2017-2018 College Basketball / '18 NBA Draft Thread

[Kolkmania]

What returning freshman are we most excited about seeing develop as sophomores?

I can't wait to see Robert Williams develop more as a scorer next year.

Miles Bridges is the best sophomore imo. Mikal Bridges and De'Anthony Melton are interesting players that could be available with our own pick.

Just that you know, Michael Porter and DeAndre Ayton are just one or two months younger than Fultz, Mohammed Bamba is even older. One of the reasons that I'm not extremely high on these guys.

[Kobblehead]

Mikal Bridges is my favorite upcoming junior. Even without the scoring volume, he warranted lottery consideration this year.

[PLO]

What returning freshman are we most excited about seeing develop as sophomores?

I can't wait to see Robert Williams develop more as a scorer next year.

Looking forward to Mikal Bridges take on a larger role, he sort of tapered off at the end of the season or maybe he just ran up to the limits of what he was then capable of. He has way more game-feel than someone like Terrance Ferguson. All of the wings interest me and at this stage this draft looks to have depth in those positions.

I think if Ayton cares he should be the top pick, but that's a big, big if. I'll be surprised if there is a more complete prospect than Fultz in 2018.

[PLO]

Mikal Bridges is my favorite upcoming junior. Even without the scoring volume, he warranted lottery consideration this year.

Great minds and all that.

[Kobblehead]

I think "being a dominant player in the underclassman age range" should be the centralizing thing. I don't care if it's an 18 year old freshman, a 19 year old freshman or a 19 year old sophomore.

[the_process]

Anyone think LiAngelo Ball will even get drafted?

LiAngelo needs to stay 4 years at UCLA; take advantage of the scholarship, enjoy the experience, work on his game, and get a degree. Maybe he improves enough to get drafted in 2021.

[JojoSlimbiid]

Assuming we're in late lottery/not in the lottery wonder if we might go euro again. Got to look up some euro wings coming out next year.

[clownclownclown]

The best thing about Mikal is that even if he doesnt progress much more, he'll still be extremely useful just bc of his instincts and mindframe on defense.

Does Diallo qualify as a sophmore? If so, then him (if not, i'll keep an eye on him anyway).

And Seventh Woods of course. Im expecting him to take on a bigger role at NC and eager to see how he does.

[clownclownclown]

Assuming we're in late lottery/not in the lottery wonder if we might go euro again. Got to look up some euro wings coming out next year.

Apart from Doncic, Kurucs might make a comeback and nbadraft.net projects Kulboca to go at 34. Dont know him.

Draftexpress lists about a handful of other euro wings, most noteably: Musa and Isaac Bonga.

[Ericb5]

Seriously, though. How the eff did Western Kentucky land Mitchell Robinson?

He probably saw Simmons (and eventually Fultz) go #1 and figured he could put up gaudy stats at a small school too. Probably win more due to his talent and the lesser competition.

I think the college decisions of Fultz and Simmons in retrospect were both mistakes, especially in the case of Simmons.

If you are the 15th ranked recruit I could see wanting to be a big fish in a little pond, but for the truly elite prospects, they can be big fish in big ponds.

With Fultz he chose to go to a program on the upswing that unexpectedly lost more talent in the previous draft, Simmons went to a program that was completely undeserving of him.

On top of that, LSU didn't even let Simmons play his best role. You could see him picking a school that would give him the ball from day one, but they didn't even do that. They let him do things that he COULD do instead of the things that he was BORN to do, and that made it largely a wasted year.

For elite prospects I would only consider Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan St, Arizona, Louisville, UCLA, UNC, Nova, etc...


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[broseph13]

I don't like anyone in this 2018 Draft other than Collin Sexton; he's the only one I think can really do big things on the next level. The rest of these guys (Porter, Doncic, Ayton, Bamba) just don't impress me much despite all the type surrounding them. Don't get me wrong, they'll likely all be very good players and will all become NBA starters and maybe even even make a few all-star teams here and there, but I don't see any truly elite talent out of that group predicted to go top 5.

Porter Jr = Ben Simmons with less playmaking skills but better shooting

Donic = better ball handling Herzonja with a dash of Ricky Rubio

Bamba + Ayton = Bigs with limited offensive skills who will take 3-4 years to develop

[Kobblehead]

Don't you think you're just romanticizing Sexton's blend of athleticism/scoring? He pops off the screen like Dennis Smith and De'Aaron Fox did this time last year. I don't get the impression that his superstar potential is any greater than the other top guys in this class, though.

[Chris76]

Seriously, though. How the eff did Western Kentucky land Mitchell Robinson?

He probably saw Simmons (and eventually Fultz) go #1 and figured he could put up gaudy stats at a small school too. Probably win more due to his talent and the lesser competition.

I think the college decisions of Fultz and Simmons in retrospect were both mistakes, especially in the case of Simmons.

If you are the 15th ranked recruit I could see wanting to be a big fish in a little pond, but for the truly elite prospects, they can be big fish in big ponds.

With Fultz he chose to go to a program on the upswing that unexpectedly lost more talent in the previous draft, Simmons went to a program that was completely undeserving of him.

On top of that, LSU didn't even let Simmons play his best role. You could see him picking a school that would give him the ball from day one, but they didn't even do that. They let him do things that he COULD do instead of the things that he was BORN to do, and that made it largely a wasted year.

For elite prospects I would only consider Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan St, Arizona, Louisville, UCLA, UNC, Nova, etc...


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Good points. The smaller schools did hurt Fultz and Simmons reputations in several ways. However, I thought I read they both had some type of relationships with the coaches. Funny, how people judged them on their teams record ignoring the skills they displayed. Fultz reminds of a smaller less defensive Dwayne Wade, but a better shooter. Simmons reminds me of Blake Griffin with elite playmaking skills. Who knows what happens, but add Embiid to them and the fit seems very promising. Also, Dario and Covington gives the Sixers a great core moving forward, and still people focus on the record.

[Kobblehead]

Fultz and Simmons still played in the Pac-12 and SEC, respectively. We're talking about Conference USA, here.

[Negrodamus]

Seriously, though. How the eff did Western Kentucky land Mitchell Robinson?

He probably saw Simmons (and eventually Fultz) go #1 and figured he could put up gaudy stats at a small school too. Probably win more due to his talent and the lesser competition.

I think the college decisions of Fultz and Simmons in retrospect were both mistakes, especially in the case of Simmons.

If you are the 15th ranked recruit I could see wanting to be a big fish in a little pond, but for the truly elite prospects, they can be big fish in big ponds.

With Fultz he chose to go to a program on the upswing that unexpectedly lost more talent in the previous draft, Simmons went to a program that was completely undeserving of him.

On top of that, LSU didn't even let Simmons play his best role. You could see him picking a school that would give him the ball from day one, but they didn't even do that. They let him do things that he COULD do instead of the things that he was BORN to do, and that made it largely a wasted year.

For elite prospects I would only consider Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan St, Arizona, Louisville, UCLA, UNC, Nova, etc...


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I don't think they were mistakes. They got drafted #1 anyway, so who cares about the perception of them not being able to win? Certainly not GMs.

Now this guy is going to Western and will have the chance to dominate from day one. Like I said before, he could also lead them to a winning season and the tourney which would be a huge positive on his stock.

But it's certainly a risk. A prospect can get exposed pretty badly in that setting.

[Unbreakable99]

Seriously, though. How the eff did Western Kentucky land Mitchell Robinson?

He probably saw Simmons (and eventually Fultz) go #1 and figured he could put up gaudy stats at a small school too. Probably win more due to his talent and the lesser competition.

I think the college decisions of Fultz and Simmons in retrospect were both mistakes, especially in the case of Simmons.

If you are the 15th ranked recruit I could see wanting to be a big fish in a little pond, but for the truly elite prospects, they can be big fish in big ponds.

With Fultz he chose to go to a program on the upswing that unexpectedly lost more talent in the previous draft, Simmons went to a program that was completely undeserving of him.

On top of that, LSU didn't even let Simmons play his best role. You could see him picking a school that would give him the ball from day one, but they didn't even do that. They let him do things that he COULD do instead of the things that he was BORN to do, and that made it largely a wasted year.

For elite prospects I would only consider Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan St, Arizona, Louisville, UCLA, UNC, Nova, etc...


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How was it a mistake when they were both drafted number 1?

[shawn_hemp]

I don't like anyone in this 2018 Draft other than Collin Sexton; he's the only one I think can really do big things on the next level. The rest of these guys (Porter, Doncic, Ayton, Bamba) just don't impress me much despite all the type surrounding them. Don't get me wrong, they'll likely all be very good players and will all become NBA starters and maybe even even make a few all-star teams here and there, but I don't see any truly elite talent out of that group predicted to go top 5.

Porter Jr = Ben Simmons with less playmaking skills but better shooting

Donic = better ball handling Herzonja with a dash of Ricky Rubio

Bamba + Ayton = Bigs with limited offensive skills who will take 3-4 years to develop

I don't know how you can say DeAndre Ayton has "limited offensive skills".

He is a pretty good player on that end

I agree with you on Doncic though, I don't see him as a top-10 talent tbh

[Ericb5]

He probably saw Simmons (and eventually Fultz) go #1 and figured he could put up gaudy stats at a small school too. Probably win more due to his talent and the lesser competition.

I think the college decisions of Fultz and Simmons in retrospect were both mistakes, especially in the case of Simmons.

If you are the 15th ranked recruit I could see wanting to be a big fish in a little pond, but for the truly elite prospects, they can be big fish in big ponds.

With Fultz he chose to go to a program on the upswing that unexpectedly lost more talent in the previous draft, Simmons went to a program that was completely undeserving of him.

On top of that, LSU didn't even let Simmons play his best role. You could see him picking a school that would give him the ball from day one, but they didn't even do that. They let him do things that he COULD do instead of the things that he was BORN to do, and that made it largely a wasted year.

For elite prospects I would only consider Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan St, Arizona, Louisville, UCLA, UNC, Nova, etc...


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How was it a mistake when they were both drafted number 1?

I would argue that they went first despite the mistakes.

With Fultz I honestly don't think that he should have gone number 1. I am convinced that he is behind Jackson and Ball, but on the same tier with them.

With Simmons, he is just a generational kind of prospect that was going to go first no matter what that year.

I think that had Simmons gone to Kentucky that 75% of his detractors would have been fans. Yeah, he still went first, but he had a lot of doubters, and I think those doubters can mostly be blamed on his school choice.

Eventually I think that Silver will succeed in getting a 2 and done rule in place, and I'm all for it. When that happens, the price of picking the wrong school will be even higher.

Imagine a blue chip prospect at Kentucky, that has to deal with an equal prospect the following year when he is in his second year.

How would it have gone if KAT was a sophomore and Simmons comes in as a freshman? That is the kind of environment that I want to see, and I think that that kind of environment is the best for the elite prospects.

You want to be with a program that is used to elite prospects, and be with a coach that is extremely well prepared to deal with them.


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[PLO]

^^ I'm not sure a system in which players have to be at college for two years is all that workable. Simmons wAs NBA ready straight out of high school and it was pretty obvious going to college for a year did nothing for him, let alone wasting him for two years there. If a two year stint was mandatory you'd find a lot more players doing a one and done in an international league

[Kobblehead]

^^ I'm not sure a system in which players have to be at college for two years is all that workable. Simmons wAs NBA ready straight out of high school and it was pretty obvious going to college for a year did nothing for him, let alone wasting him for two years there. If a two year stint was mandatory you'd find a lot more players doing a one and done in an international league

The expected proposal is that players can enter the draft straight out of highschool. But those that choose to go to school have to stay for 2 years.