Washington Huskies freshman Jaden McDaniels, the younger brother of Charlotte Hornets rookie Jalen McDaniels, is making his own NBA push.
The forward is ranked No. 7 overall on HoopsHype’s latest aggregate mock draft. He is currently considered a Top 10 pick by ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated and NBADraft.net.
Draft expert Sam Vecenie recently spent time with evaluators and league insiders at the G League Showcase and the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas. He reported that McDaniels has been one player who has improved his draft stock so far this season (via The Athletic):
“One player evaluators did note as having helped himself so far this season is Jaden McDaniels at Washington. Due to the general unrest throughout the lottery, I’d say McDaniels has settled in as the No. 5 guy right now — with a heavy emphasis on right now given how uncertain everything is across the board with this draft. Some evaluators are actually willing to throw him into the conversation with the aforementioned four players at the top, but there is also a group of evaluators who are lower on McDaniels than anyone else in that top grouping. Thus, I feel most confident putting him at No. 5.”
The 6-foot-9 freshman has a 7-foot-1 wingspan and was a five-star recruit for the Huskies. The power forward was the highest-rated player at his position in his class as well as the top player coming out of the state of Washington.
Awesome debut for Jaden McDaniels in Washington's win over Baylor. Looked like the top-10 pick his obvious talent suggests he should be. True 6-9 wing, flashed the handles to create drives + dribble jumpers. Totally fluid with athleticism/skill execution. pic.twitter.com/mOvOZZkIa3
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) November 9, 2019
Vecenie noted that scouts have been most impressed with his defensive skill set as a freshman. But on the offensive side of the ball, McDaniels is a tough-minded player currently averaging 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for the Huskies.
His best game of the season came against Ball State during the CBS Sports Classic. He recorded 22 points while shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. The following game, his scoring was quieter but he pulled down 13 boards against Hawaii.
Overall, McDaniels has scored some flashes of greatness but needs to be more reliable and more consistent at the next level. However, in a draft relatively weak at the top, the potential may be enough to earn him Top-5 consideration.
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