPN crew he patterns his game after players such as LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Carmelo Anthony and said he’ll be ready to contribute right away to whichever team drafts him.
“From day one, they’ll get versatility for sure,” Banchero said. “There’s not a position on the court where I’m not comfortable, with the ball in my hands or the ball off my hands. I’m going to be all right. I’m going to be an immediate impact because I’m ready physically and I’m ready mentally. I am ready to get to work.”
There’s more on the draft:
- Rutgers forward Ron Harper Jr. has signed with Roc Nation Sports, officially ending his college career, according to Brian Fonseca of NJ.com. The senior earned honorable mention All-America honors, was a two-time all-Big Ten selection and helped the Scarlet Knights reach the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons after a 30-year absence.
- Kyle Lofton, formerly of St. Bonaventure, has decided to withdraw from the draft, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. He will transfer to Florida for next season.
- Andre Kelly, who played the last four years for California, is also taking his name out of the draft, Rothstein adds (Twitter link). He will use his extra year of eligibility to transfer to UC Santa Barbara.
- Hofstra’s Aaron Estrada also plans to exit the draft and return to school, according to Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim has worked out for the Knicks, Kings and Warriors and had an impressive showing at the G League Elite Camp, per Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Boeheim will hold a Pro Day in Chicago today.
- Seven players from the Elite Camp were able to earn spots at the NBA’s draft combine, the G League announced on Twitter. They are LSU’s Darius Days, Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Lofton Jr., Connecticut’s Tyrese Martin, Seton Hall’s Jared Rhoden, Houston’s Marcus Sasser, Texas Tech’s Bryson Williams and Kansas’ Jalen Wilson.
- Auburn forward Jabari Smith is number one on the list of top 20 prospects by John Hollinger of The Athletic. Banchero is the only other prospect in Hollinger’s top tier, and he ranks Purdue guard Jaden Ivey and Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren right below them.
- Several new mock drafts were released after Tuesday’s lottery. Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic both have Smith going to the Magic at No. 1, followed by Holmgren to the Thunder at No. 2 and Banchero to the Rockets at No. 3. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer has Holmgren going to Orlando, Smith to Oklahoma City and Banchero to Houston.
2022 Paolo Banchero = 1993 Grant Hill
Nothing can be further from the truth.
Grant Hill coming out was an athletic scorer with high IQ. A high flier
Banchero is and old school PF. Who can step out and hit shots. He’s more like Malone with a Handle.
Any similarities, besides the Duke alum status? Maybe the RoY-award…
Hollinger had a top 7 and was pretty critical after that. That seems a common draft summary. He was critical of drafting bigs, but the top 3 are. There are few good wing prospects and scouts are stretching their ratings for them.
In a top 23, he left off Roddy entirely, but credited EJ Liddell for his smarts. Some of his lines:
“players tell on themselves by how much cushion they give the dribbler.”
On Holmgren: “Opponents will see his body and think they can mash him in the paint, but that is likely to be a horrible mistake that ends badly. His tentacles swallow up everything in the paint, and he could very well lead the league in blocks every year.”
#9 Dyson Daniels: “even as his teammates with Elite did whatever the hell it was they were doing, he was very consciously trying to play the right way, hit the open man and compete on defense.”
Comparison: Kyle Anderson, including the slowness.
#13 AJ Griffin: “He is very slow sliding his feet and reacting to an opponent’s first move and had absolutely no chance checking quick guards.”
Maybe more disappointing: A great shooter, but NOT “a guy who can come flying off screens locked-and-loaded”.
#14 TyTy Washington: “John Calipari has a history of making guards look very ordinary, only to see them blow up when they get to the NBA. Devin Booker, Tyler Herro and Tyrese Maxey all come to mind.”
#15 Kendall Brown: “In a league where 6-8 forwards who don’t suck become central pieces of the playoff rotation, he will have value.”
I think better Baylor players have not proven themselves yet.
What does Hollinger have to say about Tari Eason? He’s a 6-8 forward who doesn’t suck. I think.
He said his offense consisted of bulling his way in, but made it sound funny.
But he rated defensive wings like that pretty high.
Sorry for the delay… In the interim I cancelled my subscription. They were billing me $72 so I said, done. They came back and offered a year for $20. Just no, done. It’s worth 20 but wtf is that $72!
Shaedon Sharpe …….
Where he goes will charge up this draft. Players will fall. Most scouts think he is top 5 talent. Haven’t watched him enough. But has great size for his type of game. Last yr I thought Green could be most exciting player in draft. Don’t think I was wrong. Lot of scouts think Sharpe could be this yrs Green.
I don’t see him getting by Pistons ……
I know Pistons are big on Ivey. But this guy is bigger with same type of game. It’s going to be real interesting to see where he goes.
My dream has always been for Knicks to trade up for Mathurin. This would be major for us. But even if Sharpe goes top 5. Mathurin will go top 7. I don’t see Blazers passing on him.