James Bouknight – Page 6 – Syndication Server

2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: How has the NCAA season changed rankings?

Now that the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball season is underway, we are getting a more clear picture of the top prospects in the upcoming class.

Former top recruits like Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs have made a great first impression and have confirmed why many already feel they are going to be solid future professionals in the NBA.

Of course, considering the unusual nature of the college basketball season, some players are struggling a bit more than others. The performance on the court will likely stray closer to the mean with a larger sample size as the year continues.

But to get a better sense of where everyone stands right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Athletic and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

We highlighted the prospects who have been the biggest risers since we published our last edition of this exercise.

College basketball standouts who have most drastically improved their draft stock through the early parts of the season include Keon Johnson (Tennessee), James Bouknight (UCONN), Jared Butler (Baylor), Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Day’Ron Sharpe (UNC), Aaron Henry (Michigan State), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois), Marcus Bagley (Arizona State), Moussa Cisse (Memphis), Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Jason Preston (Ohio) and Luka Garza (Iowa).

Below are the rankings based on the latest mock drafts from top analysts and experts:

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2021 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting all 60 picks, starting with Cade Cunningham

Now that the 2020-21 NCAA Men’s Basketball season is in full swing, we examined what the 2021 NBA draft class is shaping up to look like.

Consider this an introduction to the top players in college, as well as those on the inaugural NBA G League Ignite team, a new developmental team that plays exhibitions and is meant to serve as an alternative to college for some players. We’ll also look at international prospects who are playing abroad.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, this is going to be an unusual season for all hopeful pros. The bizarre offseason made it hard to get in the swing of things and some may struggle early as they adjust accordingly. As they already have been, games will inevitably be postponed or outright canceled.

Even in a normal season, a mock draft this early is a bold move. With these circumstances in mind, our mock draft is obviously going to look very different from how the actual night will shake out next offseason.

But it does offer a general starting range to encapsulate where the top prospects may be selected if they draft were held now. It also gives some insight on the kinds of players who may be available when your favorite team is on the clock.

The draft order was determined by projected wins from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, whose projected real plus-minus has “outperformed” the over-under figures from Las Vegas since 2015. Pick swaps and trades were pulled from the future draft picks section on RealGM.

Note that all conversations with NBA scouts mentioned in the article were held under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on behalf of their teams.

All relevant statistics are from BartTorvik.com, KenPom.com, Sports-Reference, RealGM and Synergy Sports Tech. Statistics for 2020-21 college basketball freshmen were calculated from their most recent AAU season via Open Look Analytics.

Two prospects for Celtics fans to watch in the 2021 NBA Draft

While the 2021 NBA Draft might be too far off for some, it’s never too early to begin scouting prospects for the Boston Celtics.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony recently released a very early 2021 mock NBA draft with two players for Boston Celtics fans to keep an eye on.

The 2021 NBA draft may be a way off still, but it’s never too soon to think about how prospects might fit into the team’s longer-term plans — or at least with the higher ranked prospect, ties to Boston players.

That player would be Boston native Terrence Clarke, who forged friendships with up-and-coming Celtics wing duo Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum with workouts after Clarke reached out to the pair this winter.

Brown in particular took the future Kentucky Wildcat under his wing, offering Clarke counsel on what to expect at higher levels of competition.

“I wish some stuff I would have learned a little bit earlier that I know now, that it would have probably helped me have a better career,” Brown offered via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm.

“So just telling [Clarke] some of that stuff that people told me to help me try to give him a little bit of an advantage, because when you get to a certain [level], it’s going to be a lot of 6-foot-7 guys, it’s going to be a lot of talented guys.”

Clarke is unlikely to end up a Celtic given Boston figures to be one of the stronger teams in the East in the 2020-21 NBA season, and with little in the way of draft assets to move into the lottery of a future season, it seems more likely Boston will be drafting late in the first.

However, another prospect worth keeping tabs on with a local connection is University of Connecticut guard James Bouknight.

Bouknight is one of the best guards to come through UConn since Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier did at the start of the decade, is taller and bouncier than either at 6-foot-4, and can shoot deep 3-pointers.

He’s still a bit of a work in progress — thus his decision to forego this year’s NBA Draft, but projects well in the proximate draft, with Givony expecting the Brooklyn native to go 26th overall.

Then again, with so much time between now and the summer after this one, both of these prospects may see the fortunes change radically in either direction.

Even still, it’s worth keeping an eye on both of these two as the coming year unfolds.

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As expected, James Bouknight made clear …

As expected, James Bouknight made clear he will be returning to UConn men’s basketball to play his sophomore season.

Tracking top NCAA prospects who could still declare for 2020 NBA Draft

NCAA prospects have until April 26 to declare early entry for 2020 NBA Draft. There are several notable prospects who could join this class.

NCAA prospects have until next week to declare early entry for 2020 NBA Draft. There are several notable prospects who could join this class.

Two freshmen (Precious Achiuwa and Jahmi’us Ramsey) are widely projected as first-round prospects. Meanwhile, three sophomores (Isaiah Joe, Aaron Henry and Joel Ayayi) typically appear on mock drafts.

Others who are likely Top-100 prospects: Romeo Weems, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Filip Petrusev, Joe Wieskamp, Corey Kispert, Terrence Shannon Omer Yurtseven, Yves Pons, AJ Lawson, Charles Bassey, Anton Watson and Miles McBride.

Below is a list reviewing all of the key players in college basketball who have yet to make a public decision about their NBA futures, even if it is simply just to test the waters so long as they already applied to receive feedback from the Undergraduate Advisory Committee before April 16.

FRESHMEN

Precious Achiuwa, Memphis (Big)

Jahmi’us Ramsey, Texas Tech (Guard)

Romeo Weems, DePaul (Forward)

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Big)

Terrence Shannon, Texas Tech (Wing)

Anton Watson, Gonzaga (Forward)

N’Faly Dante, Oregon (Big)

DJ Jeffries, Memphis (Forward)

Lester Quinones, Memphis (Forward)

Spencer Jones, Stanford (Big)

Nah’shon Hyland, VCU (Guard)

James Bouknight, UCONN (Guard)

SOPHOMORES

Isaiah Joe, Arkansas (Guard)

Aaron Henry, Michigan (Wing)

Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga (Guard)

Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga (Big)

Joe Wieskamp, Iowa (Wing)

AJ Lawson, South Carolina (Guard)

Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky (Big)

Emmitt Williams, LSU (Forward)

Isaac Likekele, Oklahoma State (Guard)

Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton (Guard)

Will Richardson, Oregon (Guard)

Kessler Edwards, Pepperdine (Forward)

Quentin Grimes, Houston (Guard)

Aaron Wiggins, Maryland (Guard)

Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh (Guard)

Davion Mitchell, Baylor (Guard)

Marcus Bingham, Michigan State (Big)

JUNIORS

Corey Kispert, Gonzaga (Wing)

Omer Yurtseven, Georgetown (Big)

Yves Pons, Tennessee (Wing)

Colbey Ross, Pepperdine (Guard)

Oscar da Silva, Stanford (Forward)

Nahziah Carter, Washington Wing)

Dru Smith, Missouri (Guard)

Matt Mitchell, San Diego State (Forward)

Mark Vital, Baylor (Forward)

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