Kessler Edwards, Pepperdine (junior), 6-foot-8, 203 lbs., 6-foot-11.25 wingspan, 21 years old
Vecenie board: 28, Vecenie mock: 39, Composite board: 38
Strengths: Great shooter with elite free-throw percentage to support, excellent defensive recognition and reaction time, great block rate for a forward, finished well inside against lesser competition, very strong combine games.
Concerns: Shot mechanics aren’t perfect or consistent with the tendency to miss short, needs to pull the trigger with more decisiveness, defence came with lapses at college level.
Aaron Henry, Michigan State (junior), 6-foot-6, 210 lbs., 6-foot-10.75 wingspan, 21 years old
Vecenie board: 58, Vecenie mock: 51, Composite board: 40
Strengths: Great on-ball defence with motor-technique combination and strong block-steal rate, one of the best passing forwards in the class, just a very active player always looking to impact the game.
Concerns: Poor shooter on fair volume, just an OK athlete by NBA standards, increased playmaking comes with turnover cost, not as aggressive driving as he should be.
Herbert Jones, Alabama (senior), 6-foot-7.25, 206 lbs., 7-foot-0.25 wingspan, 22 years old
Vecenie board: 34, Vecenie mock: Undrafted, Composite board: 41
Strengths: One of the best perimeter defenders in NCAA with all the tools to make it translate, improved handle and playmaking, showed small-sample growth from 3 and at free-throw line as a senior, reputation as elite culture piece.
Concerns: No stand-out offensive skill and limited shooting track record, can skew foul- and turnover-prone, did it all start to click or was he just 22?
Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (sophomore), 6-foot-7.25, 205 lbs., 6-foot-11 wingspan, 21 years old
Vecenie board: 36, Vecenie mock: 53, Composite board: 49
Strengths: Claim as best shooter in class (after Corey Kispert), gets himself open well and shoots over top, some ability to attack closeout with mid-range/floater package, good length and burst.
Concerns: Likely to be limited defensively, ineffective in pick-and-roll opportunities, makes reads a beat late with ball in his hands, secondary specialist skills still in development.
Scottie Lewis, Florida (sophomore) 6-foot-5.25, 188 lbs., 7-foot wingspan, 21 years old
Vecenie board: 80, Vecenie mock: Undrafted, Composite board: 58
Strengths: Tremendous defender with monster steal and block rates, opponents basically stopped going near him, some slashing ability, big and fun personality, called me gorgeous on Zoom.
Concerns: Really limited offensive package with low volume, low efficiency and bad turnover rate, reluctant outside shooter, poor judgment of attractiveness on Zoom.
Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh (sophomore), 6-foot-6.75, 206 lbs., 6-foot-9.5 wingspan, 20 years old
Vecenie board: 51, Vecenie mock: Undrafted, Composite board: 60
Strengths: Excellent bounce around rim on defence, good steal and block rates, improved playmaker with low turnover rate despite high usage, elite rebounder.
Concerns: Not much track record as an effective shooter despite getting attempts up, offensive production will be largely hustle-based to start, lesser one-on-one defender than others in this tier/archetype due to limited lateral quickness.
That’s where we could have been headed with Justin and Julian Champagnie until Julian opted to return to St. John’s for his junior season. Justin, meanwhile, kept his name in the mix, earning the definitive status of highest-ranked Champagnie twin in the 2021 draft.
Having said that, Champagnie is not mocked to be selected on any of the boards we surveyed. He does, however, rank as high as 37 on some boards, with a wide range that suggests he’s more of a two-way or Exhibit 10 target at this stage. Like a few others in this group, Champagnie offers good size at a forward position with some emerging secondary offensive skills — he showed some real playmaking feel without a spike in turnovers with that responsibility — but doesn’t have much track record of connecting on 3s (28 percent on 200 attempts over two seasons).
Despite not being the defender Jones or Lewis are, Champagnie offers elite rebounding and, despite his height, maybe a more natural path to undersized bench minutes. If he’s playing a more interior defensive game, he has a terrific first jump for contesting. He’s probably a (very fun) G Leaguer to start.
