Editor’s note: This story was originally published prior to the NBA Draft and has been updated.
Alabama’s Noah Clowney isn’t someone who was projected as a first-round draft pick before the season began. But now, that’s exactly what he’s become.
Still only 18 years old, Clowney is listed at 6-foot-10 with a reported wingspan around 7-foot-3. The SEC All-Freshman was the only Power Five freshman with a block percentage above three percent and a defensive rebound percentage above 20 percent, via Bart Torvik.
The only players to reach those thresholds last year (Jabari Smith, Jalen Duren and Jeremy Sochan) were all lottery picks.
“I think the thing that helped our defense is that I was smart. Later in the season, I caught on,” Clowney told For The Win. “Not only can I do what I’m supposed to do but I can talk to my teammates and tell them what they need to do as well. I feel like it helped our defense a good bit.”
On the offensive end of the floor, per Bart Torvik, Clowney is one of just four Power Five freshmen to record at least 25 dunks and 25 3-pointers. The other three (Jarace Walker, Taylor Hendricks and Cam Whitmore) are all projected lottery picks as well.
Despite the elite statistical company he keeps, Clowney is currently projected outside the lottery at No. 26 overall in our latest consensus mock draft. But it doesn’t bother him.
“I think I can play with anybody. I can do whatever is asked of me at multiple positions,” Clowney added. “I can make shots and do what I do and do what nobody else wants to do — help win. Whatever it takes, really.”
Here is what else you need to know about Clowney as an NBA prospect:
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