Nebraska transfer Cam Mack has withdrawn his name from the upcoming NBA draft, he announced Monday. Mack announced he was testing the NBA draft process earlier in April but has changed his mind, noting the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic as one reason.
Tag: Cam Mack
Suspended Nebraska Basketball player …
Suspended Nebraska Basketball player Cam Mack has decided to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft. In a post on instagram, Mack said “Since I was a young kid in Texas, my dream was to play basketball at the highest level possible. Now my dream has become a reality.”
2020 aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Evaluating the rising upperclassmen
Somehow already past the midpoint of the college basketball season, the 2020 NBA Draft is starting to shape up with far more clear rankings.
Somehow already past the midpoint of the college basketball season, the 2020 NBA draft is starting to shape up with far more clear rankings.
As always, we examine the most trusted analysts to give us the best idea of a consensus for what the upcoming draft class will look like in June. The latest 2020 NBA mock drafts from experts at ESPN, CBS Sports, SI.com, Bleacher Report, NBADraft.net, The Athletic and USA Today Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire were used for these rankings.
The top four players (Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman and Cole Anthony) have remained the exact same despite none of the latter three players being active for various different reasons.
Meanwhile, Iowa State sophomore point guard Tyrese Haliburton entered the Top 5 and replaced 19-year-old Israeli prospect Deni Avdija – who has not seen much playing time in the Euroleague.
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Included below are brief scouting reports for senior guards who have improved their draft stock the most since our last update. These players listed are all four-year NCAA players who could be ready to make the jump to the NBA like Josh Hart and Malcolm Brogdon did in their respective classes.
MARKUS HOWARD, MARQUETTE
Aggregate Mock Draft Rank: 46
One of the most important things to know about Marquette senior Markus Howard is that despite the fact he has four years of collegiate experience, he is just 20 years old. Few teams operate their offense through one player quite like Golden Eagles do with Howard, who has taken 42.5 percent of their total field goal attempts. Fortunately, the guard brags one of the most efficient and prolific jump shots among all NCAA players. Howard operates well when he is shooting off the catch and off the dribble, which will make him a good fit for almost any offense in the NBA. He is currently averaging 28.4 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent on three-pointers. Similarly, no guard in college has been fouled more often than Howard has thus far. He should be a lock win Big East Player of the Year and should be a strong contender for the National Player of the Year, too. As a pro, he can likely become a spark-plug scoring option off the bench. His draft stock has improved from No. 68 up to No. 46 month-over-month.
PAYTON PRITCHARD, OREGON
Aggregate Mock Draft Rank: 47
Oregon senior guard Payton Pritchard was a Top-50 recruit coming into the Pac-12 back in 2016. He attended West Linn High School, where he was able to lead his squad to four consecutive state titles. That accomplishment was an especially impressive feat considering the program had only won the OSAA Boys Basketball Championship once before and it was way back in 1997. He has since played for the Ducks in the Final Four (2017) and also won MVP of the Pac-12 Tournament last season. He is currently averaging 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists with 1.7 steals per game. His assist rate (32.7 percent) is Top 20 among seniors and he has connected on 40.7 percent of his three-pointers. Now more than halfway through the season, he is the heavy favorite to win Pac-12 Player of the Year and could be a sleeper for National Player of the Year as well. He has leaped from No. 96 in December all the way to No. 47 now in January.
SKYLAR MAYS, LSU
Aggregate Mock Draft Rank: 57
During his senior year of high school, Skylar Mays was actually teammates with Howard at Findlay Prep. Also on the roster was 2019 first-rounder PJ Washington and Toronto Raptors two-way wing Oshae Brissett. For what it is worth, their roster also had current college basketball standouts Tristan Clark (Baylor) and Lamine Diane (CSUN). Their team has already sent tons of prospects into the NBA and Mays could very well be the next in line. He is a potential 3-and-D threat, averaging 1.4 three-pointers and 2.1 steals per game for the LSU Tigers as an NCAA senior. Meanwhile, LSU’s adjusted offensive rating (116.6) ranks Top 5 in college basketball. Along with Reggie Perry (Mississippi State) as well as Kerry Blackshear Jr. (Florida), Mays has a strong candidacy to win SEC Player of the Year. He has jumped from No. 90 last month to No. 57 this month.
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Three Nebraska players Badger fans need to know
Wisconsin hosts the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Kohl Center on Tuesday. Badger fans should be sure to know these three opposing players.
After getting thumped by Michigan State in East Lansing last Friday, Wisconsin (11-7) will look to get back on track when it hosts Nebraska (7-11) in Madison on Tuesday night.
While there really are no easy matchups in the Big Ten this season, this is probably the most winnable game left on the Badgers’ schedule.
There’s long-term optimism in Lincoln with new coach Fred Hoiberg at the helm of the program, but it’s been an unsurprisingly rough first season for The Mayor and his Cornhuskers to this point. Nebraska has been arguably the worst team in the conference (Northwestern is in that conversation as well) and has struggled mightily as of late, dropping its last three games and five of its last seven. Most recently, the Huskers dropped an 82-74 decision the last time out against Indiana at home.
The last time Badger fans saw Nebraska was in the quarterfinals of last year’s Big Ten Tournament, when Wisconsin squeaked out a 66-62 victory to advance. Since then, this Cornhuskers roster has been completely overhauled at Hoiberg’s direction, returning just two players from last year’s team. As he did with great success at Iowa State, he has opted to build Nebraska’s program with transfer players as the foundation. For example, all three players on this list began their college careers elsewhere.
With that said, here are the three players on the other side who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout Tuesday’s contest.
Cam Mack – Guard
Current stats: 12.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 41.1 FG%, 32.9 3P%
Of all of the transfers Hoiberg brought in as part of Nebraska’s roster reconstruction this season, Mack has been the biggest success story.
As with many of his teammates, the 6-2 floor general’s road to Lincoln was a winding one: Mack started out at Stephen F. Austin before leaving the program in the midst of his freshman season in 2017-18 and spending last year in the JUCO ranks at Salt Lake Community College. Regardless, the sophomore guard has left no doubt that he belongs in the Big Ten.
Mack has established himself as one of the conference’s most dynamic point guards this season. He leads Nebraska in scoring and has hit double figures in all but two games, but the area where he has made his presence felt the most is as a facilitator for his teammates: Mack’s average of 6.8 assists per game is the No. 3 mark in the Big Ten and ranks No. 11 nationally.
He has complemented his outstanding play as Nebraska’s tone-setter on offense with peskiness on the other end of the floor as well, currently sitting at No. 10 in the conference in steals per game.
Mack is coming off of one of his best performances of the season in last weekend’s loss to Indiana, having racked up 20 points to go along with nine assists and three boards.